My Mission, Should I Choose to Write One

January 13, 2015 by writeitdownjess

Sometimes you hear exactly what you need to hear exactly when you need to hear it. Sometimes, even when you don’t know you need to hear it.

Today, I was sitting at my desk at work – you know, working, as you do – when my co-worker sent me a link to an article. We typically send each other things back and forth during the day. In the interest of being completely transparent with you, it’s usually Buzzfeed articles or celeb gossip.

But today, it was an article called “Creating a New Mission Statement”. Not our typical fare, to say the least. But I opened it and started to read it, and as I read it, I thought, “huh. This is exactly what I needed to read today.”

And not just today, but lately. For the last year or so. I’ve been pretty open about struggling with my body image on this blog. About how, after I stopped nursing Bug, I quickly gained the ten pounds that basically refuse to evacuate my body no matter what I do to it.

And, you know, continuing in the vein of being transparent, I haven’t been that nice to it. I’ve derided it. I’ve called it names. I’ve scoffed at its reflection in the mirror and called myself fat and stared at myself in windows as I walk down the street, thinking “you have really let yourself go, man.”

This is something I think about all the time.

Anyway, this article. This article is about the power of creating a personal mission statement. The article states that “in creating a mission statement, coaches say it is important to identify the underlying values that may motivate change rather than focusing on a single behavior.” When you tap into these values – the why and the what of your goal – you begin to understand intrinsically why it’s so important to you. “I want to be skinny again” isn’t digging deep, and that’s what I’ve been telling myself. That’s it. “I want to be skinny again.”

Well, that’s great. But why? Why am I so desperate to get back to this girl?

Ironically enough, this was the day I found out I was pregnant!

I don’t know. She is essentially the same girl I am now, except maybe a little happier.

So, I’ve decided to work on my mission statement. To dig deep and try to understand why I want to get “skinny” again. And maybe once I uncover all of it (which, to be honest, probably has to do with my looks tying in with self worth and people telling me I was beautiful when I was young and abunch of other self-esteem things that are way too crazy to get into here), it won’t even have anything to do with getting skinny again. Maybe it’ll have more to do with eating food that makes my body feel good. Or getting back into yoga because it calms my mind. Or doing bar method, because while I am in perma-FML mode while I’m doing it, I love it as soon as it’s over.

Maybe because it’s over.

Anyway.

As if that weren’t enough, the universe nudged me again today. I went on Tumblr earlier (kind of addicted, not even sorry) and was hit in the face with this:

Working on it. We’ll see what happens. Hopefully I’ll be bringing my mission statement to you next post.

In the meantime, tell me what your mission statement is, or would be, or let’s just sing Bootylicious by Destiny’s Child.

The Not Very Cold ColderBolder

December 12, 2014 by Jennifer

Sometimes, the Universe aligns and graces you with experiences that surpasses your expectations. Sometimes, those experiences lead you to learn new things about yourself. And sometimes, if you’re really lucky, the Universe will throw in a few giant jogging chipmunks and penguins for perspective. And when the experience is over, you swear that you’re happier, and that the world would be happier, too, if there were more giant jogging penguins. Personally, I vote for giant jogging koala bears. Such was the blast I had at last weekend’s ColderBolder, the companion 5k race to the BolderBoulder10k.

This year, the ColderBolder turned out to be…not very cold. Well, “not very cold” as Colorado would define it anyway. Last year’s race temp was a balmy -5˚. For the record, it is highly likely I would have wussed out if it had been THAT cold this year. Fortunately the temperature at race time was 42˚, and although walking to the start was a bit chilly, the view made it worth it. The course takes runners through the University of Colorado’s beautiful Boulder campus, which has a front and center view of the Flatirons.

It’s sooo purrrdy.

Woot Woot, 2014CB5K!

After the epic fail at my company Turkey Trot a few weeks back, I was determined to make this race count. I’d planned carefully, made sure I had all my gear, and was eager to try out my first pair of compression socks. We arrived forty-five minutes before my start time and had some time to check out the expo. I’d already picked up my packet so we bypassed that long, but fast-moving, line.

Organized Chaos

Look y’all, chipmunk runners!

The crowd was cheerful and energized, and not nearly as big as the BolderBoulder (BB10K) even though the race had sold out. We headed toward Blach Field House to see the finish line and check out the vendors. There weren’t many booths, but I totally spied the beer booth despite it being 9:30 in the morning.

The Old Chub has scotch in it. #I’llpass

Expo Vendors

We bumped into my aunt Sandra and my soon-to-be-new-uncle Bill who is an avid runner. After chatting for a few minutes, Bill and I left to head to the start, while my husband and aunt found a place to cheer. Indoors. Where it was warm.

Bill and I lined up with our wave and I assured him that I was as slow as molasses, and to please not wait for me. He assured me he wouldn’t. And he didn’t either! We heard the gun shot and he was off! Go, Uncle Bill, go!

Just keep waiting, just keep waiting…

Here we go!

The first mile was great; my legs felt strong and my new shoes that I’m still getting used to felt like springy pillows on my feet. My asthma combined with the cold air, however, didn’t make for a happy Jenn. I wasn’t far into that first mile before I had to start alternating jogging with walking. I tried to walk as little as possible, and when I did run I tried to be conscious of my form and pace. I’ve been working on following the Chi Running Technique, and I do feel as though it helped my speed and enhanced my comfort while running this race.

Miles two and three were fun! I was feeling determined despite my difficulty breathing. When I was running, I felt like I was flying past everyone! I can honestly say I’ve never felt that free running, and I think I caught an inkling of that running addiction thing. Plus, I could NOT STOP giggling at the running penguins and their bobbing tails. Clearly, I was suffering from runner’s joy.

Running Penguins!!

What a view for mile two!

I powered though as much as I could and puffed on my inhaler more than I would have liked, but still felt strong at the finish. The third mile marker gave me the push I needed and I picked up my pace. The course support and volunteers were great, and there were quite a few spectators cheering us on for that last half mile. It’s really amazing what a little love from the crowd and positive race energy can do for you! As I turned the corner to the finish line, I spotted my husband , aunt, and Bill cheering for me. It was nice to have some friendly faces and a bit of love at the race. I think that made this race my happiest finish yet!

Happiest Jenn!

BOOM, DONE!

When it was all said and done, I was pretty darn pleased with myself. My official time was 38:29 and pace was 12:23. I will so take that action. This race was a blast and it taught me that I may not perform at my best in the winter cold, but I can still have fun and get out there. Favorite perks of this race were the cute pink and blue hat, and of course, beer. I am officially one of the cold and the bold.

Cute warm hat + beer = content

What winter races are you looking forward to this season? DO YOU LIKE HATS TOO?

Tis the Season for Doing Good

December 1, 2014 by Jennifer

How many of you participated in the runner’s version of food guilt therapy last week, also known as the Turkey Trot? Before I ran, I never gave my local Gobble Hobble a second thought. However, I’ve recently decided that running prior to the Thanksgiving chow down is THE BEST tradition hands down. Why pray tell? It’s because we need to justify allowing ourselves a second slice of pumpkin pie. Maybe we can even splurge on a heaping dollop teaspoon of whipped cream on said pie.

Moment on the lips, forever on the hips be damned because I turkey trotted today.

Or in Cam’s case, amazing cakes that she makes!

Of course, there are other reasons to participate in a Thanksgiving race. We runners are philanthropists at heart and every race has a great cause behind it. This time of year, the spirit of gratitude runs high and we may think more about those who are less fortunate that us, those who are unable to run for fun. The Turkey Trot I ran was no different in that respect, but it was different in many other ways. By sharing it with you guys, I thought it might inspire you (and your coworkers, hint, hint) for next Thanksgiving.

On the Saturday before turkey day, the company I work for held their 32nd annual employee 5k turkey trot. It was open to family and friends of the human and canine variety. The registration fee was a mere fifteen dollars, and best of all, it would go to a few selected employees who had faced hardships in 2014. It’s a great event that gets participation from all levels of the company and all levels of running and walking. Employees can participate by running, walking, volunteering to work the race, or by sending in a donation.

Volunteers bravely braved the morning chill.

The course took runners through the company campus that spans three city blocks. Three loops and you’ve got yourself a 5k. This information will come in handy on my lunch runs! The race was organized very professionally by the volunteer team and included pro bibs, accurate timing and goodies for all after the finish.

The course map I didn’t read. This was my first mistake.

Someone needed more coffee.

And the best hat award goes to…

We get incentives for creating teams for the race. The largest team gets a trophy plaque, and the fastest team members each get a frozen turkey. Teams can be as small as four people and the largest team this year had 128 members! They make up silly names for themselves, like “Alpacas in Space”. (I don’t even know. I work for an aerospace company. In Boulder. I guess the reference to alpacas is obligatory?) There are age groups which are divided by gender, and same goes for kids. The fastest three adults in each age group get a frozen turkey, and the fastest boy and girl in each age group get one, too. The fastest male in my age group (30 – 39) was 18:36, and the fastest female was 20:24. Amazing! Also, I must accept the fact that I will likely never win a turkey at this race because these people are fast!

I’m following this guy home.

The free spread.

There were approximately 450 participants which means we raised just under seven thousand dollars for the recipients. One-sixth of the company was involved in a meaningful, healthy activity that built team spirit and goodwill across the campus. It was a warm way to begin the holiday season with mindfulness of how blessed we are. The CEO was there passing out turkeys to the winners of the race and the raffle, and people entered their dogs in the race to help contribute. I hear these guys are returning champions.

Hi. I’m a Tibetan Mastiff.

So there ya have it! Seems easy enough, right? If you get yourself a fancy timing clock, some muffins, a few turkeys, and some company merch to raffle off, you too can help your fellow employees with turkey trot proceeds. Seriously though, folks, this is a great idea with pretty minimal output of effort and labor. Now, go forth on this after-holiday-weekend Monday morning when everyone is grumpily facing their food guilt and dazzle your boss with this fabulous idea! They’ll be like:

Make it so.

As for my personal turkey trot success? Ummm, yeah…about that. Here is where I have to confess that I was so full of fail that morning. SO FAIL. I missed the start of the race by 3 minutes (stupid traffic), and I didn’t really read the course map, therefore, I didn’t really know where the finish line was. I missed the “spiel” and just jumped in and followed the other runners as they started their second lap. Safe bet, right? Yeah. Not so much. I never crossed the finish line, instead I made a beeline for the muffins.

Baked goods are my religion.

But no matter! No matter at all that I was wearing too many layers. No matter that the cold air and my asthmatic lungs don’t play nicely together. No matter that I missed the finish line and had no clue what I was doing! I had fun, and this was a great cold weather test run for the ColderBolder coming up next Saturday.

Just keep running, just keep running, doesn’t matter where you’re going!

A special thanks goes out to my husband who is always my personal race photog. He’s the bestest.

Heart this guy.

What Turkey Trot did you run this Thanksgiving? What’s your favorite Thanksgiving tradition? Have you ever totally flubbed up a finish? Console me in the comments!

Eat, Drink, Move, Think : A Pre-Holiday Challenge of sorts

November 9, 2014 by bec2point0

Sunday post? I know, weird. But I wanted to post about something starting tomorrow, so no time like the present!

Okay, raise your hand if this time of year typically marks a departure from any thought of health, fitness, and weight loss until the new year starts.

*hand up*

Now, raise your other hand if you have found yourself on the other side of a holiday season with 10-15 extra pounds to lose, and a profound wish you’d done it different that year.

*other hand up*

Even if you didn’t raise your hands, if you’ve been stressing how you’re going to stay on track through this holiday season, just know, you’re not alone. The holidays are wonderful, but from a health perspective, they can be difficult. It’s a busy time, sometimes stressful, and with food everything, seemingly non stop.

That’s why this year, I’m challenging myself to take a couple of pre-holiday weeks and get in the zone, and I wanted to invite you all to join me.

We’re keeping it simple, too. Commit to 14 days of focus on four hey objectives, to help ensure that we go into the holiday season strong, and come out on the other side the same way. I promise, this is an easy challenge. Ready? Four objectives.

Eat – Eat food. I mean, we do that every day, right? No specific rules, just try to focus on eating less processed, good food. No eliminations. This isn’t a ‘none of this, none of that’ deal. Just focusing on healthy eating, and make sure you have regular meals and snacks. If you’re following a specific program, and you want to track or count or focus on the specifics of that, that’s cool too.

Drink – Water, specifically. No set number of ounces. No gallon jug with lines. Just drink more water, and cut back on sugary drinks like Starbucks Lattes and Dunkin Hot Chocolates (my personal drugs of choice). Hydration matters, and it’s such a simple thing to achieve, with just a little focus and effort.

Move – Every day. Doesn’t have to be hours and hours, miles and miles. Just get up and move. Every day, even if it’s only for 15 minutes. Enjoy this beautiful time of year with a walk outside. We don’t even have to call it exercise. 🙂

Think – Take 5. Or 10. Slow down. Take a little time for us, every day. Time to think about how we are, how things are going, things we want, and thing we want to change. Take time to appreciate the things we’re thankful for. Meditate. Journal. Sit with our thoughts, with ourselves. Breathe.

That’s it. That’s the whole plan. No tools needed. No special trip to the grocery store needed. No prep work.

I know, this probably seems overly simplistic. But that’s kind of the beauty of it. I’ve got too much going on to do something complicated. And these four things? These are things that so many of us struggle with, and over-think, or avoid thinking about at all, especially this time of year. So, starting tomorrow, for 14 days, these are what I’m focusing on.

Will it help? I think so. I hope so! I guess the only way to know is to give it a try.

Hit me up on Instagram (@bec2point0) if you want some accountability, and use these hashtags: #eatdrinkmovethink #414focus

Healthy Holidays, here we come!

Putting Up a Fight…And Winning!

October 17, 2014 by writeitdownjess

Well, so far.

A few weeks ago I blogged about how I was going on a diet. And the next day I went on said diet. And that same day I asked myself, “Self? Why did you go on this diet?” The day after that I seriously pondered the link between lack of carbs and homicide. But I kept going. And going. And going on phase 1 of the South Beach diet, which lets you have yummy things like lean protein and veggies and dairy (THANK GOD) and nuts and beans and blah blah blah no carbs blah no sugar blah blah what the hell am I going to eat blah blah etcetera.

At any rate, I kept chugging along. And what do you know?

It’s working! I’m down 6 pounds. I’ve actually been down 6 pounds for a couple weeks and have basically plateaued, but you know what? That’s okay, because I’ve lost 6 POUNDS!

Other interesting things to note: when I sneak a bite of something that’s not-so-healthy, I immediately feel it. As in, “wow that was good in my mouth but no me gusta in my stomach.” It seems that my body likes the good stuff I’m feeding it, and now that I’m feeding it 90% good stuff, the bad stuff sticks out even more. I’m surprised by this revelation because I felt like I was always going to have to battle against wanting to eat the crapola foods.

Of course, I say this having just snuck a piece of brownie. But I snuck JUST a piece. That was enough, and yeah, my body’s kind of eh about it. But my mouth? Looooved it.

The best part of all of this is that I’m starting to feel good about my body again. The second best part of all of this is that my co-workers are telling me how great I look. I’m still the same size I was before. I don’t think my body looks insanely different. But my clothes fit better and I’m definitely slimmer and the scale and I are really starting to mend our relationship.

So there it is, people. I’m winning the fight so far. You were all so lovely with your words of commiseration and encouragement that I had to update you.

And, may I submit into evidence this before (left) and after (right)? Both taken in work restrooms, I’m sorry to say. I wish I had a more beautiful backdrop but alas.

I’m going to keep at it and fight the good fight. If any of you out there are dealing with the same thing (and I know you are!) I hope this encourages YOU, since you were all so wonderful about encouraging me.

Can I Place an Order for Pick-Up?

January 22, 2014 by writeitdownjess

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve uttered those words, or its close relative, “Can I place an order for delivery?” It’s more than I’d like to admit, but here’s the truth: my family eats out a lot. And by a lot I mean we eat out for dinner at least three times a week. The weekends are pretty much all about eating out.

I have many excuses for why I reach for the phone more often than I reach for a spatula. They include, but are not limited to:

I’m lazy
I’m tired
It’s a day that ends in -y
I’m hungry RIGHT NOW
I’m not a great cook
Mister Jess is a pretty good cook, but he’s tired
We have no dishwasher and our sink is small
We have an oven but it sets off the smoke alarm. Every. Time.
We have no counter space in the kitchen
We barely HAVE a kitchen
Bug is hungry RIGHT NOW
That place serves breakfast all day
The place next to the place has donuts. Built-in dessert.
The fridge is full but nothing looks good
It’s the weekend and weekends are for eating out, duh
I could go on
But you get the point

I try to make good choices for Bug and thankfully there are many places around us that serve delicious, organic, at least semi-healthy meals. But at the same time, I have friends with kids who manage to put food that didn’t come from a container on the table every night. This leads to one of my least favorite emotions: Mommy Guilt. I have it about a lot of things fleetingly, but this is one that sticks around. I make sure he gets his fruits and veggies and good protein. Am I a terrible mom because I buy him pancakes rather than making them?

But here’s the thing: I don’t know how I can fit the life I need to live into the life I have. There are only so many hours in the day and when our days – and especially our evenings – are dictated by child-led timelines and a bedtime of 7pm (Bug’s, not ours. I wish), it’s so much easier to pick something up on the way home. It’s one less thing I need to worry about, one thing I can check off the never-ending list of To Dos.

I want to be healthy. I need the food I eat to fuel my fitness, especially once I get full-swing into my half marathon training. I just don’t know how to balance it all out. I need your help, Scoot readers!

So, tell me: is there an easier method to all of this that I’m missing? A way to capture the ease of take-out without actually taking out? Or should I just come to terms with the fact that we are a take-out family and try to make the best food choices I can when we do order it up?

Weight a Minute

January 8, 2014 by Meridith

There was a point in my life that I weighed myself every day. That’s right. Every. Single. Day. I was definitely obsessed, if not on the edge of disordered. Truthfully, I was driving myself a little crazy.

Until one day, I just stopped.

I decided that it wasn’t healthy for my mind to be so wrapped up in the numbers. So the morning visit to the scale ceased. I was mindful of my food but no longer tracked every morsel I consumed. I continued to work out. And I was content.

2013 brought many good things my way, including more half marathons, shorter races and workouts with my trainer at the gym. However, I injured myself in September and that put a damper on what I was able to do physically. My miles shrank but my food intake continued as though they hadn’t.

(You see where this is going, don’t you?)

I weighed myself the other day for the first time since the summer. I wasn’t all together surprised by the number but I will admit that I wasn’t happy with it either. That’s not to say that I’m not happy with myself, because I am. I’m at a good place, a much different place than I was when I was the girl weighing herself daily. Generally speaking, I’m pretty awesome.

But I would like to work hard to get back down, weight wise.

At my leanest, I was at 144. This was in 2012, when I was tracking everything – my weight, my food, my workouts – everything.

By the end of last summer, I was at 152 – I tracked my workouts, but that was basically it.

And now, here I am, at 156. I knew I was gaining weight. I could tell by the way my clothes were fitting mostly. I think that I tend to have a bit of body dysmorphia so no matter when I look in the mirror, I always see the same thing – whether I’m 10 pounds lighter or 20 pounds heavier. That doesn’t help matters.

What I do know is this: I need to make a change.

Rather than focusing on the numbers (since that hasn’t really worked well for my psyche in the past), I’m going to try to present things to myself in more than/less than fashion. For example…

More water and less bazillion (slight exaggeration) calorie drinks

More homecooked, less takeout. More veggies, less cookies. Smaller meals throughout the day and smarter choices.

I’m going to leave the numbers bit of things in the trusty hands(?) of my Fitbit One and myfitnesspal.

Treadmill outranks couch (that’s “my” spot that everyone steals – and I’m going to let them steal it.) And outside will outrank treadmill when it’s not 3 degrees.

And I plan to continue my exercising. I don’t think that I’ll feasibly be able to add things like hot yoga back into my schedule but I would like to hit the 10,000 step goal set by the Fitbit each day. (Okay, fine, maybe focusing a little bit on numbers isn’t the worst thing in the world.)

No excuses, no whining. I’m ready to get this done. I can and I will!

What sort of challenges or goals are you looking forward to tackling in 2014?

In It to Lose It

January 3, 2014 by bec2point0

Errrr, win it? Well, be the winner. Or the loser. The biggest loser. Which is the winner of money. And the loser of…some weight.

That made sense, right? No?

Today marks the official start of my company’s ‘biggest loser’ style weight loss competition. This is our second year running it and the person who coordinates all of the health and wellness events for the company (*points to self*) has really amped up the contest this year. Team t-shirts. Lots of prizes. Weekly prizes. Team prizes. And one big mother of a top prize.

$1000

I want it. I really do. But with that much money on the line, I’ve got a lot of competition. 36 people signed up and that is out of a company of just over 100 employees. Which, for the success of the program, I’m thrilled. We’re working to implement health and wellness programs, because unhealthy employees have higher health insurance costs, etc etc. So, if I can get a third of the company the shed some pounds, I’m a ROCK STAR.

But man, I’m scared. Last year’s winner lost 16.9%. At my current weight, that would mean losing 63 pounds. Did I mention this is a 12 week competition? Yeahhhhh.

I mean, really, I don’t think I’m scared of not winning. I’m scared of falling into the same pattern I did last year – stay on track for three weeks, go off track for 7 weeks, get back on track for 2 weeks, lose 3%. That was less fun than it sounds. Oh, it doesn’t sound fun? Yeah, it wasn’t. Even if I don’t win, I’m trying to use these 12 weeks to really kick start me into losing weight, getting exercise and living a healthier lifestyle. And if I also win $1000, that’s cool. (I’m so nonchalant, right?)

I signed up for Weight Watchers online to keep me on track with food. I rejoined my gym to get me moving. I’ve got my husband on board with cutting back on the junk, and my 16 year old daughter asked if she could be my gym buddy. What else do I need?

I’m going to need cheerleaders. Coaches. Volunteers to toss water in my face as I run by. Maybe we can skip that last one. But all kidding aside, I’m asking for help. Which is something I almost never do. But I’m asking. Help a sister out? If you see me on Twitter and I’m tweeting about how I really want to consume mass quantities of gelato, kick my gently in the rear end? Spam me with healthy recipes? Text me at 5:00AM and ask if I’m on my way to the gym? Or outside shoveling, because heyyyyyy New England.

Footnote: Due to the shockingly unshocking Massachusetts weather conditions in winter, we are currently buried in snow. (If you say ‘It’s so pretty!!!’, I might slug you.) So the start of the program actually got moved until Monday.

Scoot a Doot t-shirt giveaway

December 12, 2013 by scootadoot

Grateful.

If there’s one word that I’d use to describe my feelings toward this year, that’s what it would be. And yes, it might sound cliche but I promise you it’s anything but that.

This year has been a really good one for us Chicks. We started this blog back in February and through it we’ve met so many new and good friends, as well as feeling the love and support of established friends. We’ve spent time together, run races together, acted like fools together and picked each other up when we’ve been hurt (physically and emotionally).

And for that, we are grateful.

If we could gather you all up in our arms for a great big group hug, we would. Because we are huggers. (We know, we know, there are some people who aren’t. And to those people, we give you a punch on the shoulder or a big ol’ thumbs up). Since we can’t hug you all, we are giving away one of our Scoot a Doot shirts as an extra special thanks.

This one specifically!

We got these shirts back in the summer and they’ve made their way across the country and even internationally!

credit: Jog ‘n Hog Boss Hog

Anya

If you’d like a chance to win an awesomely orange Scoot a Doot shirt – click the pic!

Clicky clicky!

Contest ends Wednesday, 12/18 at midnight EST – winner will be announced 12/19. So what are you waiting for? Scoot on over! Happy Thursday!

This is 39

December 4, 2013 by bec2point0

In a year, I’ll be 40. (I know, this kind of feels like one of the American Beauty, ‘in a year, I’ll be dead’ moments, but I promise, it’s not.)

I won’t be dead. I’ll just be 40. Which is practically the same thing if you ask my teenager.

40!

It’s the age you don’t trust anyone over. It’s what comes after Thirty-something. It’s the big 4-0. And it’s the number that I swore I’d have my stuff* together by. (To be fair, I also said that about 30. But let’s not go there).

It’s funny how time creeps up on you. All those things I said I’d do before I turned 40? Well, they seemed so doable! I had so much time!

365 days doesn’t feel like a lot of time. It really doesn’t. But, if I play my cards right, 365 days is a lot of time to get stuff* done. I want to use them wisely, so for this, my 39th birthday, I’m giving myself a few gifts that will hopefully see me through the next 365 days and on to a better, healthier, happier future.

Time – To be specific, I’m giving myself the gift of taking time to care for myself and not feeling remotely guilty about it. If I serve dinner a bit late because I snuck in a walk, or walk by the growing laundry pile on the way to gym without so much as a backwards glance, that’s okay. Losing weight and getting healthy requires time, so that is a gift I am going to give my future 40-year-old self. Her smaller behind* will thank me for it.

Dedication – This gift is not easily given, received, or understood, at least by me. What does it mean to be dedicated? Does it mean never eating cheese or cake or cheesecake again? Does it mean that at every moment, my caloric intake has to be at the forefront of my mind? I certainly hope not, because that is just not sustainable for me. But I am giving myself dedication to an overall healthier lifestyle. Which leads to my next gift. (I was once told I was very good to myself. What can I say, I enjoy presents!)

Choice – This gift is a key piece of an overall healthy lifestyle. I can eat what I want. I can eat over my allotted calories sometimes. I can have a piece of cheese, or cake, or cheesecake, or CHEESE AND CAKE, as long as I understand that I have a choice in the matter, and that both sides of these choices has consequences, be they positive or negative. I don’t always have to make the right choice, but I am giving myself permission to own my choices, good or bad.

Joy – It’s time for me to start finding the joy in this process. I don’t have to complain about working out. I don’t have to mourn the lack of ice cream in a given day. I can love the hour I spend walking in the cold (because this is New England, yo) and revel in the fresh fruits and vegetables I eat and be joyful that I have the opportunity to do these things. Maybe not every day, every time, but sometimes. Nobody likes a whiner.

Inspiration – This is a gift I give myself by surrounding myself with people who make me want to be better. Some of them I am lucky enough to call friends. Others are bloggers telling their stories, just hoping they’ll inspire someone. Momentum can be hard to sustain, so I’ll be seeking out inspiration wherever I can find it, and hopefully, providing some of my own.

Forgiveness – This is a gift that just plain needs to be given. I’ve spent so much time being angry at myself for all the things I’ve done, and the things I haven’t done, to get to where I am physically. And to what end? Holding it against myself, blaming myself… it only serves to hold me where I am. It’s time to let the past be the past, before the present is the past. That made sense, right?

A Clean Slate – The last gift I’m giving myself is a completely clean slate. Whatever I’ve done before, whatever I’ve tried at and failed at, or tried at and succeeded at but quit anyway, it’s all off the table now. Just because I quit running doesn’t mean I can’t start again. And I have to start at the beginning, but that’s okay. With a clean slate, you’ve got nothing but beginnings. I can try something new, or I can try something I’ve already tried before. Weight Watchers worked for me before, and then I quit. And then I went back and it wasn’t the right fit. Doesn’t matter. If I choose to try it again, I can. No dwelling on how it went last time, there is no last time. There is only this time. No day but today, my friends.

So, Happy Birthday to me! I may not love the idea of leaving my 30s, but I am truly looking forward to the idea of ringing in my next ‘decade’ as the happiest, healthiest, best 40-year-old I can be. To that end, these gifts are the greatest gifts I could wish to receive.

A treadmill in the garage wouldn’t suck either, just saying.

*All asterisks are indicators of where I want to use bad words, but as I’m almost 40, I’m trying to be less of a trash mouth. That’s a gift to everyone, I promise.

Scootadoot

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Tag Archives: health