New Favorite Exercise App!

I sincerely apologize for being so distant with this blog!! I really love to share all the exciting things I discover, but I will be the first to admit, I'm still adjusting to the move we made last year.  Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love everything about where we are living, and the school my kids are attending, but the adjustment has been huge as we have changed everything about our lives.

From country living to city, from being 15-20 minutes away from the nearest stores/friends/civilization to being 5 minutes from everything and seconds away from friends. (There are 6 families in our court that we go to church with each week and have kids the same age) I've also started to work a few hours a day, first time since 1998 when we moved back home and decided to start a family.  I could go on and on, but who wants to hear the details?  We moved. I am still adjusting. Period.

Okay, the reason for this post.  THIS APP!  I love it!  I like to be active, I really do, but I have feast and famines when it comes to it, so to have an app break things down into baby steps I can do is heaven sent!

The app is from the site Couch-to-5K and it's only $1.99.  I'm all for the free apps, but this is so cheap and it gives you SO MUCH.  Just the daily break down to help get you from walking to running is so wonderful and to have the phone talk to you couldn't be easier. Who can't run 1 minute with a 1 1/2 minute recovery? The app even tells you when to walk, and when to run.  No checking your watch or doing any math!

I have to say though, I tried it for the first time last week and nearly died.  My joints and lungs are just not ready for running I guess!  Yes, 3 minutes of running, with each minute separated by walking was still too much (it happens) so I only did half the workout.  Boo hoo, right?  NOPE!

Being stubborn and set on being in better shape, I went even easier today, I skipped the app and used a different one called Endomondo and I walked.  This app uses GPS to track your workout.  It's cool to see how far you've gone--and you can even share it online with everyone, if you like.

I am really trying to do things differently with my lifestyle and getting up early is one of them. (Hardest challenge e-ver!) So, this morning, the sprinklers woke me up just before 5 and when my alarm went off at 5, needless to say, I was pretty awake.  Hoping to fall back asleep, I laid there.  Often times, I want to go for a walk, but just don't know where to go.  I need a destination, a plan, a goal.  "Just walking" won't get me out of bed.  A scene popped into my head, a scene not too far from my home and in fact, the one that got me excited about moving here, did it.

So, I went for a walk and it was beautiful, I even saw a deer and a couple of different friends along my route! Who knew?! When I started this morning, I thought this would be nice to do daily or at least a few times a week, but about half way through, I realized it's a lot more time than I expected.  1.5 hours later, I checked my phone and it said I did 5.5 miles!  Woohoo!  But one and a half hours is not something I could do everyday, or even often.  But!  Now I have a goal to work towards.  If I was jogging this route, I could have done it under an hour, and with the Couch-to-5k app, I know I'll get there!!  :)


*I am not endorsed by anyone, I'm just a gal trying to get in shape before hitting the big 4-0.

Frustrated with the Food Chain

I'm frustrated.

Every time I go to the store I'm just dumbfounded by the lack of isles I can't bring myself to go down.  There is row after row of crap offered as food.  I suppose our definition of food is somewhat loose these days.  No wonder America has health issues.  Seriously.  We are slowly killing ourselves, one spoonful at a time.

Have you ever looked at the foods that are offered on the shelves of the local store? Lots of MSG, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Nitrates, Perservatives I can't spell and I won't even bother to pronounce... The super sad thing for me is knowing that it's there because people buy it, demand it.  It's all about the law of supply and demand.  Americans demand crap food, so that is what they are getting. Crap food.  And then we're supposed to be surprised when people get sick?

Of course I feel bad when another gets sick, but I can't help but wonder, what have they been eating? Have they been seeking out real food or are they consuming large amounts of convience food that gives more time but lacks nutrition? 

Our bodies are miraculous vessles that can heal themselves.  HEAL. When you pause and think about it, it really is amazing how the body works, but it can only work as well as the nutrition you put into it.  Like a car, if you put junk into it, it won't run properly, if at all.  Our bodies are no different.

This is just an example of a junk food gone WAY bad.  I would love to eat all organic and healthy, but at this point in our budget, the best I can do is aim for natural. I try as best as possible to buy natural foods, foods from nature.

So, yes, it's easy to pick up a bottle of syrup from the store, but do you know how easy it is to make it at home? It's also cheaper.  Bring the sugar to a boil and then let it cool. That's it. I would rather use fruit instead of sugar on the pancakes, but let's get real, kids are kids and sometimes they just want syrup. I used to buy real maple syrup, but it's gotten quite expensive and I just can't bring myself to buy the crud they have at the store. (The bottle in the pic isn't mine)  So my thoughts on this topic, at least sugar is natural and not made in a lab. That maple flavoring is probably made in the lab, but it's a Tablespoon in the whole container, and most of that Tablespoon is alcohol that evaporated away during the boil.

Which would you perfer to put on your whole wheat pancakes?  

Homemade Maple Syrup

White Sugar
Brown Sugar
Water
Maple Flavoring

Store Bought Stuff

High Fructose Corn Syrup
Corn Syrup
Water
Salt
Cellulose Gum
Molasses
Natural & Artificial Flavor (Lactic Acid)
Sodium Hexametaphosphate
Potassium Sorbate
Sodium Benzoate
Carmel Color
Citric Acid

All I can say is, REALLY!??  Why does all that stuff have to be in there?! Is it too much to demand food that we can pronounce? I mean, who doesn't want a dab Hexametaphosphate on their yummy pancakes? Mmmmmm....

5k

I did my very first 5k today. I had a cold starting to kick in, but it was for a good cause and I committed to walk it. I knew running was out of the question, but i knew I could walk it without embarrassing myself. So I tied on my shoes this morning as the sun rose, and I did it.

I'm currently in the worst shape of my life. Being busier than ever, working out hasn't found its place in my efforts to balance this last year of relocating and getting settled. (I'm ashamed to admit this, but it's true) But I think about it, and as the weather gets better, I've hoped to find some sort of routine that has regular exercise in it.

This 5k was the answer. It was fun, I walked and even ran a little. It was a beautiful day, my body felt fantastic and I could have gone farther. I finished in about 45 minutes--not bad for a computer potato with 40 extra pounds hanging off her frame.

As I returned home to life, something happened. Within me, a spark was ignited. A desire I didn't expect to have, is now there. I want to do it again. I want to do more. I want my family to do it too.
I want to make change. I want to make it a lifestyle. The desire to be different, to be better, is there.

I need to go research 5k training because next time I do a 5k, I'm going to run it.