How is it April?!

March flew by! We were busy getting our house ready to sell and all hopes of anything related to anything other than selling the house were crushed. We even skipped the Shamrock races. I was beyond bummed out about that!

Now it's April. We're up on the market and I can breathe again. Which really means, I need to start eating better (as in: not eating out!) and start working out again.

My goal for food is Whole 30 style Paleo - with some room to "play". I'm thinking 90% Whole 30, 10% Paleo/other. There are some Paleo recipes I really like that have some honey in them. Since it's not allowed on Whole 30, it'd be all of the spring recipes without it. Plus, if I'm being super honest, a Tbsp of honey over an entire recipe every once in a while just doesn't bother me.

We're headed back to our travel trailer today, but once we get home tonight, I'm meal planning. Which means I'm grocery shopping tomorrow. I've GOT to do this.

I don't even know what my weight is right now. Our scale decided to stop working (I think it's the batteries) and then it got packed away in the great "move 3/4 of your stuff out of your house" effort of March. I don't fit into my "fat jeans" any more and had to go get new ones. Blech. I may go to the storage unit and try to find the scale. I have no idea if it's worth it, because I'm kind of cringing at the idea of knowing what my weight is right now, but I feel like I almost need that kick in the butt.

Also, my thyroid is messed up horribly right now. I'm all over the place. I've GOT to get it back under control or my destiny is thyroid medication in November. No thank you.

In other news, I passed my ACE Health Coach certification on Monday! Given the amount of studying I didn't do, I'm a bit shocked, but it's all good. Now, to get myself straight so that I feel like I can actually talk with my clients about nutrition and all that!

Setting Goals and Finding Motivation

Apparently the upcoming races on my calendar aren't enough motivation for me to get moving the way I should be.

Several things have been lacking lately:
1) True commitment to my nutrition plan
2) True commitment to my workout plan
3) My hydration has been better
4) My flexibility

Here's what I'm going to do to change this:
1) I'm starting my ACE Health Coach certification
2) I'm going to rededicate myself to the TrainerRoad program I was doing
3) I'm going to rededicate myself to eating Paleo and potentially start another round of Whole30
4) I'm going to start drinking more water again
5) I'm going to add yoga into my daily routine

Things to get me motivated (read this as my GOALS):
1) We are attending a wedding in 2 weeks & I refuse to buy a new dress to wear
2) We're going to Disney soon & my shorts need to fit better!
3) We're going on a cruise in a few months & I want to feel good going into the cruise
4) I have a shirt from my 70.3 that I NEED to fit back into. It just doesn't look as good on the hanger as it does on me.

Strive Don't Put Down

A few months ago, I wrote a post about Health at Every Size. Since then, I've finished my ACE weight management certification, but still have a lot to read and learn. I'm still struggling with accepting my body & weight. Almost every woman I know feels this way. It's kind of sad actually.

Recently, a friend & I have been chatting about running and how it's very similar. Most people say "I'm slow", "I run just a ... minute mile", etc. Why do we do this to ourselves in so many aspects of our lives? Why can't we be striving for a goal but also accept where we currently are?

We're continuously telling ourselves we're not good enough. But we are. We all are.

Health At Every Size

Since I became a personal trainer last October, I've been primarily wanting to focus on getting people healthier. Don't most trainers? That focus has led me to making some drastic changes in our own household - to include cutting out most processed foods. Even while doing this, I've gained weight. This makes me beyond frustrated. If you follow this blog, you'll know just by looking at it that I'm not working out as much as I was this time last year. That's a BIG part of my weight gain. So, I'm responsible for that one! That being said, I'm really struggling to be "ok" with my body. I say ok with it... I'm even further from being HAPPY with it.

After getting my initial certification, I decided that I wanted to get a specialty certification in Weight Management. I'd learn something for myself and I'd be able to pass along information to my clients. The first two sections of the certification were "old news" and I flew through them without giving any of it a second thought. Currently, I'm reading "Non-diet Weight Management: A Lifestyle Approach to Health & Fitness". Truth be told, this is probably the book that I've been most excited to read. Why? (news flash!) Because DIETS DON'T WORK.

In Chapter 2 of the book, they introduce a term called "Health At Every Size (HAES)". What does this mean? Well, basically it means that you should accept yourself for who you are, where you are. It means taking strides to be HEALTHIER, not necessarily THINNER. It's trying to get rid of the notion that healthy = thin. Changing societal views. 

It got me thinking. I'm not happy with myself at my current weight. But why is that? 

1. I'm slower than I was in all 3 of my sports. Is that because of my weight or my lack of training? I know the answer is "lack of training". 
2. The clothes in my closet reflect me 20 lbs ago. Easily changeable - change the clothes!
3. I don't like the way I look in pictures. This is the one I REALLY need to work on. Accepting me for me. Knowing that my body isn't a full reflection of who I am. 

If I can't move past these things and apply HAES to myself, how am I going to be able to do so with my clients? In a way, I'm glad I struggle with this. It'll make me a stronger trainer/mentor for my clients and I'll be able to identify with them a little more. 

The book also talks about a "non-diet" approach. Basically, making lifestyle changes instead of diets. Really embracing every change that makes you a little healthier - one change at a time. I really try to focus on this with my clients, but I know I'm not perfect. This reminds me to be more focused on it. Celebrate the changes that promote health and not to dwell on the ones that don't (or to try to redirect the ones that don't to things that will be more healthy overall).

What are your thoughts on "Healthy At Every Size"? Do you struggle with loving yourself for who you are - no matter the size? What steps could you take to start loving yourself today?

Exciting news!

Now that everything's been announced on Facebook... I'm happy to report that I am now an ambassador for a product called Island Boost. I'm really excited for what it will bring!

Also exciting is that it's been a month since we switched to a real food diet. I have to say, my hypothyroid symptoms have been MUCH less. I've had a couple of issues this week, but nothing like I was. I'm so happy about that.

I continue to work on my weight management specialty certification. I'm aiming to be done with it no later than the end of June. A little later than I originally planned. Mostly because I keep forgetting about it (oops!).

Not Tri Related

I PASSED MY PERSONAL TRAINER CERTIFICATION EXAM!!!!!!!

I've been asked a million times since Wednesday what my next steps are.

Step 1: Get insured.
Step 2: Find a job or clients or something. I have no clue really.

For the time being, I'm working on doing some "house projects" that need to get done before I start working again. I've already gone through quite a few things and donated a lot of stuff, but there's a lot more that needs to be gone through. Also, I've been working on doing our Christmas cards, photo presents for our moms, and photo books from our trips this year.

Next week, I'm replacing silicone caulk in our shower and maybe the kitchen sink. I'll also be repainting the iron railing that's on the front of the house as long as the weather cooperates. I think I might also put an end to the snap dragons and get the pots off the back deck so that I can reseal that too (though, it needs to be powerwashed as well).

See... household "stuff" and then I'll worry about getting a job. I'm starting to look for places to work online and kind of look around to see what's out there. Nothing like putting myself back out there after almost 7 years!

Monday and a New Week

So, last week was a bust. Life happened and the week got away from us - again. So I start over, again, today.

Here are the workouts I hope to get in this week:

Monday: TNT/30 min run (already did TNT, will be doing the run at 9am with a group)
Tuesday: Spin/swim
Wednesday: TNT/track workout (will likely do on the treadmill)
Thursday: Spin/swim
Friday: REST
Saturday: 4 mi run
Sunday: Spin

The spin workouts are going to be done on my tri bike at home. I may go to a Team Z swim this week, but likely at least one will be done at my gym pool. The runs will be done either on the dreadmill or outside.

This week's focus is literally just to get through the workouts and not to worry about anything else.

Also this week, I am going to finish reading the last chapter of my textbook and start studying the things I don't have down yet. I take my ACE test on Oct 17 at 1pm. So soon!

This past weekend...

My hubby shared his cold. How sweet?! This is putting a serious crimp in my workout style!

In other news, we went to the RV show in NJ this weekend. It was a good time. Small show, but nice to walk around for a while. We have definitely ruled out pop-ups and hybrid campers. Now... do we change my car to have the brake control (brand new car, changing the electrical wiring... hmmm) or do we get a dedicated tow vehicle? And if we get a dedicated tow vehicle, what?

Oh and, I should probably start studying again, go pass my test, and get a job to help support this! For now, tent camping it is!

Recovery week - oh my

This past week was recovery week... and recover I did... not sure from what though. I did both days of TNT, per the norm. Aside from that, I went swimming on Tuesday and riding on Saturday. No wonder why my weight isn't moving! This week's goal is to complete my workouts. Period.

I'm planning on writing the race report for Colonial Beach today, so I'll get it posted either today or tomorrow.

I've been busy studying for my personal trainer certification, so and am hoping to get a lot more of that done this week. My husband's going to Boston on Wednesday/Thursday, so I'll have a bit of time to get some stuff done. :)

2 days until the weekend!

Today's workouts consist of a 40-60 min bike ride (Z2! baby) and an hour swim. I need to figure out the timing of today since I'm meeting a friend for lunch at noon (which will take me about an hour to get to) and then have a hair appt at 3. I think I can get the ride in after my hair appt and the swim is at 8pm, so that's not an issue. Of course, I still have to get my studies in for the day too. I'm almost caught up on the day I was previously behind (3 more pages to go), so I should be done with that before I leave for lunch with no problems.

I have a text book called "Fitness Professionals' Guide to Musculoskeletal Anatomy and Human Movement" that I also need to be reviewing, but I really need a PC with Windows on it to do that (I'm a Mac girl!). I'm waiting for my hubby to put Windows back on my old laptop so that I can use the CD that came with that text book to really get into that... then I start adding on the studying of the muscles & bones too!

Monday - Bring it!

After a way too lazy weekend (again... um... this is a PROBLEM!), I've decided I need to kick my butt into gear. After all, Maine's only about 9 or 10 weeks away (I need to count). CRAP!

This morning, I woke up with Jon and got my 30 min Z2 run in, before I went to lift weights. Whew! It felt good though. I kept it at a nice, easy 10 min/mile pace, getting in 3 miles before 7am. Nothing like it. Then a 45 min TNT class, complete with too many sets of mountain climbers and a couple of sets of burpees. Love it!

I've also decided that starting today, I'm back to tracking food, weight, measurements, water, etc. It's time. I have to get rid of at least 5 lbs before Aug 26 to be at race weight (and not feel like a stuffed sausage in my wet suit). I'm going to add a ticker (if I figure out how) from myfitnesspal to the website to allow you to see how I'm progressing.

Game on body, game on.

Also, I'm one day behind in my studies, so I'll be playing catch up a bit this week. I'm excited for this week's studies; nutrition. Should be good to read what ACE's stand point is on it.

In Studies

I'm on week 2 of studying for my ACE personal trainer certification. Since I had my body fat done today, I was interested to learn that the essential body fat for:

Men 2-5%
Women 10-13%

What a difference between the genders. It has to do with our ability to have kids, but wow!

I've been learning all sorts of interesting things, I can't wait to see what tomorrow holds! This weekend, I'm getting CPR/AED certified. Things are moving!

3rd time's the charm

Today was insane. Well... this week has been really. I started studying for my ACE personal trainer exam on Monday. It's taken me about 3 hrs each day to get through everything I need to for the day. Ah!

Today, I had a bike, TNT, and a swim to do (3 workouts!). That's almost a full 3 hrs of working out. Needless to say, I'm TIRED! The bike was good - I went to the spin room to do it. I really need to get out and ride my bike, but it's hard to do that if I'm not on the W&OD trail... so spin room it was. I laid out a 50 minute ride and then walked down the stairs to TNT. Lifted/did abs for 45 minutes.

Then... I went home and made dinner. Cause, everyone should eat between workouts!

At 7:30, we left for swim practice. It was good - I moved up a lane and am probably the slowest person in the lane now, but it's all good. I'll get faster as my stroke improves. I spent most of the practice working on having high elbows. Oh and... Coach R pushed me into the pool. :) I guess we were taking too much time getting in. It wasn't a hard push, more of a "gentle nudge" (and I knew he was standing there and was going to do it).

I have to say, I'm really enjoying the Team Z swim workouts. I need to get my butt to a couple of the bikes and runs!