Watch "Food Inc"

A few months ago, a friend introduced me to macrobiotics via "The Kind Diet." Totally changed the way I viewed (and ate) food. More to come on that later.

But one thing that the book touched on was the way meat is processed in America. As I read, I was repulsed by the thought. *gag* And then... last night the whole concept was there in front of me, for my viewing...uh, pleasure?

I watched Food Inc.

If you happened to miss it, you can view it here until April 29th.

But be warned. It WILL change the way you view food. and may just cause you to want to plant a garden, grow chickens, and kiss a cow.

Week of Walking

Can you believe it? My week of ME is officially over. Time flies when you're narcissistic focusing on a goal.

But even though My Week has sadly come to a close, but I'm thinking I've just begun... At least where the whole Walking-With-a-Vengeance is concerned.

The first couple of days were a bit difficult. finding the time. getting into a groove. pressing through. But by the end of the week, five miles a day seems very doable.

And whereas I didn't come close to what I was hoping to achieve as my final tally (mileage-wise), I'm so excited for what I did accomplish.

Because let's face it, even though my girls knew that I was working on a personal goal and hence, would be focusing on achieving it, I still had to:

• make sure the girls didn't starve...at any point during the day. they strictly adhere to the belief that they must ingest food every few hours.
• nurse Lani...something she's convinced must happen at an hourly rate that I'm not even willing to try and document
  
• deal with dirty cloth diapers.. 'nuff said.
  
• finish our homeschool year with Charis and Selah,
• take into consideration that I'm sorely lacking in knee cartilage due to competitive running...requiring that I slowly ease into this goal.
  
• try not to suffocate under the growing mound of laundry and general house throw-up that happens when you're not cleaning every. single. day.

That's a lot to juggle while simultaneously pretending that you're not the one in charge of all the little people running around.

But I told Jet last night, as I surveyed the mess, that I'd do it all over again. forsaking the house, letting rooms sit cluttered and dirty. just so I could set aside consistent Me Time for once.

And No, to answer the inevitable question, I didn't lose weight. But I'm thinking I gained some confidence in my abilities to put high priority on exercise.



Wednesday: 5 miles @ 10 incline.

(12 incline is the highest the treadmill goes. It's like climbing Mt. Everest. So when considering "10" think the streets of San Fransisco. It was ALL uphill.)

Thursday: 5 miles @ 10 incline.

Friday: 5 miles @ 10 incline

Saturday and Sunday: Nada. We did Family Time. I was hoping to get some mileage in, but it just never happened. Eh, even important goals have to make way for family lovin' time.

Monday: 7 miles @ 10 incline

Tuesday: 4 miles @ 10.5 incline.

This is also the day that my treadmill went postal. the only button that didn't revolt was the #2. So I was forced to walk at 2mph.

Allow me to interject a resounding "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"

Wednesday: 2 miles @ 11.5 incline. Treadmill still needing to undergo heavy-duty attitude adjustment.

And FYI, the whole "11.5" was not because I wanted to increase the incline.

Rather, my rebellious treadmill made that horrible executive decision. Refusing to let me lower it back down. Remember? only the #2 key works at present.

So there you have it...I walked *so far* that my treadmill has officially gone on strike. *grin*

Living Large

Anyone who knows me in real life, knows that I am greatly loved...by my husband.

The Man tends to spoil me. His latest show of excessive lovin'?

I give you Exhibit A: My newly furbished treadmill.

Can you even believe it???

Now I can get in shape all while watching a movie or writing an email or reading the blogs de mi amigas.

It don't get any better than this. Not when it comes to all things ME anyway. *wink*

He told me that he didn't want me to take a picture of it yet b/c he had an idea to make it look better and be more out of my way.

To which I said, "Are you kidding me??? This. Is. Great."

Thanks, Jet. You never cease to amaze me.

Getting serious

For the past 7 years, I've put my body through the wringer. Having four babies and three miscarriages, my once athletic body has become something only remembered in pictures and home videos.

And honestly, I've had enough. I'm tired of living in a body that I neither respect nor enjoy.

I know, I know. I'm not large. I never have struggled with being obese or even what some would call overweight.

But excuse me while I scream a resounding So what!?!

The point is that I know I can be stronger, faster, more confident if I were to let go of laziness and just embrace my fitness goal. press through when it hurts. keeping going when I'm exhausted and sweating. not run to sugar when I'm stressed. not eat to curb boredom or evoke comfort.

And honestly? I think I owe it to my husband.

Now before you fly off the handle and think for a second that my sweet Jet has ever ever ever given me an ounce of guilt for not being smaller, think again. It's not like that. He's not like that.

In my heart of hearts, I believe it's my job as the wife to honor my husband by having a body that's in shape.

Uh-huh. that statement made me popular, didn't it? ...not.

But more than for him...it's for ME. my confidence. my self respect in that I set a goal and reached it. that I dreamed a certain life and went after it.

I know "in shape" will look different to different people. Having four daughters, I can already see that each of my beautiful girls has a completely different body make-up than her sisters:

One of my babies had ROLLLLLSS on top of rolls. One of my girls has never had a single roll, even during the "chunky baby" stage. One daughter has very little rear and has to wear all things "slim". While the other one has always had a perfectly round one and can't squeeze into what her sister just grew out of. :)

I'm not saying the number on a scale matters. I'm not saying the number in the back of the jeans matters. But what I am saying is that my attitude matters...

Am I still the same woman who wanted to look attractive for my husband? or have I given up and accepted that I will be bigger because I've birthed multiple babies?

Am I still the wife that tries to flirt with my husband by dressing to appeal to his eyes? Or have a given up on myself...feeling like this is as good as it will ever be, so why fight it?

Well, I plan on fighting it. For me that means losing the last of this stubborn baby weight. AND getting back to where you can see that I have muscles. where you can see my muscles ripple when I walk.

I've been trying to work out. trying to eat right. avoiding sugar (until Easter hit). drinking lots of water (until my Stevia ran out). But still, my body hovers right at the 140 mark.

About 15 lbs over where I want to be. 15 lbs above the size that usually marks when my body is fit for my height (5' 5.5")

My goal this week. To walk as many miles as humanly possible. whatever that means.

Why? to prove to myself that I can do it. to break my lazy mindset out of its "eh, what will be will be" mentality. to be able to celebrate that I made a goal and *attacked* it.

Next Wednesday, we'll see what that looks like. and bar my children suddenly coming down with the flu, I plan on making ME and my fitness a priority this week.

I'm tired of living underneath an attic full of clothes that no longer fit me. I'm tired of dreading bathing suit season. I'm tired of feeling like my athletic days are behind me, never to be revisited again.

This week. I hope to change all that.

Sugar???

When all else fails trust the Voice of God.

I know. It doesn't get more *DUH* than that, eh? But apparently I tend to err on the side of spiritually retarded at times...

Allow me to explain.

Walking up the stairs in my home two weeks ago, this random thought came from no where:

"Would you give up sugar (completely) if you knew that it was eating away at your eyesight?"

I admit it. I completely blew it off as something other than the voice of God.

You know, like me giving myself a pep talk to do a Daniel fast. or my own desire to be more healthy in my everyday eating screaming out. Or...Anything Other than wisdom from the Throne of Heaven.

Because it just. didn't. make. sense.

I, in all my 32 years of living, had never heard anything like that before. And really, what's God's infinite wisdom when compared to the incredible depth of my knowledge and experience?

I'm oozing sarcasm here. Just in case the fact eluded you.

So before I even walked two more steps up, I had officially dismissed it as my over-active imagination. and not the Lord.

Yet. that simple statement stayed with me, refusing to be so easily dismissed...

So it came up today as I was talking to my friend, Shelli. I told her about it... mentioning to her what I hadn't spoken to anyone simply because I wasn't feeling confident enough to dub it from the Lord. She encouraged me to just research it a little to see what I could find. to see if there was anything to it.

Yes that's right Lord. Be forewarned. 'Cause I'm checking your credentials, Mister! If Earthly scientists have made a connection then I may just consider what you said. *groan*

Note: obviously I'm questioning more my ability to hear and not God's ability to know what he's talking about. :)

Well, this is what I found when I did a bit of research. I admit, my mouth hit the floor. and remained there for quite some time.

In fact, as I type, I resemble a codfish. totally unable to shut my mouth due to the complete shock factor that hit when I read the following:

If you're like most people, you have a high-sugar diet, and a high-sugar diet affects your eyesight.

By eating a lot of sugar and/or sugary products (baked goods, frosted cereals, soft drinks, alcoholic beverages), you run the risk of developing diabetes, which has been shown to increase the risk of developing cataracts and glaucoma due to poor blood circulation.

Since the eyes need more oxygen and nutrients than any other part of the body except the brain, any reduction in supply can result in damage and disease.

A high-sugar diet affects your eyesight through two sugar-related processes.

The first is called glycosylation.

Excess sugar molecules attach to the hemoglobin in the red blood cells.

This makes it more difficult for the blood cells to deliver the oxygen necessary for metabolic processes to occur.

The second, and more long-term problem, is vascular.

When blood sugar levels fluctuate, they shock the mural cells (wall cells) in capillaries (tiny blood vessels).

These capillaries gradually weaken and narrow, which results in a breakdown of the entire vascular system.

Blood flow may be reduced, and in areas prone to leakage, bleeding may occur.

You can read the rest of the article here:
http://www.protect-your-eyesight.com/high-sugar-diet-affects-your-eyesight.html

Doesn't that just blow your mind? Sugar. Who knew?!!

Oh, that's right...God did.

I'm learning to trust my ability to hear the randoms of God. as well as his amazingly creative ability to make Himself heard.

Meaning sometimes I put more stock in my ability to mishear than His ability to be heard. But I'm learning. slowly. but surely.

Work out songs. Part 2

THANK YOU. You guys sent enough songs to have me on the computer for WELLLL over two hours last night. Just trying to sort through them all.

Though I have to admit...I laughed at some of the suggestions.

But what do I know? I'm sure somewhere... in some far off place where AM radio is the only option... there is some poor soul motivated individual who gets a hearty workout listening to Wind Beneath My Wings.

I can totally see that getting the blood pumping.

.....
And though I know many a people that loooovvvveeee the 80's and all that it's "creative energy" bestowed upon us, I, admittedly, am not one of those people.

But apparently a lot of you guys are, huh? :)

Exhibit A: Van Halen's "Jump"

Hmm...that may work, I thought, as I naively went to view it on Youtube.

Huh. Right. Well, that was... educational. My thoughts? Don't do that unless you have a large bar of soap. Being that after viewing the video, I had the overwhelming urge to run to the shower.

*Insert me frantically pawing at my eyes yelling Unclean! Unclean!*

Yes. It was that bad. Don't believe me? Go look for yourself at what used to be considered sexy back in the day. But don't say I didn't warn you. It gets ugly. Long hair, skin-tight pants kind of ugly.

But oh how I got the best stomach workout. Belly laughing. (Thanks Crystal! See...I was really reading)

....
And I had no idea about the following. Courtesy of Sara.

"Itunes has FREE podcasts you can download called Podrunner. It is kinda techno music but you can pick what beat you want it at like 150 beats per minute, 180 beats per minute, etc. Its awesome for running, jogging or even walking."

Sweet! Will be looking into that.

....

So what am I looking for you ask? Hmm...well, this go round, being that I only have a limited amount of money on my itunes gift card, these were the criteria:

1. Christian songs. unless totally clean lyrics. I have a mind like a trapdoor when it comes to music and will find myself mindlessly singing what songs I've been listening to.

2. Cannot be something that will immediately whisk me back to 1989. The gym dance floor. clad in braces, glasses, and a purple paisley sweater. wondering if I can sway back and forth cool enough to dance with the 8th grade boyfriend of the week.

One time was enough for me.


3. Has to have a fast beat and high energy. with preferably lots of bass. to drown out the sound of my children exhausted breathing. as I'm only using the songs for when I'm on the treadmill and am in need of a rhythm to keep up with.

...a couple of the songs I picked aren't like this...but they'll be used either for warm-up or cool-down phases.

These are the songs that I'll be adding to my Workout Repertoire over the next little while:

Shackles (Praise You) by Mary Mary
Stomp by Kirk Franklin
Freedom by Nicole C. Mullen
Extreme Days Remix by Toby Mac
Catchafire by Toby Mac
I like to Move it by Reel 2 Reel
Fast and Furious by Grits
Unbreakable by Fireflight
Moving by Group 1 Crew
I'm letting go by Francesca Battistelli
One more round by Barlow Girls
Undignified by David Crowder Band
Lets Go Back by Everyday Sunday
Anything is possible (mix of life album) by Zoegirl


If you think of any more, keep the suggestions coming! I'm off to the treadmill.

Jammin' out to...?

Thanks to mi padre, I grew up in the gym. I remember from a very young age accompanying my dad to his friend's basement gym set-up, where a select group of guys worked out. I remember picking up the itty-bitty weights and doing arms curls. to the tune of 1lb. handgrips.

So because of that, I grew up with a love for fitness. And to this day, I still have a motivation to stay in shape.

Even though, at times, it remains just that. A motivation...and not an action. *wry grin*

But now, as I stare my too-small wardrobe in the face I feel called to action. So this past Sunday I asked two friends to join me in making fitness goals and sticking with them. keeping each other accountable and revving up our competitive drives in knowing that someone else was out there doing what we "should" be.

So now I ask you... would you help? I'm in need of upbeat, fun workout-type songs that I can download off of itunes.

I had already asked Tracy (a blog-bud from NY) for some suggestions a while back...to which she directed me to Toby Mac. Got one song ("Ignition") and love it! Makes me workout harder. *thanks, Trac*

If you have a favorite workout song leave a comment (or send me an email if you so choose) telling me what songs you'd suggest. I don't have scads of time to go through the Itunes lists...so will you help a girl out and share your fav. upbeat song?

My sagging boot-ay and 20 extra pounds would so appreciate it.