These are my confessions...

"Never confuse movement with action." -- Ernest Hemingway

I'm a control freak. I always have been. The more that I can control things in my life, the happier I am. There are probably a million psychological reasons for why I am this way, but that's a tale for a different post in a different blog. Suffice it to say, however, that I do try to control most things that I can exert some control over. So why is controlling my food so friggin' hard for me? (Full disclosure - I had a Krispy Kreme donut tonight while thinking about this blog.)

As I mentioned on a recent post, I've had a love/hate affair with food when I was just 7 years old. I've been working on it a lot as of late, but it still isn't where it needs to be (See: Krispy Kreme mention above). I don't know if the fates are trying to tell me something or what, but I've had a number of invitations to try new diets or programs this week. A mentor challenged me to attend an Overeater's Anonymous meeting by the end of the month. A number of friends have invited me to try the beach body/Shakeology plan. Another friend has tried to get me to do some tea diet with her. And Natasha has invited me to try the Whole30 Challenge with her running friends (you can join that challenge by visiting the Facebook group here). Can I ask for a bigger sign? (As if the glaring, growing number on the scale isn't sign enough. Ha!)

I'm taking a few days off to staycation with a friend of mine visiting from Florida. I'm going to do my best to make healthy choices, but... vacation. (Can't have vacation without a Mojito!) That said, I have already committed to Natasha to join her Whole30 challenge for at least 1-2 meals a day for the remaining duration of that group (end of April). Something has got to give, and while I don't like the idea of eliminating whole food groups to kickstart a healthier lifestyle, this may just be the kick in the pants I need to succeed. The trick will be finding Whole30 compliant meals when eating out as that's usually my social time :)

Speaking of usual, I'm up WAY past my bedtime. I need to be at work at 6am if everything is going to go according to plan tomorrow. Ugh. In the meantime, I wanted to take a moment to write down my commitment to Whole30 starting on Tuesday (April 19th) - even if that means I'm only participating for 10 days out of 30. Additionally, I want to publicly commit to my other health/wellness goals for the remainder of the month, including:

• Increasing my water intake from 90oz/day to 120oz/day
• Limiting my sugar intake to 25-30g/day
• Eliminating fast food (exception: The Flame Broiler's veggie and chicken bowl without sauce)
• Running at least 2x/week for 30 minutes, and 5 miles on the weekend
• Meeting with my trainer at least once/week, and committing to strength training at least 2x/week

These are realistic goals, so I should meet them. If I don't, I may just need to give one of the other plans/programs recommended to me some more thought. The thought of keeping a food diary just kills me. But... if it helps, it helps. What do you do to keep yourself accountable? Have you tried any diets/plans/etc. to help change your eating habits?

Well, I'm off to bed. If I'm lucky, I might squeeze in 5 hours of sleep tonight. Here's hoping! Hope the rest of you have a great weekend. 

Cheers!

Becks

Race Crazy (So I signed up for another runDisney race)

"I have to pretend, when I run, that I'm avenging the murder of my husband. I have to have these elaborate fantasies to motivate myself... I can't just be motivated by, like, 'Oh, this is good for my health! I should be trim because I'm an actress in Los Angeles.' That won't work for me. I'll just stay in bed. So, I have to be like, 'Okay, what am I doing?'"

-- Mindy Kaling

It's after 11pm on a Sunday night, and all that I can think about is how much I do not want to run in the morning. Let's be honest here - the only way I'm running in the morning at this rate is if my dog runs away from me on our morning walk or a bee starts chasing me (or both). Me thinks a morning latte and a nice walk will have to suffice for tomorrow... but I can only give myself one more pass.

For a good 6 month last year, I actually liked running in the morning. It was a great way to wake me up - it felt good to get my blood moving. After a month or so of running a mile every morning, I decided to sign up for the Star Wars Half Marathon at Disneyland. Yes, my little morning mile every morning gave me the stupid confidence to think I could 12.1 more (in a row!) just six months after registering. If you've read this blog for a while, you know exactly how well that went... I finished, but I know I could have done better!

Since finishing the Star Wars Half Marathon, my running has been... nonexistent. I think I've ran a collective 20 (?) miles since that race, including the 10K I ran the weekend after (again... the word "run" is used incredibly loosely here) and two 5Ks that I have yet to blog about. I knew I wanted to do another half after I finished the Star Wars half. One of my best friends from home has tried to convince me to run a half marathon near my hometown, but a hilly half in Durango, CO kind of scares me to death! The elevation where I train is a scant 300' - Durango is over 6,500'! I almost signed up for a half in Ventura... but chickened out and signed up for a 10K instead. But then I heard about Wine and Dine, and...

image via Disney

I signed up for Lumiere's Challenge! Scratch that - I actually signed up for the Wine & Dine Half Marathon with the Disney Annual Passholders, only to upgrade (after much debate and $45 in transfer fees) to the Challenge like a crazy person. I don't know what I was thinking. Not familiar with runDisney challenges? During each runDisney half marathon weekend, Disney "challenges" runners to do a 10K on Saturday followed by a half marathon the next day. Successful runners earn both the 10K and half marathon medals, plus they get a super sweet challenge medal to commemorate the feat. This will be the longest I have ever "ran" in a single weekend, and will be the most expensive race I have ever run. But if I finish (make that - WHEN I finish), I get those three medals plus the Disney Coast-to-Coast challenge medal for finishing two half marathons at two Disney parks in the same calendar year!

So... why did I do it? Training for the Star Wars Half Marathon last year was the best decision I had made in a really long time. It was hard work, but it was inspiring. Talking about it to friends at work (and abroad) helped keep me accountable, so I stuck with my training (even when I really wanted to binge Netflix and eat cupcakes). I wasn't perfect - there were days I should have trained and didn't. There were days I should have pushed myself, and I walked instead. But... I did it. I finished it. I haven't been so proud of myself in a very long time.

So... here we go! I know that signing up for the Challenge was crazy, but a year ago I thought that a half marathon was impossible. What impossible things will you strive for this year? :)

Cheers!

Becky

The Whole What?

*Please be advised that this post includes references to poop.  Reader discretion advised.

I'm sure that you've heard of this madness called the Whole 30 by now.  The basic premise is that everything that you are eating is making you sick and you need to stop.  When I first heard about this I wasn't particularly interested in eliminating anything from my diet.  My diet was pretty solid until about Halloween, but it's been going downhill pretty steadily since then.  I think I've officially hit rock bottom (see illustration below).  It's true that I've never met a cake, pie, cookie or doughnut that I didn't like.  However, I've just been feeling sick lately.

Fortunately, I don't live in SoCal or Hollywood and no one is looking at my beach body on a regular basis. Even if they were, I've developed the "if you don't like it, don't look at it" attitude with regards to my figure (ah, the blessings of growing older).  I just don't feel good, and something has to give.  When I say I don't feel good, I am talking about being tired ALL THE TIME for no reason.  They say to nap when the baby is napping.  I still do that and my baby is almost 3!  That's two hours that I could be spending binge-watching Hulu or doing laundry ( probably Hulu).  I crave sugar all the time, all day long and I'm grouchy without my morning coffee or Big Gulp.

Also, why is my bra so tight?  Is the dryer shrinking my pants?  Oops!  Lately, I've been afraid to look down.  I've been wearing hoodies and big shirts because I'm afraid to look at and confront whatever lies beneath!  Let's not forget the adult acne issue.  Junk food equals no poop!  Anything that stops traffic in your colon for 4-7 days at a time can't be good for you.  We need roughage!  Fun times all around, I know.

These are all of the reasons that I'm giving Whole 30 a try.  I was thinking about trying the whole moderation thing, but I'm just not good with moderation.  I'm an all or nothing kind of gal.  I almost forgot about the kiddies.  They want to eat sugar all day every day too and that's probably my fault.  My gothic adventure starts today.  I'm going to try to remember why I started and what could possibly be gained.  I can't promise that I'll last 30 days, or even until lunch time, but here's hoping!

For more information, you can visit their website:  http://whole30.com/whole30-program-rules/.

Natasha