FamilyInShape

Journal: Day one on the Push Up Challenge

Journaling, I've mentioned, is one of the best things we could do to help us stay on track with fitness and nutrition.  It is a great way to be accountable to ourselves.  Grab a notebook and start writing.  What did you eat throughout the day? Were you active or sedentary? No need to be too specific, you just want to get an idea. You don't have to do it everyday, although it helps at first.  A while back I did this and realized that I wasn't drinking enough water or eating enough protein.  There was no need for me to wonder why I was dragging my feel and feeling sluggish--it was an all carb day and not good carbs either.

So here's my journal for today:

During my initial test on the hundred push up challenge I scored 15.  That means I did 15 well-formed, full body push ups.  It was what determined my course of action for the next seven weeks.

Fitness:

10-12-7-7-max 9

That's how many push ups I have to do today.  Five sets.

Easy enough.  If you're following along, remember to take the minute recovery in between sets.

A long walk awaits. I will compliment my workout today with a long walk pushing my 30 lb toddler in the jogging stroller and following the seven year old munchkin on her bike.  

Nutrition plan:  

Breakfast: Kashi Crunch cereal with 1% milk and frozen berries

Snack: Apple

Lunch: Salad- romaine lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, almonds, olive oil

Snack: Frozen Peaches

Dinner: Garlic & Mushroom Tilapia, Brown Rice, mixed vegetables

Special treat: Chocolate Eclair Pudding Pop (Skinny Cow(r))

... and of course, water all day long.

Get out or stay in but get active, alone or as a family. Eat well and stay healthy!

Stay Well,

 

Really Missing the Farmers Market

 

Photo: "Healthy Food" by Spin Diva

I suddenly came to the realization that eating organic, market-fresh, good for me fruits and vegetables was going to be nearly impossible here in GiTMO and I am disappointed because this is, after all, a tropical island where things are supposed to grow abundantly year round.  So yes, my expectations were a little on the high side.  In the Dominican Republic, where I was born, we had just about everything we needed or wanted to eat growing all around us.  Not in GiTMO.  It seems that this beautiful weather comes with it's own set of consequences.  We have warm mornings, hot afternoons and cool nights in the Winter - everything gets about 20 degrees hotter in the Summer; however, we have the pool, the beaches and the AC to keep us cool.  Overall, it really is beautiful, every single day.  So what's the problem?  It doesn't rain.  The ground is dry, vegetation is scarce and the water is tightly controlled.  That's insane, how we could be surrounded by water (albeit, ocean water) and have such arid, dessert-like terrain.  That really stinks!!

I really miss the open air, farmers markets.  If you have them in your area, learn to appreciate them, visit them often and enjoy the real flavor of the foods you eat.  Unless one exists on base that I don't know about, it looks like I will have to depend on the food that we get at the Commissary (not always the freshest or bestest), frozen fruits and veggies (very limited options) and growing my own (Yikes!), I don't have the greenest thumb but maybe out of necessity I will acquire one, who knows. Will most likely be consulting my mother-in-law frequently in matters of the garden.

This makes being a semi-vegetarian very challenging but I'm up for it and will have to see what creative recipes I can come up with using only what's available to me from the produce and frozen isles; at least until something starts to grow in my own garden.  As for the dry goods I think I can make do with what we have. Many different types of grains are not available but I'm sure I can get someone back home to send me a box of goodies with things like Eight O'Clock Colombian Whole Bean Coffee (hint, hint), Quinoa, Bulgur Wheat, Barley and Sea Salt.  

In the mean time I will continue to climb that hill, get back in the swing of things with Spinning and Swimming.  The kids are spending a lot more time outdoors and because we are in such a small base there really is no competition or try-outs for sports, the kids just join a team and play "competitively" for fun, so we're looking at tennis, soccer, swim lessons and volley ball.  I'm really excited to get all that started. 

I hope you have resolved to not make resolutions this year; instead, put your time and energy into staying active, eating well, and enjoying life indefinitely!!

Stay Well,

For more GiTMO adventures check this out:  http://lifeingtmobay.blogspot.com/

Go for a walk, up a hill

Photo by SpinDiva "Windmill Walk"

For the first time since I moved I purposely engaged in physical exercise. I figured since I've been getting my workout from running up and down the stairs, lifting heavy boxes and kids; and walking through town, on the beach, to the pool, I should still be in relatively good shape. I was staying active with the kids even though I was not Spinning(r) or doing any type of organized exercise and that was one of my goals during this moving process.  

Here, in Guantanamo Bay, it is really easy to stay active. You almost have to purposely not want to be involved with anyone to be inactive because there is something going on for the entire family just about everyday and when there isn't, it's not hard to come up with something to do.

A couple of the mom's asked me if I wanted to go for a walk up to the Windmills early in the morning. I, of course, jumped at the opportunity to workout and have some fun company. The walk to the Windmills can range between 2.5 and 3.5 miles. It all depends where you start. The intensity can also vary depending on what you bring with you, a bottle of water vs. a stroller with a toddler. I drove the trail about a week ago and remembered thinking what a painful walk or run that would be because it is most definitely steep and unforgiving. It wold be a challenge.

Obviously, I have selective memory because when we started walking on this beautiful, warm morning I though "oh it may be challenging but I can do this a few times over." (So arrogant!!) NOT!!! or Not yet anyway. I walked with my friend and her toddler in the stroller, at first she pushed and I just held my water bottle. I could see pushing the stroller would add to the challenge so we decided to take turns pushing. Every time we turned I thought this must be the last one and every time I was wrong. The last strip was straight up right to the windmill. OUCH! Coming back was a piece of cake.

But can I just say how sore I am today and not just my legs. I expected everything from the hips down to be sore. Not my arms, back, chest and abs. Everything hurts!!! But it hurts in a good way. I needed to feel my muscles again. I needed to get a cardiovascular workout that would challenge me. Even though I am sore today, I feel great and feel a great sense of accomplishment. I will tackle that hill again soon. That will most definitely be part of my workout routine in the new year.

I hope you are finding ways to stay active alone or with your family. Have fun, despite the weather, and have a happy, energized, fantastic year 2010!!

Stay well, stay safe!

Staying in the Now

Photo by SpinDiva 

"Surrender is the simple but profound wisdom of yielding to rather than opposing the flow of life. The only place where you can experience the flow of life is the Now, so to surrender is to accept the present moment unconditionally and without reservation... It is to relinquish inner resistance to what is." ~ Eckhart Tolle

~ ~ ~

Life. It has been somewhat complicated these past two weeks. We've been packed, the vehicle has shipped, we live in a hotel suite smaller than my old bathroom but the kids are happy. I was a little worried about their reaction to moving and leaving dear friends behind. I must have done a really good job somewhere along the way (yes, padding myself in the back right now) because I expected trouble all the way to the end. Instead they are excited, sad to leave friends, as am I, but excited for this new adventure to begin. A few more days of this craziness and we're on our way from 45 degrees and foggy to 85 degrees and clear. I can live with that! I can't wait to share our adventures and life in Guantanamo. I have a feeling we will have some interesting stories to tell. I do hear you saying "I don't know how you do it all." Well I have friends reminding me that I should forget about the statement "it is what it is" and remember that "it is...what you make of it." So I choose to make it a positive experience, even in the midst of stress and chaos. 

I admit there were a few moments I thought I'd loose my mind and the stress monster tried very hard to take me down (i.e. when I thought I lost my wallet one week prior to moving) but I resisted, talked myself out of an anxiety attack and guess what, I found my wallet exactly where I left it, under the bathroom sink.  

WHAT? Doesn't everyone use this space for their wallet? Surely you must have put the cereal in the fridge and the milk in the pantry at some point in your life!!

OK call me crazy. Well, then again, don't. That would just be mean.

I will continue to remind myself that right here, right now is really all that matters so I will continue to only focus on that which I can control, everything else will fall into place nicely.

Stay well people,

 

Could be overwhelming - refocus

Photo by me... out of focus flowers

Out of time. Out of energy. TIME TO REFOCUS!

The Kids. My School. My Job. The Big Move to Cuba! Our House! It's a lot to think about. It's a lot to plan without loosing my mind.

We have a big move coming up in about six weeks and I wish I could say that I can just sit here and wait until the day comes.  NOT SO! A lot has to be done in between and with hubby already gone, it's all on me, again!! (not feeling bitter at all).  Part of my service to our country, to make sure his family is moved smoothly from the comfort of our home to a foreign country, as long as he is not stressed and can do his job well, that's all that matters.  (If you feel a little sarcasm in my *voice* you got it right).  Truly, I'm sure he would rather be here helping us get ready but he's not so I must adapt, right?!

Over the next few weeks I have to de-crap my closets.  Isn't it amazing how much stuff we accumulate over the years.  We have never been stationed in one place more than two years, needless to say, the 'toss-keep-donate' process happens easily and with much, much less hassle. This time we were blessed and stayed here four years -- a long stretch for us.  However, I have more stuff to 'store-toss-donate-keep' because during out stay we added a baby and sent a child into the grown up world.  He had a lot of stuff crap in his room.  Amazing how much I had to throw away, mostly school stuff.

As I was reorganizing the closets and going through our clothes I realized that half of our clothes would be unsuitable for our new home..ya know... winter clothes in a tropical country, probably a good idea to let these sit in storage until we return to a place with more than one season.  Then there are the toys, kids clothes, shoes, old coats, baby items...wow.  By the way, if you hate to throw out the stuff you don't use you have a few options.  One, of course is your local thrift store.  Another option is www.freecycle.org.  I offered several items, left them on my driveway and later whomever wanted them came over and picked them up. How cool is that.  Recycling is the way to go.  I know another option is having a yard sale but to be honest, I hate hosting yard sales, I don't have the patience, it's a lot of work so if I have something worth selling I go for Craig's list, where I sold my Van by the way or eBay.

So finding the time and energy to clean up the house and get it ready for the packers, write my papers for school, get the kids where they need to be on time and still manage to laugh has been a bit of a challenge these days.

Well, a few things help me stay focused regardless of how tired I am or what chores need to get done:

I am keeping my date at the gym constant - it is my place to find sanity and the one thing I can control. I have also added a 2 -3 mile walk at night with one of my neighbors, Maria.  We have a chance to talk without kid interruptions and I have a chance to clear my head.

I am going to bed at a reasonable time so that I can be well rested to take on the next day.  It's not all that uncommon for me to stay up late and get up super early just so I can catch up, but in the end, I end up so tired that I get less done.  So I'm working on 7 hours of sleep being my norm, not four or five.

I am being careful about what I eat and when because I already know that when I'm stressed I could easily breakdown the walls and go for whatever I'm craving - that could be really ugly.  So I just don't buy the stuff I know I'll crave and stick with my healthy foods.  It's easier to avoid my potential stress related train wreck with food.

Last, but not least, keeping up with my to-do list and calendar.  They are my compass right now.  I like the idea that I don't have to store anything in my head or try to remember if or when I did something. Just write it down and set a little electronic reminder, done!!

I'm committed to stay motivated and treat myself well because if my (mental, physical, spiritual) health fails I can't take care of my precious little people.

Stay Well,