Welcome Back!

June 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment

      Hello blog!  Hard to believe that after blogging weekly during pregnancy I’ve blogged 3 times since the baby came and she is now 9 months old! 

     I’ve thought about blogging and actually started this post several times, but I’ve never gotten past the beginning.  I would like to share the ups and downs of incorporating wellness into my life with a new baby in the house, each day is a new challenge.  Some days my diet rocks, other days I give into emotional eating.  Some days my exercise is on target, others it is pushed to the back burner. I had forgotten how a baby can throw a wrench into one’s plans and with two kids it is easier to get off track.  Today, I had a feeling today of, wow it has been 5 months since I blogged and I’d like to get back to it, so let’s make this happen.

      I can’t possibly sum up the past 5 months in 1 post.  For the past couple months my wellness focus has been on  repairing the body from pregnancy (as well as talking care of the kids, washing cloth diapers, cleaning the house, working, etc…).  I got a nasty case of plantar fasciitis.  Now it is getting better and I am seeing a physical therapist (Miriam Nelson at Cornerstone Physical Therapy) .  We are working on my core strength, left hip area and my foot is getting better.  I’ve also been seeing a physical therapist (Amanda Fugate at Cornerstone Physical Therapy) for pelvic floor strengthening. You may have read the post she helped me with when I was pregnant, or check it out now  Kegel Exercises for Women What You Need to Know.  Well, I have had great success in that area and for local Asheville ladies I highly recommend her if you want to get back to running and jumping :)   ! 

     My fitness goal is to do cardio 4 times a week for about 45 minutes, lift twice, and do a yoga class once.  This is working for me right now.  I feel so much better when I get my exercise in!  My mood is better, I make healthier food choices, and I sleep better.  When I don’t take the time to exercise everything suffers. 

     The biggest change around our house (besides the whole new baby) is our food choices.  I’ll share more on that later.   (sooner than the next 5 months!)  I also don’t know why this font is to tiny so I will try and work on that too.

    

Live Well,

Laura

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Do I Talk Too Much?

January 24, 2011 By Leave a Comment

           I’ve decided that sometimes  ok, most of the time I talk  way too much!  Especially when I’m excited, I just get something in my head that I want to say and can’t seem to contain myself.   Embarrassingly enough,  I’ve been known to interrupt and cut people off.   During this time of New Year’s renewal,  I am trying to listen more.

                Listening to Others:  Trying to be more aware of what people are really saying and truly listening to them, not thinking about how I might respond or something else off topic.

     I think all this talking also makes me less aware of what my body needs and if I could be quieter I could tune in more and find out what my body needs to be in its top condition. 

                Listening to my body’s nutrition cues:  Tuning in to what my body needs.  Eating more slowly and stopping when I am full.  Also, listening to my body in terms of the types of food I eat as well and noticing how much better I feel choose healthy food to fuel my body.  I recently cut back on caffeine (was up to 3-4 cups of coffee a day) and am now down to 1 cup or less each day.  I am amazed at how much better I feel and I have really noticed a difference in my energy. 

                Listening to my body’s physical cues:  When I am tired getting a little more sleep.  Not skimping on my workouts and doing them with intensity.  Also building time into my week to just relax and not be overscheduled or so intent on doing my to do list that I miss out on spontaneous fun. 

       To help me not talk so much I am going to use journaling more and mindful moments, check out these on our website for  ideas.

      If all else fails I’ll get my husband to use one of his favorite Saturday Night Live  Chris Farley quotes,  “Night and day she talks, each word more useless than the last.” 

       Are there any ways you can listen more in the New Year?

Live Well,

Laura

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Laura’s Summer Goal Wrap Up

August 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Goal:  I am so happy and feel great that I have accomplished my 8 week summer exercise goal.  Each week I ran four times, practiced yoga three times and lifted weights twice.

Week 8

Monday

  • 30′ Walk

Tuesday

  • Full Body Circuit   No

Wednesday

  • Yoga Class
  • 30′ Run

Thursday

  • 30′ Run
  • 30′ Yoga

Friday

  • Full Body Circuit With Running Intervals No did a 20′ walk on the beach.

Saturday

  • 40′ Run  No
  • 20′ Yoga  No

 Sunday

  • Reflection  Did a 40′ Walk on the beach

       My week did not finish up as strongly as I wanted.  Sitting in the car aggravated the pain in my left leg and I had to switch to walking instead of running.  We’ve been home a couple of days and it is still keeping me awake at night, so I have a doctor’s appointment for this week.  I am trying to take some time off from exercise, not my favorite thing to do.  Hopefully, I”ll be back to 100% soon!

     I’ve never written a blog before so I didn’t really know what to expect from this experience.  I learned many things, but there are a few that stick out from the journey. 

Accountablilty  Writing down what you are doing on a blog really kept me going on days when I might have skipped my workout.  It can be difficult to share about your daily ups and downs. 

Specific Goals Help  Making my goal specific (4 runs, 3 yoga, 2 lifts) really kept my workouts focused on what I wanted to accomplish this summer and helped me plan my weeks.  Sometimes I had to change the plan, but having the plan helped me be consistant with my workouts.

Mindfully Jump In  Summer presented time to spend with my family, visit friends I don’t always see, and opportunitites to exericse in new ways such as new classes and hikes in new places.  It is  important to mindfully jump in and take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves.  By finding different ways to workout, making healthy food choices, jjournaling, and meditating regularly I kept my actions inline with my overall purpose of living a healthy lifestyle.

     This goal has ended, but the journey continues.  Next week Martha will take over the blog and take us through her marathon training.  I’ll be back with a new goal in January!

Live Well,

Laura

 
 

Family Car Ride

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Simplify: Monday and Tuesday Week 7

August 3, 2010 By Leave a Comment

     During Monday’s yoga class the teacher, Leigh Ann, talked about the idea of simplifying.  She talked about all the layers that we require of ourselves and the demands we put on ourselves.   She reminded us that sometimes simplifying is letting go of something or it could be quieting the mind to be truly present in the moment.  Perhaps one could even simplify their workouts.  I considered this as I made my exercise plan for this week and tried to make a challenging yet possible plan.   

      As Moms our to-do lists can be extremely long:  work duties, household choes, shopping, fixing meals, getting the kids ready for school, volunteering, etc…  How much pressure do you put on yourself to be “Super Mom”?  What task can you let go of to simplify and enjoy life more?        

       This morning, Tuesday, I went for a 30′ jog around the neighborhood.  This has gotten my day off to a great start.  I love getting my workout in first thing and running when it is still quiet outside is relaxing.  I’ll be looking today for other ways to simplify and let go of tasks that are keeping me from enjoying the moment.

Live Well,

Laura

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Laura’s Week Five Reflection

July 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment

 

Goal:  I am so happy and feel great that I have accomplished my 8 week summer exercise goal.  Each week I ran four times, practiced yoga three times and lifted weights twice.

Monday

  • Off

Tuesday

  • Fully Body Lift
  • 20′ Cardio

Wednesday

  • Yoga Class  Went to a Bikram Yoga Class

Thursday

  • 30′ Run
  • 20′ Yoga

Friday

  • 30′ Body Circuit Workout 8 Mile Hike to Ramsey Falls Instead

Saturday

  • 40′ Run 30 Minute Body Circuit Instead (30 seconds each of squats, lunges, mountain climbers, push- ups and squat thrusts, then we did a 1 minute hill sprint.  Repeated four times.)
  • 20′ Yoga

Sunday

  • Reflection
  • 20′ Hill Interval Run No

      I feel good about last week’s workouts.  They were a little different than I had originally planned, but they were varied and fun.  Tuesday and Thursday were both good workouts at the gym. 

     Wednesday I went to a Bikram yoga class.  I’ve been to a hot yoga class before, but not a Bikram class.  It was very different from the classes I usually attend.  While I was doing the class I thought the timed poses and 20 second Shavasana were strange, but I felt great afterwards and great on Thursday.  The studio was far from my house so I won’t go all the time, but I would go back.  http://www.hotyogaasheville.com/

       We were traveling over the weekend in Gatlinburg, TN so on Friday I got to go on an 8 mile hike to Ramsay Cascadesn the Great Smokey Mountains National Park.  It was so beautiful.  I love hiking and getting away from everyday life for a little while.  Here is a link about the hike if you are interested.  http://www.waterfall-picture-guide.com/ramsay-cascades.html

     Saturaday I recruited 4 other family members to do the body circuit/hill sprints with me.  The heat index was a steamy 105, but we sufferred through it together and had a fun time.  I usually work out by myself so I had forgotten how fun it is to workout with friends. 

     Sunday I was exhausted from staying up to late on the trip and took a nap instead of working out.   

      The variety of the week was great and finding ways to workout with other people while we were traveling made the workouts more fun.   

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