0 Sharing my Health Journey {week ten 3.18.2015}

I'm in the double digits with my health journey and this week Spring weather officially arrived. The beautiful weather feels right on time. Things have been going pretty well with my goals, but I don't think it would hurt to take a fresh start in a few areas that are feeling sorta shaky.

How about you? Is there anything in your life that needs a fresh start this week? Remember to be kind and encourage yourself about whatever it is. Speak kindly  like you'd encourage a friend.

I'm keeping this list really simple so I actually remember to do it. Here are a few things I'm giving a fresh start and another try this week:

1. Taking two simple steps for accountability with my food choices. 

Having someone to answer to can be a really, really good thing when you have tough choices to make. Sharing my health journey here has made the daily decision to exercise much much much much (too many much's yet?) much easier. It feels like I have a big group of friends who are in this thing with me. So the two steps I'll take this week for food intake accountability are: Recording my food choices on the MyFitness Pal phone app and asking a couple friends (or my sisters) to ask me what kind of choices I've been making every once in a while.

2. Drinking enough water.

The water in our area has had a strong chlorine-y taste the past couple weeks. I pushed through it for a while but then I noticed a big decrease in my daily water consumption. Hopefully the problem will go away soon, but for now, I just need to invest in extra cases of bottled water. ;)

3. Running outside. The ice has finally melted away!

4. Starting the day with movement, prayer, and scripture. 

Now that I'm feeling all hopeful and fresh, I'm really looking forward to working hard in week 11.

So what are you up to today? Today's been a fun day for me. I got together with my friend Kelly (and our babies who are only a week apart) for breakfast and tonight I'm going to a big consignment sale with my friend Izetta (and our babies). Busy days with friends and babies are the best. And I'm not sure there's a much better way to get in those 10,000 steps than by thrifting... ;)

Love,
Bonnie

Detail: Sharing my Health Journey {week ten 3.18.2015}

0 Sharing my Health Journey {week nine 3.11.15}

I said goodbye to week nine with a walk around a lake and some much appreciated outdoor exercise today. This was another great week! There was more variety in our day to day schedules, and that added fun challenges and changes to my exercise and food choices. Last week I shared this "bucket list" of activities I wanted to complete over the course of week nine... let's see how I did.

1. Walk to the mailroom

2. Go on a walk with a friend 

3. Take a family walk after dinner

4. Walk on the treadmill for 20 minutes one morning. 

5. Try out a new healthy recipe

6. Take a walk outside (even if it's cold)

7. Do a REFIT workout 

8. Run in place for a 30 minute stretch 

         I did this one tonight but forgot to take a picture

9. Take a "just for fun" trip out of the house and carry Bekah in the Ergo 

10. Choose something healthy over a dessert option

11. Do a FitBit challenge with my aunt and sister

12. Narrow down new running shoe choices

13. Try a new, healthy, easy snack

14. Dance with Bekah when we've been sitting for a while

Not too bad! Once the middle of the week hit, I kind of forgot to look back at this list. I think I'll give some of these uncrossed items a try again this week. The past four or five days have been a little nuts for us. Our car officially died so we had to make an unplanned trip back to our hometown to do car shopping and get things in order. Everything seems to be working out well so far with getting a replacement. We feel so loved and taken care of by all our family and friends who helped this almost feel like a non-issue by helping us get to home and work as needed. God is such a faithful provider.

I wasn't sure if I'd be able to keep up with my health goals these past few days with all the changes and travel. But it's been a fun challenge and I'm really happy to say I've kept moving and I'm still reaching my main goals. I went to a nearby housing community with my mother-in-law, niece, nephew, and Bekah this afternoon. We did a bunch of laps around the lake and absolutely loved the warm weather. I wore Bekah in her Ergo carrier and she napped while I got my steps in. The exercise and fresh air seem to be so good for her, which is such a sweet thing for me to see. When we came home, the two of us sat on the swing outside for a few minutes. I think exploring the outdoors with her this spring and summer will be so much fun.

A few other good things about week nine?

1. I ate a lot of kale and liked it much more than I expected. This week I want to try to make kale chips. Have you tried them before? What did you think?
2. Luke and I took a couple good long walks together this week. One around town tonight and another, a few days ago, while the sun was setting on campus. That's one of our favorite things to do together - good prayer times and conversations happen on those walks.
3. My niece is really into playing tag right now and I joined in a lot quicker than I would have before. I have more energy and I feel less self conscious when it comes to being active.
4. My baby turned 9 months!!! That isn't really related - but, man, she is the best.  

How was your week? You should tell me some good things that happened. :)

Love,

Bonnie

Detail: Sharing my Health Journey {week nine 3.11.15}

0 Sharing my Health Journey {week eight 3.4.2015}

I'm checking in late tonight after another pretty good week. :) The exercise is still going well. Most of my exercise is happening inside and towards the end of the day. It's all working out pretty nicely that way - but I wouldn't mind finding ways to spread it out throughout the day.

The other night I was talking with Luke and I told him I felt a little weird about the past 3-4 weeks all looking about the same. I was wondering if that was a bad thing, but he really encouraged me with his response. He basically reminded me that I'm building habits and if every week were completely different, that might not be so good. Things in this journey still feel strong and steady and I'm thankful for that. I think taking some time to learn about making healthy food decisions would be a good next step.

We had one of our "every 21 days" celebrations this week (a couple weeks late). The three of us went out to dinner and had such a nice time. I think the next celebration will be going out together to buy new running shoes. Both of us are due for a new pair pretty soon- my last ones were bought in the middle of high school - and the new shoes will be added motivation to get out there and exercise... with comfy, well-supported feet. :)

By the way, in very important exercise-related news: Bekah is now a crawler!! Well, she's about 98% there. It's sort of an army crawl but it's the coolest thing to watch her move around and chase after stuff. Yay Bek! You're awesome!

This week, I thought it would be fun to make a bucket list of activities and healthy choices for the week ahead. I'll still complete my daily FitBit goals, this will just help me add some variety. The FitBit goals have served as such a good standard each day. Having measurable daily goals has been a huge help to me. If you want to chat about my experience with the FitBit - feel free to ask any questions! I love that thing. :)

1. Walk to the mailroom

2. Go on a walk with a friend

3. Take a family walk after dinner

4. Walk on the treadmill for 20 minutes one morning. 

          Quick side note - our neighbors gave us a free compact treadmill. It was so, so nice of them!

5. Try out a new healthy recipe

6. Take a walk outside (even if it's cold)

7. Do a REFIT workout 

8. Run in place for a 30 minute stretch 

         I did this one tonight but forgot to take a picture

9. Take a "just for fun" trip out of the house and carry Bekah in the Ergo 

10. Choose something healthy over a dessert option

11. Do a FitBit challenge with my aunt and sister

12. Narrow down new running shoe choices

13. Try a new, healthy, easy snack

14. Dance with Bekah when we've been sitting for a while

It's your turn! If this seems like something that would be helpful to you, share your list with me! I'd also love some healthy snack and meal suggestions. It's always fun to get recipes from friends. :) I hope you're having a great week.

Love,

Bonnie

Detail: Sharing my Health Journey {week eight 3.4.2015}

0 Sharing my Health Journey {week seven 2.25.2015}

Week seven is all done. It was another really good week even though it was still very cold and icy. If I had to describe the week in a word, it would be steady. The good exercise habits feel really strong and engrained in me. It's hard to write about a week that just felt normal and good and steady, so I thought this week I'd just share a bunch of thoughts with you. Here are a few thoughts that kinda describe where I'm at on this health journey, what I'm looking forward to, and how I'd like to challenge myself this week. So here we go!

1. I have no idea what to expect when the time comes to start running outside. That scares me a little. I don't know if I'll be surprised or disappointed with my endurance - but I'm definitely excited to try it out. I've been running in place, inside, for a couple weeks now and I really like it. I've been doing longer running intervals every so often to push myself. Maybe this is the week to get outside?? We'll see! I might just need to brave the cold - I miss you, sunshine and changing scenery!

2. A couple weeks ago we were driving through Valley Forge National Park and saw a bunch of runners on the paths. The views there are just amazing. When the warmer weather comes, I'd love to do a running date there with Luke. I can't remember if I've told him about that yet, but I think he'll really like the idea, too. 

3. I've been thinking about what makes a good "every 21 days" celebration. I thought buying something every twenty one days would be motivating, but I think I'm just more motivated by quality time. Celebrations like going out for a family dinner, or maybe even doing a date at one of those big trampoline parks, would be a lot of fun. We still due for our second celebration so maybe we can make one of those happen in the next week or so. I'd love to hear your ideas for good quality time celebrations.

4. Last night was the first night I just went to bed instead of finishing my exercise or writing this post. That felt really weird but it was a good choice, I think. I was so worn out and, as a result, super emotional - it was pretty clear I needed a good full night of sleep. One cool thing that came out of that whole situation was that I wasn't as hard on myself as I would have been in the past. I didn't feel guilty or lazy or anything like that - I just knew it would be good as a wife and a mom and, well, a person if I got some rest. So I browsed through The Nesting Place  again and fell asleep peacefully. :)

5. One of my goals for this year is to run a 5k. Each year my family does the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning. I've shared here before that running seemed terrifying and absolutely not fun to me in the past, but with all these changes happening, I think this would be a great year to join them for the race. 

Alrighty. I've said enough! :) How was your week?

Love,

Bonnie

Detail: Sharing my Health Journey {week seven 2.25.2015}

0 Sharing my Health Journey {week six 2.18.15}

Goodbye week six! You were good!

Another week is done. I've been wracking my brain for the last day or two trying to think of what to share in this post. It was a really good week. Nothing super special happened, but it all felt normal and like real habits are being formed. I continued to meet my exercise goals each day (getting in at least 10,000 steps and over 30 minutes of "very active" exercise) and switched my rest day to Sundays - which I think will be a better fit. I'm still sort of on the fence about how to move forward with making better food choices. I didn't end up tracking my food like I had planned to last week. I was kinda disappointed in myself about that and really struggled with how to share about that here. I feel like the best way to move forward is to just learn from those mistakes, be kind to myself, and make one decision at a time. My friend Jenn mentioned something a couple weeks ago about all the little decisions we make adding up for big results - when I look at it that way, it feels way less overwhelming. Haha - anything that will help me turn down the extra ice cream. :)

The weather was sooo cold and icy this week so I've still been exercising inside. I've been running in place for 5, 10, or 20+ minute stretches and I am actually having a lot of fun with it. I run in our bedroom, often while Bekah sleeps, with my computer on the dresser so I can listen to a podcast or watch a show. My back faces a wall that has a long mirror on it, and sometimes, when I need a change of scenery, I'll turn around and run facing that direction. It is really cool seeing myself change in the mirror. From what I can remember, this is the longest I've stuck with something like this and it is crazy rewarding in more ways than I would have expected. I like the stuff that's going on in my heart when I exercise and I like giving myself little challenges, like running longer or faster. I smile a lot and I feel my endurance building and that's a really neat feeling! I'm still trying to figure out how Bekah feels about seeing me run in place. She seems a little suspicious.

It's hard to believe but our next 21 day celebration is coming up on Sunday! I wrote about those celebrations, and why we do them, in this post. Luke's helping me decide how we'll celebrate this one. Hmm... I've got some thinking to do. Hopefully next week I'll share about that celebration and the incredible amount of time I was able to spend outside ;) (come on, Spring!). Hello, week 7!

Have a great rest of the week, friends! Thanks for reading.

Love,
Bonnie

Detail: Sharing my Health Journey {week six 2.18.15}

0 Sharing my Health Journey {week five 2.11.15}

Another week is done! This one felt so different than the others. Last week I shared that a big struggle for me was the amount of time it was taking to get my 10,000 steps each day, mostly because of the types of exercise I was doing. I expect it to take time, and putting in the time is really important - but it was getting to the point that other necessary stuff was getting pushed to the back burners. I asked God for wisdom about that situation and ended up with a sort of funny solution.

Running has always scared me. I think it might have something to do with dealing with asthma as a kid - that feeling of not having enough breath was too common and so unpleasant. In my post for week four, I mentioned that I had given running a try again. It was freezing out that day and the cold air burned. During every little portion of running I thought "this is the last one - I don't think I can run anymore after this". But sure enough, when I went back to walking, I'd catch my breath a little and feel a real desire to run again. That was a pretty cool feeling and I felt that some new hope and joy was developing there.

I found an old, free copy of Jesse Owen's (a 1936 olympian runner/broad jumper) autobiography in our school library. I started reading it around the day I tried running again - and then that night I had a dream about running. And it was so fun! I think this has been one of the coolest parts of this health journey so far. I'm getting excited about something that has always scared me and felt off limits before.

It's been very icy the past week or two, so there haven't been a ton of opportunities to run outside. So the funny solution? Running in place (not with Bekah - I just liked that picture). Sometimes for 5, 10, 20+ minutes at a time. I'll watch a video and just run. Haha - I sort of feel like I'm cheating the steps or something... but I guess that's not really possible? I feel stronger and like my endurance is better each day with that. I get sweaty and happy and excited to run outside. Hopefully the ice will melt away for good this week and next week I'll have some outside running reports to give you. :) I'm still mixing in REFIT dance fitness and having a lot of fun - but I was ready for a little variety.

Another thing that really encouraged me this week was when my parents visited on Saturday. My mom (who is always so encouraging) said that she saw such a difference in my energy level that day. It was so sweet to hear because I was feeling that same thing! In past visits, I felt like I just wanted to melt into the rocking chair when they were here. Just because, ya know, with your parents you can kinda put down your guard and be honest about how you feel. But Saturday was so different. I wasn't discouraged. I wasn't feeling low about the tough stuff of being a mom. I was energetic and able to enjoy our visit so much more! I'm so thankful for that. If eating better and living a more active lifestyle can help me be more present during family time - then both those things are so worth holding on to.

A couple things I want to work on this week? 1) Eat less sweet stuff/junky food, more whole foods, keep track of food 2) Get outside and give running a try again and again 3) Start the day in prayer and praise and check my attitude/heart first thing.

Thanks for following along again this week! I'd love to hear about any kind of health or habit changes you've been making, too.

Love,
Bonnie

If you'd like to check out the previous posts in my health journey - here they are!

 

 

Detail: Sharing my Health Journey {week five 2.11.15}

0 Sharing my Health Journey {week four 2.4.15}

It's February! And week four is done!

Wow. What a week. In one word this week was: emotional. No idea why, it just hit me like a ton of bricks. I was able to make my main goals every day (minus my normal rest day and the day I had a stomach bug) - so that was good! I think the biggest challenge this week was feeling discouraged. The funny thing is, if I was hearing this from a friend, I'd ask her what she had to feel discouraged about - she met her goals and stuck it out! The discouragement hit me at really weird times during exercise. I felt like my head couldn't connect with my feet and it was frustrating. Occasionally, during a workout, I wanted to flop on my bed and cry. Haha - I know. so dramatic.

I think the reason I was feeling so low came down to a couple things...
1. Exercise has been taking a lot of time each day. Good stuff takes hard work and time, so I'm okay with that. The tough part is figuring out how to balance some of the other things that keep getting put on the back burner. I am trying to not be too hard on myself about it - all throughout life we have to adjust to new schedules and figure things out. That's totally okay. I'm looking forward to making some small, baby step progress on this area in week five.

2. I've mentioned before that I'm working on eating healthier portion sizes. This has been a good change - I enjoy food more and even feel more thankful for it - rather than feeling like I need to rush for seconds. This week I wasn't consistent with logging my food intake on the FitBit app, and I wonder if there were a few days that I should have been eating more calories. I felt slow. Nursing a baby burns something like 500 calories a day and I often forget that. I want to make sure I'm taking good care of this body and putting enough food in it that helps and doesn't hurt.

source: annvsokamp.com via facebook

I want to celebrate a little before finishing off this post today (mostly because I want to kick this discouragement thing in the butt) I made it another week! I am so excited about that and feel like this is totally God's grace and kindness helping me stick it out. I'm not sure I've ever stuck with new health habits for this long. This week I even tried running. Running has always freaked me out but I gave it a try yesterday and I'll keep trying it.

Having this place to share and keep me accountable each week is really good. During tough moments throughout the week, I think a lot about what I'll share here. So thanks for reading. :) I'd love to hear about what's going on in your life, too. And of course, if you have any tips about things that have worked for you in these areas, please teach me!

Love,
Bonnie

Detail: Sharing my Health Journey {week four 2.4.15}

0 Sharing my Health Journey {week three 1.28.15}

Week three is done and today was my rest day!

It was a really great week. There were a handful of moments during exercise where I just felt sleepy and blah and unmotivated. I learned that if I would just smile a little more or challenge myself to do the hard REFIT song, I would end up so motivated and excited about what I was doing. I've reached my 10,000 step goal and 30+ very active minutes goal every day (except on my weekly rest day) and love the FitBit so much for keeping track of all that.

One of my favorite moments of the week was when a friend told me she had noticed a difference in my appearance. That was crazy encouraging. I feel a big difference (in so many ways), but seeing physical fruit of the work is really, really cool too. So thanks, friend, for your kind words. They really meant a lot!

Another thing I loved about week three was getting out of the house and taking long walks around campus. We had a few days that were cold (but not too cold), so I was able to bundle up a little and get my steps in outside. I am really looking forward to the warmer weather and all the exercise opportunities that will open up. But for now, I'm liking winter. Finding ways to exercise even on the super cold days is kind of fun.

Sunday will mark 21 days since I first reached 10,000 daily steps. Luke and I decided that every 21 days we'll do a little celebration. I think this week we'll go out to dinner together, but I'm trying to brainstorm some other fun reward ideas. I am taking this health journey one day at a time - it helps me so much to look at it like that. They say it takes 21 days to build a habit, so every 21 days we're going to celebrate, have fun, and thank God for these new healthy habits that are forming.

Thanks for following along again.
Loved ya, week three. I'm ready for week four!

Love,
Bonnie

Detail: Sharing my Health Journey {week three 1.28.15}

0 Sharing my Health Journey {week two 1.21.15}

So the second week of my health journey has come to a close and I'm feeling good.

The changes and new habits look pretty much the same as they did last Wednesday, but I feel like I'm learning more day by day. For example, at first, trying to get the 10,000 daily steps felt like I couldn't focus on anything else all day. But each day I started to get a better feel for what I could do in the morning, during nap times, and just with free chunks of time here and there to get in extra exercise.

I am still having so much fun with REFIT videos. I even got over a bunch of my shyness and now allow Luke to be in the room when I'm doing them. Haha! He has been so encouraging and gives me "dares" - like doing the two hardest songs back to back. I think those challenges really help me push myself and I end up having more fun.

In general, after a week with the new habits, I have more energy and I'm eating better, too. For a while I've known that the portion sizes I was eating were just too big. I've been tracking my calorie intake on the FitBit and doing pretty well with that! This week I'd like to focus on getting more greens into my diet and incorporating fruits or veggies into every meal.

Two days ago, I completed my 10,000 steps and some other goals for the 8th day in a row. I was feeling good but it seemed like my body was saying "Bonnie, you're going to need rest soon". The next day (yesterday) I woke up and just felt weird. Kinda achy, really sleepy, a little sick feeling. Honestly, I was worried about taking a rest day. I was afraid that if I took a day off I'd feel guilty and loose my motivation. But it was pretty clear that I needed a day to regain strength. I got some advice from my sister about how she approaches days off from exercise and that helped a lot. I told Luke at the beginning of the day that I wanted him to correct me if I started speaking badly about my body during the day. That yucky self-destructive talk sneaks in so quickly. I hadn't struggled with it all week but then the day I chose to rest, that spirit of accusation (you're lazy, you're unhealthy, etc.) tried to take over. This verse is so powerful... I shared it last week and thought about it when those "I can't do this" thoughts nagged at me.

When I only encourage thoughts that match Christ's character it makes a big, big difference.  

So just to sum up the week: it was a great week! I am loving the exercise, enjoying food much more (in healthier portion sizes), and I'm really thankful for what I have. I had a great day off where my body regained some strength and I remembered how important it is to rest. Choosing to rest is a trust thing - it makes me remember that God is the one carrying me through this and it's not about what I can do in my strength. Today starts a new week. I'm looking forward to a great week three!

Thanks for joining for me this journey.

Love,
Bonnie

Leaving you with another super fun video from REFIT REV today. Let me know if you try it out! 

And here's my playlist again if you want to see more. 

Detail: Sharing my Health Journey {week two 1.21.15}

0 Sharing my Health Journey {week one 1.13.15}

A few months back I became interested in getting a FitBit. I did a little research and it seemed like something that would encourage me to become (and stay) more active. Well, some time passed, and a couple weeks ago Luke used Christmas money to buy me a FitBit Flex. He's so nice. :) I've only had it for a handful of days, but I am loving it so far. And even better, I'm seeing a lot of my habits improve!

My plan is to wear the FitBit on my wrist everyday and try my best to reach the goals suggested on the FitBit dashboard. If you're not familiar with what those goals look like, here's a screen shot of the app that tracks my activity, food, and water throughout the day:

The first is Sunday - it's a pretty good reflection of what a day looks like when I don't put much focused effort into being active.

The second is Monday - it was the first day I reached the steps goal. Big difference!

Then the third dashboard is this morning around 8:30am after morning Refit

Monday afternoon I told Luke that I'd like to start sharing my health journey here on Strong and Sweet. After 23 years with this body, I have been through plenty of ups and downs about how I view it. I've hit lows of self hatred and highs of contentment and thankfulness for the body God gave me. One common theme I've noticed is that when I'm caring for my body, I am much more thankful for it - even if there are still things I'd like to see change.

So here's the plan: I'll aim to share a weekly post here about my health journey. I'll highlight some of the highs, the lows, and the other things on my mind about the week. Consider this a conversation, so if you want some encouragement on things you're working through, too, I'm your girl!

1. Monday was the first day that I met the 10,000 step goal. That felt so good and satisfying. I was pretty surprised by how much extra effort I had to put in to reach the goal! My legs were good and wobbly Tuesday morning. 
2. Keeping a big, refillable water bottle around makes a big, big difference in reaching my goal of 64 oz of water a day. Special thanks to my bro-in-law, Jackson, for my 24.7 oz water bottle that makes this easier. (He also got Bekah a matching one... ah!!)
3. I've been using the ReFit Rev youtube videos and I'm enjoying them so much. I made a playlist on YouTube with some of their videos. It's kinda like Zumba. I just pull it up on my computer and do the exercise routines in the living room or in the bedroom if Bekah is still sleeping. I try to do 4-6 songs in the morning and then a bunch more in the evening. It is really, really fun. I am totally not a dancer but I still find myself smiling as I loose my breath and feel the burn. Give it a try! I'll link to one of my favorites and my playlist below.     
4. I was worried about getting enough exercise during these cold winter months, but I found a fun (and kinda weird) solution. I take walks around the halls of our apartment building. I think yesterday I did like 6-7 laps through the halls and even ran into a few friends along the way. :) That mixed with Refit Rev and just generally trying to stay active most of the day has, so far, been getting me to 10,000 steps (and wobbly legs).
5. Tuesday morning I woke up feeling not so excited about starting over at zero steps. There was some discouragement there so I've been trying to be pretty proactive about catching those thoughts and replacing them with encouraging thoughts instead. Sort of like 2 Corinthians 10:5. 

Alrighty, friends. Bekah is napping and I've lunch to eat and dishes to do. If there's any take away from this, I think it's that there is a way to move in the direction of our goals and better health. This is an area where I've struggled for a long, long time, so it feels good to be moving in the right direction, even with simple changes. Thanks for being a part of that by following along!

How's your week going? Any tips on how you stay active on busy days? 

Love,

Bonnie

Oh! And here's one of my favorite ReFit Videos if you'd like to try it out. Click here for my playlist.

Detail: Sharing my Health Journey {week one 1.13.15}