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Snack Smart: Late night snacking

Late night snacking has recently become the bane of my existence. After the kiddos go to bed, I’ll usually catch an 8 oclock zumba or yoga class. Then I’ll come home and lock myself away in my writer’s cave with a few cans of Diet Coke and a bowl full of cereal.

I know, not the smartest behavior on the planet. And I totally know better. Right now I can get away with it because I am running 40 + miles a week. But in less than a month, my training will be over, and I will need to batten down the hatches.

Why am I eating? Because I’ve gone and revved my metabolism by taking a late class. True, but also just because I like to have something to pop in my mouth while I’m writing. A very bad habit I need to break. Or at least substitute for grapes or berries.

Food is fuel. Do I need fuel right before I go to bed? No, probably not. So why am I filling up my tummy, go so it can sit and turn to fat while I attempt to sleep. Or have weird food dreams. (Who here hasn’t had the late night cold pizza dream)

So my new goal is to stop. If I workout late, I will have a glass of chocolate milk or protein shake when I get home, then nothing. After 7, no solid food shall pass these lips.

I’ll post an update next week and let you know how my resolve is going. Let the fridge raids cease!

Book Review: Variant

So this is my first book review. It’s something I have generally avoided, because I’m a great big chicken. When you have author friends, they all have books. Duh. And they want you to review said book. But what if you don’t like it? Do you stick to what you’re momma taught you- If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all or do you lie through your teeth? I’m going with neither. Honest and unbiased reviews. For good or bad. It’s the truth, but it’s only my truth

So why did I choose Variant by Robison Wells? For a few reasons. One, I don’t know the guy personally. I know a few of his friends, but feel no pressure to stroke any egos. Secondly, because I had been put off reading this because of a friends bad review.

Her reasoning to steer me clear? In her opinion, this was a less inventive version of Maze Runner, by James Dashner. So I went into reading this book already worried about that. I know that the James and Robison are friends. I believe they may have even been in the same critique group at one time. I have precious little reading time and didn’t want to spend it on Maze Runner lite.

My friend warned me not to read this.

I’m glad that I rarely do what I’m told.

This is probably one of the most expensive books I’ve ever read. Because after I cracked it open, I couldn’t put it down. Meaning I missed my doctor’s appointment and had to pay the $45 missed appt. fee. Robison draws you in right at the get go. Because I was already on the Maze Runner wavelength, I immediately saw some thematic similarities. New kid is thrown into already completely jacked up civilization run by kids that have no idea what the hell they are doing. New kid bucks at establishment, yet finds a little bit of comfortable life. Then that gets tossed on its head and we have the great escape where not everything is as it seems.

How many times have we heard this basic story? Not just in Maze Runner. But how many times have we heard Romeo and Juliet? Titanic anyone? Or a little book called Twilight? Great books often share common thematic elements. Or aspects of the heroes journey. It’s what the author does with those themes that make a book really special. And this book is really special.

I’m not going to get into the nitty gritty, because I don’t want to have any spoilers. But you should read this book if you like suspense, trying to figure what’s going on, then kicking yourself because you didn’t see that coming. You should also read this book if you like to think about the societal commentary long after the last page. How much do we turn a blind eye to because its convenient or easier? What is the cost to do the right thing? You should read this book for no other reason than it’s a damned fine book.

My only regret in reading it was that I didn’t wait until the sequel was in my hand. Now I have to wait and see what happens. Grrrrr..

Fitness Tip: Workout Tunes

Some people like to workout without music. They like to focus on their breath and how each muscle feels. If I did that my muscles would tell me its time to go home.

I tried reading a book on the elliptical. The up and down made me sea sick. I tried listening to audiobooks, but my panting was louder than the narrator.

So I ended up making a playlist. And because I am a brat, some of the songs are somewhat sarcastic digs at myself. But it makes me laugh and motivates me.

An example: Dixie Chicks- Ready to run, Beck- Loser, Ting Tings- That’s not my name

I’m kind of weird, in that, I have had the same playlist for a year and a half. It’s my running playlist. I have found that I can kind of zone out and chill my brain out if I know the songs that are coming. It’s a little OCD, but it works for me.

Find what works for you. What keeps you in the gym. What helps you get through that last mile. Find what makes it fun 🙂

The Long Run: Emotional hoarding

Something I’ve noticed recently is that I hold on to stuff way past their expiration date. And I’m not just talking about the milk from the freezer. I hang on to emotions and feelings way past when I should let them go.

I mean should I still be pissed at those kids from high school that moo’ed at me in the hallway?

I have to learn to let it go because it’s taking up valuable space in my life. Do I really need to keep an emotional tally of all the times my family has supported me, and more importantly, the times they have not.

Why am I still hanging onto feelings that don’t matter? Am I using it as fuel to propel me forward? No. It’s just dragging me down into old patterns of feeling inadequate.

So yesterday my post was all about cleaning my room, well today I need to clean out my feelings drawer. I might try the whole get it out into a letter and burn it idea. But I have to get all the negative hurts out before they poison me and halt my success and happiness.

Do you have problems letting it go? Better yet, do you have good tips on how to let it go? Are you an emotional hoarder too?

Exercise for the Soul: Clean your room

I don’t know about you, but my family can usually tell how stressed I am by the condition of my room. That’s right, the cleanliness of my room is in direct proportion to the clutteredness of my mind. So today’s exercise is to clean it out.
Having a clean space to go home to and lay my head down is something I find helps me relax. If I’m anxious, being in a dirty and messy room just makes me feel that much more upset. So my whole rest of the house may be a disaster, but my little corner of the world will reflect the calm I want to feel.

Potpourri: Ouch

Polls show that women are hitting the gym in record numbers. So can you guess what else has gone up in record numbers? The number of women seeking treatment for sports injuries.

Sometimes its hard to know just how much is enough. Doing too much before your body is ready can lead to overuse injuries. Another key factor in this comes from working out too hard and not giving your body enough fuel to repair itself.

Listen to your body. Being sore is one thing. It’s even good. But agonizing pain when you walk or raise your arm, not so good.

Having fun on the page – Not

When a friend told me I needed a tagline, I came up with “Having fun on the page”. Because that’s what I like to do. Be playful, light, maybe a little snarky. If I’m having fun writing , hopefully it means that the reader can have fun reading.

Lately, I have not been having fun. And it shows. My writing feels labored and forced. I’m just trying to get my character from point a to point b. Nobody has fun walking in a straight line.

My shoulders and my brain are weighed down, wondering- Is this sentence good enough? I used to able to just crank scenes out. Now I find myself second guessing whether something is worth reading.

Recently I went to LDS Storymakers conference. There were so many of my author idols in one room, it was sweat inducing. I met so many new friends, both published and published. I also went to a lot of great classes and learned things that I wouldn’t have thought of before.

But now I find myself thinking too much. I’m having trouble constructing sentences for fear that Darth Editous (yes I’m looking at you Tristi) would make my paper bleed red.

I think one of my biggest problems is that I am trying to edit before I even write it. I am worried that I don’t have enough character development, or that the plot is too simple.

Plain and simple, I am squishing my own creativity. I need to find the fun parts of the story again. After its on the page, I can worry about grammar, or whether I say was too often. I need to overcome the fear that it won’t be enough. If it’s not enough the first time, I will just have to tweak it until it is.

But I guarantee it will never be enough if I can’t even get it on the page.

And where’s the fun in that?

Mirror Image

I decided to hijack my own blog. I’m taking over Dress for Success. Why? Because it’s my blog and I can do what I want.

Really though, its because sometimes I want to share more of me and less of the how to. Sometimes I just want to have an honest discussion about something. And today’s discussion would be what I see when I stand in front of the mirror.

I see lumps and bumps and flaps of skin. Sags here, old stretch marks there. I see flaws that can be tucked, squished, or camouflaged by a well made pair of jeans. I’m absolutely positive that if anyone saw me in the buff, they would run screaming.

Mirror Mirror on the Wall, who’s the fairest of them all? I can say unequivocally that I have never once thought it was me. Not when I was fat, not now that I’m un-fat.

In the rational part of my head I know that I’m ok being exactly who I am. But the emotional part of my head feels differently. I’ve lost 75 pounds. My pant size has shrunk from 16/18 to 4/6. The evidence all points to the fact that I should be happy and ecstatic with how I look. And maybe half the time I am. But the other half, including in front of the mirror, I still wish I was different. There will always be something that can be smaller, tighter, and um… higher.

The problem is absolutely not with my body, it’s in my brain. And even though I have made great strides in my life, it takes a long time to overcome 30 years of bad self-imagery. I always had a number in my head. And if only I could reach that number on the scale, then I would be happy. Pretty.

In case you haven’t guessed, there is no magic number. How often have we heard celebrity stories of plastic surgery gone awry? They had something nipped or sculpted, hoping to feel better, but they are still the same person underneath. If we feel unworthy, it has a lot less to do with the outside, than what we are feeling on the inside. Even supermodels look in the mirror and cringe.

I don’t have the answer. I just wanted to share, because this is something that I still struggle with. And you know what, it’s ok to struggle. The word indicates a fight. I’m fighting to feel better about my body and myself as a person. It’s not a fight I’m going to win in the gym by toning up to 2% body fat. It will be a battle of wills to retrain the way I think about beauty and worth.

Today it starts with looking in the mirror and finding one thing I absolutely love. It’s my collarbone. I’m not going to let my eyes or thoughts wander any further down.

Baby steps. It’s a process.

Snack Smart: Breakfast

I am not a morning person. Truth be told, I rarely have enough time to do more than run a comb through my hair and brush my teeth.

In the old days I would grab a bite to eat on the way to wherever I was headed. As you might expect, this included donuts, cinnamon rolls, and whatever came in the bag from the drive thru.

Now, even in a hurry I have time for a quick, much healthier bite. My favorites to rotate are greek yogurt with a drizzle of honey. Or a cup of cottage cheese with berries on top. Either one is packed with protein, so I am left feeling full all morning.

If you are not a dairy person, still try to find something with protein. Kashi Go Lean is good. Or an egg.

Fitness Tip: Which exercise burns the most calories?

The title of this post asks a question: Which exercise burns the most calories?

The answer is simple. And it’s the same no matter what new fangled gadgets come out or what experts say.

The exercise that burns the most calories is the one you actually do.

If you feel cheated, I apologize, but its true. Running burns more calories than riding the cycle. But if you hate to run, then what are the odds you’ll keep doing it?

The only way to lead an active life is to enjoy it. Back in the old days, I would go the gym for an hour and kill myself trying to burn as many calories as humanly possible. Of course I was so sore for the rest of the week that I couldn’t make myself get back there. So guess how long that lasted. Not long. Then it was back to riding the couch.

Generally, it’s pretty hard to do something for the rest of your life that makes you miserable. Find something you enjoy. Something you’ll look forward to. A walk, a hike, a bike ride. Maybe a zumba class or yoga.

Doesn’t matter what it is, as long as you keep doing it. And that’s how you’ll burn the most calories.