Day 49: May I Borrow Your Catholicism?

No, I am not Catholic. And that is the extent of information that I will tell you about my spiritual/religious beliefs. This blog is about health, which includes a connection between the mind, body, and soul...but that's about as much of it you're going to hear from me. K, thanks.

Moving on...I write this blog the day before Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday). And I write this blog, because come Ash Wednesday, a friend and I have challenged ourselves to go completely vegan and gluten free until Easter--as well as make a pact that we will be physically active (work out) at least 5 days a week. (It just so happens, that this 40-day period is also the time of year when Catholics are known to fast, called Lent).

Many people, including myself, typically associate Lent as a time to "give something up." From my understanding, the true tradition of the holiday actually comes from the fasting that Jesus took part in for 40-days in the wilderness. I have found that "Lent" can mean a lot of different things to different people...whether it is giving up a vice, giving up certain foods/beverages, or giving yourself up completely (to God).

To all Catholics and spiritual friends out there who practice this holiday with full religious intentions, please do not be offended about anything I say in this blog. In no way do I mean to show disrespect to your beliefs.

But for me, personally, Lent is a challenge. A challenge to better myself, my body, my soul, and my mind. It means making an honest change within myself when all is said and done. When I gave up my addiction with soda in high school, it became so much easier to continue giving it up. Giving up superstitions was an honest change as well (trust me). And while, yes, I could do this any time...Lent is a time where I can make my change with the support of others around me who are also making sacrifices.

This year, I am going 100% vegan. I've written in my past blogs that I want to go vegan, and I've managed to change my diet for about 85% of the food I eat in a week. However, when going out to eat or dining at someone's house, I still maintain that I do not want to be a complicated guest (not to mention, I love sushi, seafood, steak, cheesecake, chocolate...) <---See how hard this is going to be?

On top of going vegan, I will be giving up gluten. While I don't believe I necessarily have an allergy to wheat products, my partner-in-crime for this endeavor does. Not to mention, I do become very addicted to them once I start. Which means, instead of eating rice and veggies, I chow down on bread. And only bread. All. Day. Long. Not so good.

Finally, the third part of the challenge will be to work out (or take part in a physical activity, such as Dodgeball!) 5 out of 7 days a week. And that means 30 minutes+ of intense, constant exercise or 1 hour+ of mild exercise.

Writing down my goals on this blog has helped me so far. I rarely get stomach aches like I used to, I rarely feel lethargic for no reason, and most nights I have been sleeping better. Not to mention my clothing is fitting better, my energy is up, and I feel freaking GREAT!

So now, I'm kicking it up 10 notches and working my way to being even healthier, more energetic, and sexier in that little black dress!

And I'm sooooo excited that one of my closest friends will be doing the same thing right along side of me!!! (Hopefully we won't do too much damage tomorrow when we celebrate Mardi Gras and watch Lost!) And I will be even more excited if one of my favorite ladies follows through with her plan to give up all meat, and my favorite man gives up red meat (or some kind of junk food?)! The more people, the more motivation!

Are you giving up anything for Lent? Or do you need some motivation? Let me know!!!

Day 13: I'm So Excited, and I Just Can't Hide It!

Just the other day I realized that all of my blogs have been about food. My goal was to write about my journey to a healthier lifestyle...which of course involves my dietary intake. However, it also includes a slew of other things like EXERCISE!!! (And mental health, sleep, etc.)

So...I'm going to focus this blog on my physical activity in the past week. Which, let me just say...my new Nikes are coming in the mail TOMORROW!!! SOOO excited!

A personal trainer once told me that I should be getting 3 hours of cardio and at least 1.5 hours of strength training in a week (I think it was something like that). I never realized how hard it would be to find that kind of time, because in high school and college I had either the time or the energy to bust ass at the gym. Twice a day.

Instead...this was my week:

Monday: Went to the gym around 9pm and did an hour of eliptical while watching Family Guy (awesome).
Tuesday: Planned to work out after a meeting for the Virginia Production Alliance, but ended up catching up w/ my friend Meredith until about 11:30pm. Only drank two beers, but definitely no energy for a late, late night workout.
Wednesday: Too cold to go to the gym, and roomies were hanging out downstairs. Good excuse to not work out. And I was tired...excuses excuses.
Thursday: Had to make up for a lazy Tuesday and Wednesday, so woke up at 6:30 to do an intense 30-minute Jillian Michaels routine. Then started getting tired Thursday night, but my amazing boyfriend motivated me to get my ass up and workout...so I did another intense 30-minute Jillian Michaels routine and finished with Yoga. And felt fucking AWESOME! (Thanks, babe).
Friday: Two birthday parties to go to...from 5:30pm until 2am.
Saturday: Worked out with my boyfriend...
Sunday: I can't motivate my bf to stop smoking and start running if I'm not going to go to the gym and run with him! Except I can't run until my new shoes get in, so I did 30 minutes (over 4 miles) on the eliptical. And then came home and did 10 minutes of Jillian Michaels, chased the dog around the couch for at least 10 minutes, and worked out my arms/abs for another 10 minutes.

So lets see what that comes out to: a little over 2 hours of cardio and about 1 hour of strength? Holy shit, working out hard core is a bitch when you work a 9-5 and have a life!!!

I have a brand new appreciation for full-time-job-working, raising-a-family women who can't lose weight. Staying in shape is hard, but keep working on it and stay motivated! Chase your kids or your dogs around the house/yard and have lots and lots of (protected) sex!

I leave you with this statement found in a CNN article:

A study of healthy German adults revealed that men and women who had sex more frequently tended to be slimmer than folks who didn't have as much sex. Sex burns 50 to 60 calories per encounter, Whipple says, so sex three times a week for a month would burn about 700 calories -- or the equivalent of jogging about seven miles.
(http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/01/07/sex.health.benefits/index.html)