School Year + Exhaustion = No Will Power

This week has been wonderful, stressful, and all around crazy. The pros of school starting up are numerous. I love being back in the school with all of my coworkers and the wonderful kids. I enjoy sharing my passion for math and science and creating lessons that make learning exciting. I also greatly enjoy that the day zooms by and I barely have time to sit down let alone mindlessly eat... that is until about 6pm. The minute I get home I am a starvin' Marvin and ravage anything and everything. We currently have very little in our home so I have been binging on sunflower seeds, graham crackers, popcorn, and diet pop. I know, why am I drinking diet pop again?!? Arg... I have been drinking WAY more water and that has helped a great deal. 

So how did this happen? Change in routine, over exhaustion, brain/ thoughts going a hundred miles an hour, too many things to accomplish and not enough time to finish it all! I feel like I spend so much time at the school and yet there are others who are there even longer and then I feel conflicted. Is is bad that I leave once a week by 4pm so that I can go to my favorite workout class? I'm there more than 9 hours most days?!? I go in many Sunday evenings during the school year and bring things home to work on? I am also starting to worry about my graduate courses and how  I'm going to fit those in as well as take care of my family and myself. I really don't want to see all my hard work toward my health to go down the drain due to stress.

How can I manage it? My ideas for starting fresh next week are to schedule in my workouts and to always have a plan b. I also need to make sure to pre pack healthy snacks and lunches to keep at work so I don't come home famished! I need to also spend part of Sunday pre planning evening meals, maybe that will help me to avoid binging on foods that I don't need or want to eat. Or I could plan my workouts for the evenings when I have been vegging on the couch mindlessly munching away... but I'm so tired... I will have to force myself to go to bed earlier and whatever doesn't get done... doesn't get done.

Okay, now to head to bed and set my plan in motion. (YAWN).

Back In The Game!

I am so very excited, stressed, and exhausted!

I'm stressed because I feel like I'm on a roller coaster as far as my eating and the scale go. It seems like every step forward there are two steps back and I have been stuck with in the same 5 pounds for nearly 2 months. It doesn't help that there are a constant stream of goodies at work and events to go to that also have treats. I also am stressed with the chaos that is the end of the school year. Music programs, report cards, forms, standards, clean up, check out, as well as my own children's spring/ summer activities beginning... pure CrAzInEsS! On top of that I have been asked to get my aerobic and yoga certifications renewed and to start course work for the SD Math Counts program... Ok, deep breath, things could be worse... now onto the excitement...

First off, I have been looking to change things up a bit to get off my plateau and Sunday seemed to be my day! I had two wonderful friends mention wanting me to join them in half marathons this summer, so I signed up for one (maybe the other one too but we'll start with one)! I admit that I am VERY freaked out by the idea but quickly got very excited when I went out last night to see if I could still run a 5k... and I finished in 34 minutes and ran all but the last tenth of a mile! I was SO excited and happy! It is truly amazing how this first run since starting my body transformation proved to me that I HAVE changed. My body felt lighter and much stronger. It wasn't painful, didn't make my lungs scream for oxygen like it did last spring when I started the couch to 5K program at the Y. I truly believe that all the hard work I've done in diet, aerobics, weight lifting, etc. has made my body ready for the next challenge. 

I am also excited because of an article that another friend sent me today (http://elitedaily.com/life/the-secret-to-losing-weight-is-gaining-a-new-perspective/), "The Secret to Losing Weight is Gaining a New Perspective." The part that really sparked my interest was the part about eating real food. I think that I've been avoiding taking a close look at what I eat because I know it's not healthy enough. I understand calories, fat, fiber, protein, etc. but I want to focus more on all the artificial things and eliminating all of them and sugar from not only my diet but my families diet as well. This task seems overwhelmingly daunting get highly rewarding. I know this will take quite a bit of time but I am hoping that we can make small changes throughout the summer. I know even a few small changes will help me tip the scale into my favor again!

The final thing that has me very fired up is my move up to teaching 5th grade math and science. I am very excited to teach higher level math concepts, I'm a dork and LOVE math! Although I am stressed out about signing up for the SD Math Counts program/ coursework I am also VERY thrilled to get to learn how to be a better math teacher and to understand so much more about the subject and job that I love! Science will be exciting too and getting students ready to enter the middle school will be a great adventure!

All that being said, for obvious reasons, I'm exhausted! Running around to numerous events for school, my family, working out, and keeping up with the day to day has my mind and body saying, "ENOUGH" and "GO TO BED!" I'm pretty sure it will get a little better when school ends next week but won't last long with half marathon training, running around to all my boys' summer activities, two weeks of professional development, and a two week road trip BUT it's ALL WORTH IT! Not only do I have numerous challenges and blessings to look forward to, I feel like I am back in the game. To me, that phrase means that I am pulling myself out of a rut and placing some new goals on my path to make me a better me! I'm on a improved path of fitness, health, professional development, and being a better mom (I'm amped to run my boys around to their activities all summer long and cheer them on).

I'm back in the game and feeling better than ever!

I am my own worst enemy...

This weekend has been very productive; laundry done, house cleaned, lessons planned, attended Chisel & Step Aerobics, played at the park with the kiddos, and a new blog site started. So I should feel satisfied, right?!? Wrong :(   One of the other "accomplishments" of this weekend was recording my Weight Watcher points and, lo & behold, I went over by quite a few points this weekend. Ugh! It just proves what my WW leader said yesterday, "The points you don't record today find there way onto the scale tomorrow!" I wish there was a magic pill that gave me the same will power that's motivated me to exercise as to say no to snacking, anyone know where I can find it?

Alright, my pity party is over for the day! I'll get up first thing in the morning and head to aerobics class and start the week on the right foot. Tonight I'll plan out what I'm going to eat tomorrow (including my snacks) and stick to it NO MATTER WHAT!! I do find it can be difficult to not want a snack right after working out. I just have to be more mindful and plan my breakfast after my morning workout and supper after any evening workouts. Now to say a little prayer that my mind, stomach, and will power work together...

I also wanted to mention another big decision coming up this week. Lent will be ending on Sunday and I've successfully given up pop. Now I'm struggling with whether to start drinking it again after Easter. My husband says that if I've gone this long without why start again? My mind says that I've wasted many points on coffee and creamer the past 40 days in order to keep up with all the things going on in day to day life, it would be nice to go with zero point diet pop?! Hmm... I put a survey on my blog so if you are reading this and have a minute, I'd love your opinion! :)

Start the week out on the right foot, make healthy choices and be active!