One day at a time....

There exists only the present instant,.... A Now which always and without end is itself new. There is no yesterday nor any tomorrow, but only Now, as it was a thousand years ago and as it will be a thousand years hence. -Meister Eckhart-

Had yoga class yesterday. While I enjoyed it, I wouldn't say it was my favorite class ever. We worked on the lower chakra, which involved pretty much 30 mins of standing series. While I enjoyed it, and dug the class cause Miss P is bad ass, it still wasn't my favorite. Good to stretch though. I had some time between work and dinner, so I decided to take my lab for his second run of the year, and hit up 6 mins of abs afterwards. Pretty much  a good workout day. Not as sore this morning as I thought I would be, take this is a good sign that my muscles are starting to shape themselves. My abs are starting to look better, and more comfortable in my skin. I am mildly bloated this morning as in a weak moment of Ambien and a beer, I was hungry and eat some GF crackers and 3 small slices of cheese. One weird side effect of Ambien, if you dont fall asleep, it makes me so hungry and I have no willpower to say no!!! My obliques are starting to show definition, which is awesome. You can see in the right hand photo the scar from my Moxa incident with the acupuncturist. Yep still don't feel the burn, nor does it bug me!!! Hitting up Jillian Michael's 6 Pack Abs today at lunch. I find this video is bad ass for not only your abs, but a good work-out!!! Welp back to work.

Running again. Rock on. Rock on!

Unlimited Tip: Many of us are taught to settle & made to feel guilty if we are single-minded about going after something we want. We go on to believe that our desires are selfish, our self-love is arrogant & pompous. Society tells us it is okay to want things, but only within reason & at a price. We're allowed to want comfort, but in due time & within limits. Ask yourself this: how much deprivation, how much self-effacement must you suffer through before you act on your desire for meaning & fulfillment? Before it’s your turn to thrive in your life, instead of barely surviving it? Some people live their dreams. WHY NOT YOU? -Jillian Michaels-

Woke up this morning with a TOTALLY better attitude. For starters, its the last day in March! WOOT! And also I didn't wake up feeling like I was going to barf my guts out. WIN WIN! A co-worker about mid afternoon started feeling the same way, I am convinced that we had a minor stomach flu bug going around!!!Some how I pulled through yesterday, worked a 12hr day and also rocked Jillian Michael's 6-Week Abs without barfing. Yea me! You want to talk about an ab workout. I have NEVER rocked a video like this before. She kicks it and kicks it hard. I love the variations in her work-out, and how you can never get to exhausted or bored with one move. She keeps it fresh, challenging and kicks your ass. Not only is it a good ab workout video, but she sticks with her hard core Principal of working all the muscles and incorporating cardio. As she says "I was gargling my heart" while I was working out. Plus she provides you with not only a low level (which I need for some moves, just don't have the strength yet) but also a higher level (Bashera) who man she kicks ass. But it is nice because some moves I am stronger and better at because of my yoga practices, and some moves remind me how weak my abs are in some places!!!

Eating my one of my FAVORITE meals. I went to the market this last weekend and STRAWBERRIES are coming out!!! YEA YEA! So here is my favorite breakfast (and snack) to eat! Well at least one of the top 10. I love the sweetness of it, and I am a massive cottage whore so it works out well. Not really a dessert/sweet person per share, but I love the sweetness of Strawberries!!! Turns out the calorie count is good as well! I only am a cottage cheese whore with Lucerne low-fat pink container. Sure I will eat different brands at restaurants when need be, but for every day use, it HAS to be Lucerne pink container!

The no cheese ban has held thus far for all most a week now!!! Yes I have eaten 2 slices on my Turkey sandwiches when I eat them BUT THAT'S IT!!! I am so proud of myself. This is my little addiction. I love cheese. I could eat a block of cheese (use to in fact.. LOL). When I eat cheese I have no voice in my head which says "STOP EATING THIS" even though it will make me sick. LOL what a catch 22. Cheese is my dessert. It is most women's chocolate. The crazy part is that it makes my stomach so confused and makes me hurt SO FUCKING BAD and yet somehow I still want the sweetness of the amazing & delicious cheese hitting my mouth. I shit you not, when that cheese hits my glands in my mouth, I am already thinking about that next bit I am going to have. It seriously is my weakness and something I need to just SAY NO to. Last night I eat some soup (once in a blue moon thing because traces of wheat exist...) but with my upset tummy it sounded amazing. So I eat some soup. I use to dip cheese slices in this particular soup, and let the heat of the soup melt it just alittle, and ooooooooooo what an amazing treat.. Except I would eat like 8 slices.. Yep, no off switch for me with cheese... Shit now I am hungry for cheese. Time to talk myself down and out of eating cheese. Ooooooooooooo delicious cheese. Seriously.. This is what goes on in my head when I eat cheese... I just keep eating and eating.. It's my chocolate people...

It is a gorgeous day out, and I have been hiding in my office for pretty much all hours of the day, so instead of rocking Jillian (all though she was still yelling at me in my head!) I took my lab for a run! While running I realized that this was the FIRST time since my health issues back last summer and also Dr. Greedy's worthless surgery that I WENT RUNNING PAIN FREE!!! Omfg I cant even tell you how amazing that felt. I love running with my dog. Not only that, I went further than I ever did prior surgery. Such a huge milestone for me in my life, and showing signs of improvement!!! Thank you holistic medicine and IUD!! When I use to run it would burn so bad and also my pevic area would feel like it was on fire. It got to the point that I couldnt even walk around the block without being doubled over in pain. This really is a huge day for me!!! ROCK ON!!!!

Jillian's #1 tip!

"Be brave and be patient. Have faith in yourself; trust in the significance of your life and the purpose of your passion. You are strong enough to sit in the space between spaces and allow divine inspiration to shed some light. When you put positive energy and productive effort into the world it will come back to you. Occasionally in ways you might not immediately understand and on a time frame you didn’t expect. Look. Listen. Learn. Stay open. Your destiny is awaiting you."
— Jillian Michaels (Unlimited: How to Build an Exceptional Life)

How could I NEVER do this before?!? I have never watched my calories. *gulp* When I started to eliminate inflammation foods from my diet, and tried to find the right path for my health, calories were SO HARD for me to come about, because I was cutting everything out that I knew under the sun, so it really wasn't a concern. I was rapidly getting health and dropping weight, so I never thought of it. I was feeling better and that's what mattered... I never really even looked at the calorie content, because i got settled with where I was at. I was searching yesterday for some Jillian tips on weight loss and control over your weight, and saw her # 1 is CALORIE COUNTING!!!! *GASP*. So I thought I would track my foods for the day and see where I was. I determine through some research that I should be somewhere in the 2,000ish calorie range. Here is what I found:

2 cups of Starbucks Decaf Via using only 1/3 of packets twice: 2/3 packets & sugar-free creamer 100ish

2 Apple Cinnamon Vans Waffles with 1ish TBS of butter each (189 + butter say 250)

2 glasses of water

1 small bowl of Kix & Skim milk

½ cupish cottage cheese (90 calories)

1 small Gatorade (80 calories)

GF bagel with Turkey, Mayo, 2 slices of Jack Cheese & lettuce with Smart Puffs

      (Turkey slices = 45 calories, cheese 110ish, bagel 310 calories, and Smart Puffs 75ish) =’s 540 calories

Handful of Mini Crispy Rice Snack (Kettle Corn) 60

1 banana (105) and scoop of cottage cheese (90)(LOWFAT)

2 Glutino crackers 120 calories

Fish dinner with brown rice & green beans (guessing here) 400ish

2 Hornsbee Hard Ciders (320)

100 (decaf)

250 (Faffles)

0 Water

110 (kix) + 80 (milk)

90 (Cottage Cheese)

80 (Gatorade)

540 (Sammie & Fessy puffs)

60 (rice snacks)

90 (COTTAGE CHEESE) +  105 (Banana)

120 (crackers)

400 (ish) Fish dinner

320 (drinks)

2,255 calories!!!

OMFG! How could I not even know this?!? While the amount of calories isn't the largest concern, I was losing track of what I was eating. I should be making smarter choices with what I eat. With Gluten-Free food, you have to read the labels so it seems. Sometimes because it is GF, makers tend to add things like sugar & flavorings, and the calories can be between 180-300 for each serving. I need to make sure I am not eating Faffles every day, and instead eating oatmeal and a banana. I need to make smart choices. I am going to track my food for the next week (per Jillian's advice) and see where I land. Even making a smart choice in the each meal, can add to shaving off a few extra pounds and getting rid of the bloat!!! And so I take advice from one of the best workout gurus I now and respect!!

Also today is weigh in day at the gym Curious where I land. Also Pilate's day. I am mildly ready for an ass kicking since Miss P just got back from a boot camp!!! We shall see!

In honor of Jillian Michaels being kick ass!

"Sometimes people will hear you and be able to change their behavior, but often their behavior has more to do with their own need for approval than with your need for support. No matter what their response, you need to be firm and hold your ground. At the end of the day, your health is your responsibility."
— Jillian Michaels (Winning by Losing: Drop the Weight, Change Your Life)

I don't have much time, as I am trying to work a "short" day, which means only 11 hours this time of year. But I have had completely a shit day. A project that I thought would take only 2ish hours, I just got done with like 1 hour ago!!! It was completely frustrating and by far one of the most exhausting days I have had this season. I just can't seem to recover today!!!

Side note. Got me some Jillian Michaels Fit in 30 Days today, and I tried level 1. Holy crap yo! I think she got meaner and tougher in this video! I have been working out like crazy last weekish and she completely kicked my ass. I wanted to try her Jillian Michaels 6 Week Six Pack but with my two errands I had to run today, I just didn't have time. So I rocked her 30 day fit video and I have to say I am scared for levels 3-4!!! I can't imagine what is nexrt. Having rocked her 30 day shred last summer, and kicked my booty and my abs into shape for Shasta worthiness, I respect the hell out of her and love her workouts. I enjoying having someone to yell and motivate me. Makes me angry and make me work out harder...

I am so exhausted even in typing this. Back to my work so I am GTFO!!