Running

I have been slacking off here with my posts. Things have been a little busy for the Cash family. We just got back from a short trip to Clearwater Beach, Fl. It was so great to see the sun! And also great to come back home to sunshine and warm weather. It was a pretty quick trip, but I did get to take a run over the causeway, which I have always wanted to do. I usually end up running along the coast instead (which I love!), but I always regret not running over the causeway. It was distracting scenery that slowed me down, but I really didn't care. How often do I get to run across the bay?! I loved every mile of it! I can't wait to do it again!

It is getting into the time of year that makes running way more fun. I love all kinds of exercise, but running is my favorite. I don't really care for being cooped up inside a gym, and I believe that you should take your workouts outside any chance you get. Everyone can benefit from fresh air and vitamin D.

It is so easy to use weather as an excuse to stay indoors, but I can run in just about any conditions. And I never regret it. But there does come a time, around late winter, that I start getting fed up with the cold, dreary, windy, nastiness out there, and I start to slack off. I am always anxious for the heat of summer to return.

If you are new to outdoor exercise, it is important to pay attention to how your body responds to the heat. Anytime you start to feel dizzy, chilled, have muscle cramps, fatigue, or any other signs of heat exhaustion, it's time to stop. Getting acclimated can take some time. Especially when you are used to being indoors most of the time. It is a good idea to start now, before the heat really sets in. Getting out there in the mornings can help get you acclimated as well. You should never do too much too fast. If you have a bad experience right off the bat, you won't want to get back out there. Work your way up to it. It is the safest way.

I often have people tell me that they wish they could run. And while some people truly can't, you can't say you can't until you try. In the beginning, it will hurt. Your lungs will feel like someone is standing on them, your shins will burn like fire, your feet will blister, your knees will ache, you may have some sciatica, there can be a long list of discomforts. You may even suffer an injury. The thing is, every runner went through all of those same things. And we still do to some extent. Good shoes, stretching, and proper hydration are all keys to keeping these issues under control. Learning how to nurse them, and learning to listen to your body are also key. When I first started running, I had shin splints for 6 months. It is unlikely that you will get away with no aches and pains. You just have to decide if you want to try to move past them or not. Starting and stopping a running program will not move you past this phase any faster. Unless you truly have an injury that needs rested, you have to just work through the discomfort. In some cases, you may never overcome the beginners pains. Some people just aren't able to get past it. But you can't know unless you try. And you can't give up just because you have normal running complications. You have to toughen up and work through it. It is possible, and it is fun! Once you have learned your body, and learned how much you can handle, it becomes a part of you.

I want to encourage you today to slowly start accomplishing your goal. Decide to work through the pains and discomforts. Decide not the let the speed bumps stop you, rather than just slow you down. Decide to keep going and learn to listen to your body. It is true that running is hard on your joints, but so is obesity. It is true that running is a high impact sport, but the cardiovascular benefits can barley be beat. It is true that running can cause injury, but so can a sedentary lifestyle. People tell themselves what they want to hear to make themselves feel better about not doing what they should. It is just how we operate for some reason. You have to decide to stop filling your head with excuses and negativity, and decide to go after that goal. If it were easy, everyone would do it!

Running is a very inexpensive way to get healthy and fit. You don't need a gym membership. You don't need a treadmill. All you need is a good pair of shoes and some road. It is a great way to keep your exercise going even through an out of town trip. And I love being able to explore new places on foot while I run. It is also a great way to escape and just mentally check out for a time. If you need solidarity, go run! If you need to feel close to God and spend uninterrupted time in prayer, go run! Get out there today and start going after what you want. If running is something you "wish" you could do, then go do it.

I am always here for motivation, accountability, to answer questions, or just to give you support and encouragement to keep going. All you have to do is shoot me an email and I will help you however I can. I believe in you. If the voice in your head is tempting and urging you get up and do this, listen to it and don't wait another day. My email is lacysfitnessblog@gmail.com.

Results and balance

Ok, it's been a little while since I last posted.... I didn't feel like it was right to be blogging during the Boston tragedy. I didn't have it in me either. I have had a lot of people ask me if I was there. I was not there, thankfully. Boston is the only marathon that you have to qualify for. The qualifications are based on age and gender. You have to run a qualifying marathon, which I've done. But I've never been able to qualify. I've wanted to! And if I had, you can bet I would have been there. I'm not going to spend time going over the what ifs. I'm just thankful my family and I were not involved, and I thank you all for being concerned about me.

Moving on....
It is obvious that I believe diet and exercise should be used as a tool to improve our quality of life. It is something that we should use to prolong, prevent, and even reverse disease. It's something that we should rely on for good mental and physical health first. And when done right, we get the added bonus of looking good and feeling confident about what we see on the outside.

When we have a healthy lifestyle, it's not a part time gig. It's not something you do half heartedly. It's not about how many calories you burned today, or the fact that you gave up soda. Yes, we have to start somewhere, but we also have to keep moving forward and realize that you will get results based on your efforts. So a 90 minute workout with an 800-900 calorie burn, followed by a cheeseburger and fries or a pepperoni pizza with extra cheese, really isn't going to cut it.

What you have to decide is this.... What am I wanting to get out of this? And how far am I willing to go? My answers to these questions are this.... I want to be a healthy weight with good cardio health. I want to have energy and feel happy. I don't want to inherit the diabetes that runs in my family. I don't want to simply exist, ever. I want my husband to know that I haven't stopped trying to turn his head, and I will always do my best to make sure he only has eyes for me. I don't want to get lazy in my marriage by letting myself go. I want to set goals and accomplish them because I can. I want to be healthy inside and out. I don't want to treat my body as a trash can. And I am willing to push myself past my comfort zone to get all of these things. On a side note, I want to be able to let go sometimes. I want to have a beer on the beach with my husband. I want to eat pizza and ice cream with my kids. I want to eat cupcakes. I want to enjoy good tasting food.

If there is one thing that I have learned about healthy living, it's that you HAVE to find a balance. You HAVE to learn how to be able to enjoy those cupcakes, pizzas, ice cream, and beer. You HAVE to learn that you CAN eat these things. But what you have to understand is, you have to know what results you're working for, and you never want to sabotage yourself.

With a healthy lifestyle, there truly is a balance. It is different for everyone. It should be based on your goals. Your will power. Your strengths. Your weaknesses. Your wants. But there truly is a balance, and it's up to you to find yours. And when you fall, you have to get back up and keep moving forward. If you can figure this out, you will be able to keep the lifestyle going. And THAT is when you get results. Never give up. You just need to find your balance.

Over thinking

So first of all, completely unrelated to my post, I'm in a great mood because my hubby will be home from his conference in a few hours. He's been gone since Saturday. Thank goodness he has a job that doesn't have him traveling much. Just a few times a year. I enjoy my time alone with the kids when he's gone, but I'm always more than ready to have him back home! So yay for today:).

Moving on.... If you haven't figured it out by now, I typically write about things that I struggle with or notice about myself personally. It helps me, and hopefully it helps you. So this morning I was thinking about how easy it is for me to ruin a good thing by over thinking it. I have to analyze things, think about the consequences or the bottom line, and often I end up thinking in circles. I may have a great idea, get super excited about it, think it through, think it through some more, dissect it, and just pick it apart. Then by the time I get through with all of that, I've ruined a good thing instead of just experiencing something great.

So how does this relate to my "fitness" blog? I think (not liking using that word at the moment) that it is very easy to ruin our efforts by thinking too much. Yes you have to think on it, but I believe (replacing the word think) that we tend to over do it.

So while I pondered (still trying to replace the word think) this, I realized that when it comes to diet and exercise, we need to just relax! If you decide to eat healthy and exercise, then you become obsessed with thinking on it constantly, it can easily ruin the whole thing for you. "I really blew it by eating that handful of potato chips", or "I only have 3 weeks until vacation and I need to get 15 pounds off", or "I burned 800 calories in the gym today, so I can eat a little more tonight"....

Any of that hit home with you? Yesterday I wrote about how we are our own worst critics, and about how that really sabotages our efforts. That is what led me to this. I mentioned that we just need to get out of our own heads. Make a plan and get out of your own way.

I also thought about how the whole purpose for healthy living is to improve your quality of life. But if you're constantly obsessed with your thoughts regarding your appearance, you goals, your efforts, and your every decision, doesn't that really rob you of enjoying the rewards of all that hard work?

I don't want to make it sound like I take healthy living lightly, because that's not true. And if you know me, you know how dedicated I am. I'm not encouraging you to be half hearted about your health. I'm encouraging you to remember why you're doing all of this. I'm encouraging you to do all of this work so that you enjoy spending time at the pool with your kids without feeling self conscious in a bathing suit, and so that you aren't hiding yourself from being in the family pictures, and so that you enjoy buying new clothes, and going on hikes and long walks with your spouse without tuckering out.

I "think" that if we all stop over thinking our every decision, make responsible choices with diet and exercise, and always remember that we do it all for the love of living life to the fullest, we will all be a lot further along, a lot less stressed about the lifestyle, and a lot happier a year from now.

Mentality

How do your thoughts affect your efforts to get fit? How good of a job are you doing supporting yourself? Are you maybe sabotaging yourself without realizing it?

We are all sensitive about our appearance, whether we admit it or not. If someone in your life were to constantly remind you of how out of shape you are, how far you have to go, how it seems like you're always working at it and getting no results, how you look chubby, or any other negative, discouraging words, how would you react? My guess is that you would become defensive and upset about the lack of support you just received, and that you would feel torn down, and your spirit would be squelched. So why is it ok for you to attack yourself in the same way? My opinion? It's not!

When you are constantly reminding yourself that you always fail at a certain point in your weight loss efforts, or tell yourself that you hate to workout, or that you have no will power, you are feeding yourself with every tool necessary to fail. Who can function under so much criticism? Who can maintain a positive attitude when they're constantly reminded of their failures? Who wants to keep moving forward when they are being told they're incapable of all of the things they want to accomplish? When you knock yourself down repeatedly, you eventually stop wanting to get back up.

Let me ask you this.... How much of your failure is caused by your own mental sabotage? What negative thoughts do you allow to tear yourself down? How much do you believe you are capable of? How much credit do you give yourself? How much do you use a physical ailment as a crutch, or an excuse to just sit and let yourself deteriorate? Who do you blame for your failures? Do you allow the fact that you have a long way to go to keep you where you currently are? Do you tell yourself that you want to lose weight, but you know you'll just gain it all back (and then some), and you don't want to go on that roller coated ride, so you would rather just stay where you are? Do you mentally fail before you even get started?

I could go on and on about all of the things that I'm sure go on inside you that hold you back from being where you want to be. When you can finally accept the fact that you are capable of accomplishing healthy living, no matter your situation, and learn to believe in yourself, you will finally be able to live a healthy lifestyle.

If someone repeatedly told you that they wished you were fit and healthy, but they know you're not capable of getting there, you would probably become very angry and defensive and blow up. It's pretty unlikely that you would allow anyone to tear you down like that. So if that's the case, why do you allow YOU to talk to you that way? Why do you allow YOU to tear you down?

Think about how you treat yourself. Are you in your own way? Are you sabotaging yourself constantly? When you fall, do you get back up? Or do you lay there and quit? Stop getting in your own way and learn to be your own cheerleader. Be your biggest supporter. Encourage yourself and believe that you are capable of so much more. You may never be a marathoner. You may never be a body builder. You may never be "skinny". But you CAN be better. You can improve yourself. You can accept yourself for you. I believe in you...the question is, do you?

motivation

So, that two days of spring like weather was a big fat tease. I am thankful for every second of it, though. I could have used some sunshine, but "beggers........." So I plan on using this day as a a day off. I haven't had one in 7 days, so I guess I will give in to the laziness of the rain and cold. Fyi...."day off" doesn't equal lay around and watch TV all day while eating junk food. It just means I'm not working out, or not working out hard today.....maybe;)

I read something this morning that got my attention, and so I want to share it with you. I am paraphrasing, but the jest of it is that you can not rely on motivation all the time when it comes to health and fitness. You have to rely on discipline. I believe that is so true. People want to be inspired to get fit. Inspiration is a good thing. Motivation is a good thing. Accountability is a good thing. But when none of those things show up on a random Wednesday afternoon, and you find yourself waiting around on it, Wednesday turns into Thursday, turns into Friday, and so on.....

Motivation is typically what gets people started on a fitness program. Maybe swim suit season is around the corner, or the Holidays are over and you gained a few more pounds, or you made a New Year's resolution, or you may have even had a health scare or aha moment that motivated you to get started. But what happens when the new wears off? Research shows that it takes approximately 3-4 weeks to develop new habits. It's around that point (give or take) that people begin to fizzle in their new fitness programs. About this time is when your body starts to catch up to the changes you have made, and starts defending itself against them. As a result, you stop seeing the inches and pounds fall off at such a dramatic rate. This is when people begin to feel stuck.

When you first start out on a fitness program because of motivation, then you remain motivated by the results of your hard work, it's easy to keep going. But what happens when that stops? You quit....... You give up..... Until the next motivating thing comes along and starts the whole process all over again.

Sometimes you aren't going to want to go on. Sometimes you are going to feel defeated. Sometimes you are going to want to quit. Sometimes your workout buddy is going to flake out on you. And those "sometimes" happen a lot more than they don't. But as long as you aren't quitting, you are succeeding.

When you find yourself in those moments that motivation has left you hanging, dig deeper and find your determination. Your dedication.Your drive. Your discipline. Kick it up a notch and go after what you want. When staleness sets in, change what you're doing! Don't allow boredom and plateaus to be the reason you quit. If you develop an injury, change what you're doing! Just because you have a shoulder injury, doesn't mean you can't get out there and work every other part of your body.

There will be plenty of days that you are NOT going to feel like eating right, or working out. There will be plenty of days that you step on the scales and feel angry and frustrated. There will be plenty of days that you find yourself thankful for any excuse you can find to get you out of it. But whatever you do, never stop relying on discipline. Nobody ever regretted a good workout or healthy dinner. Nobody ever walked away from the gym on a guilt trip over what they DID do.

Funny....I'm trying to motivate you to stop relying on motivation to keep you going. Haha.
Seriously though.....Get busy! Stop waiting around. Make yourself out a schedule and stick to it. What are you waiting for? Go do it!

I can help! Email me at lacyfitnessblog@gmail.com. And if you have a topic you would like me to address, let me know and I will do my best to help you out!

My idea of fit

I got this pic off Pinterest. I don't know if it's an actual quote from Marilyn Monroe, or if someone just put her name at the bottom of it. Whatever the case, I'm going to pretend it's a real Marilyn quote. I'm not a lover of Marilyn Monroe. I don't really have any feelings about her or her work. What I do know is that in her era, women looked like women. But somewhere down the road, healthy looking women started to become considered fat.

To be a famous actress in our era, you have to be very thin. Thanks to this idea of what beautiful is, eating disorders are on a constant rise. I read that eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. I didn't even realize that eating disorders were considered a mental illness, but I can see how it would fall into that category.

Girls, we put so much pressure on ourselves to be thinner than our bodies were individually designed to be, that we forget what the true purpose of diet and exercise is really all about. We get so caught up in comparing ourselves to each other that we lose sight of why we should be doing all of these things in the first place.

I don't have a very traditional opinion or view of diet and exercise. As girls, we have the need to constantly compare ourselves to others. So we crash diet, weigh ourselves 5 times a day, and starve ourselves into the smallest jeans we can....Or we yoyo diet, attempting to get as skinny as we can, and become overwhelmed by how hard it is and quit.....Or, we just do nothing, lead a sedentary lifestyle, eat junk constantly, and look at the overly thin women in the media in judgement over their choices (while probably feeling secretly jealous of their skinniness).

Then there's another extreme.... We have the overly "fit" women, sporting bulging muscles, spending hours in the gym, eating nothing but egg whites, creating a whole other image that the average (I don't mean average in a bad way) woman can't live up to. I say "fit" because they portray their choices as healthy ones, but they are anything but healthy. And one thing that all of these have in common is a fear of certain foods and the affect of eating them.

No wonder we are all stressed out and confused. We are sent messages to be skinny. Then, after all the flack the media catches over being responsible for eating disorders being on the rise, we are told that we need to be "fit". We are subjected to images of what skinny or fit looks like, but the images we are subjected to are not practical for the average (again, no offense) woman.

When I say I don't have a very traditional view of diet and exercise, what I mean is that the media never gives the average woman a realistic or achievable image of what beautiful really looks like in the real world. And while I do like to look good, I believe that health and fitness should always be about health and fitness FIRST, and vanity last.

I don't want to give the impression that I feel like body image doesn't matter. I'm a woman. You know better. And I don't want to give the impression that I don't do what I can to stay looking fit and young. What I want to relay in this, is that we need to stop relying on the media to tell us what beautiful is for us personally, and that while beauty is something to work for and a great reward for your hard work, it's important for us to take a stand against the extreme images we are being sold as what a woman should look like. And that we all need to realize and remember that these people that we see in the media are professionals and not the average woman. It is their job to look like they do. They're selling us stuff. It isn't realistic. It is achievable. But it isn't realistic.

What I hope you take away from this post, is that living a healthy lifestyle should not be a stressful thing that leaves you feeling like you are constantly failing, or that you don't live up to the standards of this world. It shouldn't be something that you can't continue and live with. It shouldn't leave you feeling inadequate or incapable. It shouldn't focus on vanity. It shouldn't be about swim suit season or size 2 jeans. It should be about having quality of life, feeling great, taking care of the only body you have, being a good example of what healthy looks like, improving cardiovascular health and prolonging disease, etc. And as a reward, you get to look good all the time! If you want to be your most beautiful, be your most healthy.

I can help you find a healthy lifestyle that you can live with. A lifestyle that is permanent and takes the pressure of body image away. I would love to chat with you if you need help. Don't wait another day.

Email me at lacysfitnessblog@gmail.com

Inspire

Most of us look for ways to be inspired, but we rarely think about ourselves as being inspiring. I'm not sure why that is. Maybe because we have trouble recognizing our own strengths and accomplishments? Or maybe because we get so caught up in our own need to be inspired that we forget to return the favor? Whatever the reason, it seems like we often neglect to give back.

I do think we can be inspiring without even realizing it. I love a success story. I love to witness the fire inside someone that has just accomplished something they never knew they were capable of. I love that a success like that can relight a fire within someone that has already accomplished what you just did. I also love that your journey speaks volumes to those that don't think they have what it takes. When someone sees you start at ground zero, and they witness your determination and success, it shows them that they too are capable of much more than they realized.

When you decide to plow through any obstacle that tries to stop you from accomplishing your goals, you come out stronger and more proud of what you have acheived. Why? Because you never gave up. And you never will. And THAT inspires people! We all have what it takes to accomplish our dreams. Some of us just never use it. Some of us let oursleves believe that we are not capable. That's bull! You DO have what it takes. It's up to you to decide whether you want to make it happen. And, yes, it will be hard. Some days you will want to quit. Some days you will feel unstoppable. But the bottom line is, you either make it happen, or you don't. We can't just want something, wish for it, and expect it to magically appear. We have to want something, wish for it, work for it, and press on even when it seems impossible.

I want to encourage you to find inspiration today. Or step back and evaluate your own success and find ways to use that to inspire other people. Encourage someone today. The only difference between those that are accomlishing their goals, and those that aren't, is that we made the choice to go after what we want. You don't have to be the best at living a healthy and fit lifestyle. You only have to be YOUR best. As long as you aren't quitting, you are succeeding. But no matter where you are in your fitness journey, everyone needs a little inspirtation. Just never forget to give it back!