Big girl panties

I feel my updates coming farther and farther apart. School is just around the corner, and I am up to my ears in supplies and paperwork. I'll do my best to update at least 3 times per week, but with graduate school and a full time job, I can't make any promises.

If every hour of my day isn't occupied, I'm not satisfied. I love staying busy; it keeps my mind focused on something other than food, which is surprisingly very rare. It's my goal to find a happy balance between my job, graduate school, my boyfriend, and my healthy habits. Those are a lot of things to juggle, so I suppose it's time to go shopping for an even bigger pair of big girl panties. Growing up is too difficult. Adult decisions and responsibility aren't as fun as I thought they'd be. Sometimes I daydream about not caring about anything. I think how nice it'd be to eat what I want and lay on the couch, watching trashy reality t.v. when I should be preparing for the week ahead. Then reality slaps me across the face in the form of screaming children, piles of paperwork, and miles of pavement. I just have to keep telling myself that this is the life I chose. I'm really not complaining. I wouldn't trade it for the world. The school year hasn't even begun and I can already feel myself slipping into a less healthy/more convenient routine. Last year wasn't so bad. I was able to get into a solid workout schedule where I'd hit the gym right after school and make it home with enough time to cook dinner, talk to Blakely for a bit, and then it'd already be time for bed. It was a nice schedule for me, but I was devoting too much time to all the wrong things. My job became my life and the gym was my best friend. I'm making it a point to make more time for the important things.

Since my soon-to-be schedule is so outrageous, I am going to have to rely on calorie counting to ensure that I'm not gorging on all the wrong things. Weekly meal planning will be strictly enforced in the Bridges/Duke household, and no eating will take place after 8. I've got to come up with some sort of schedule for everything I'm trying to balance. Time management is totally my thing, so I'm not worried... yet.

Confession time: I have been a total stick in the mud as far as running goes this past week. The heat and the humidity are always agonizing, but I really let it get to me this week. I felt like a quitter because every time we'd try to run, I would come up with some sorry excuse after 3 or 4 miles to stop. Maybe I'm a little burned out with running. We took two full days off from exercise in the attempt to make our bodies crave running, but I feel like it had the opposite effect on me. I could totally get used to a more slothful lifestyle. I read part of a book, got tons of stuff done for my classroom; it was fantastic. Although I enjoyed my break from exercise, it was time to get back into the swing of things this afternoon with an ass-kicking circuit routine. I think that in my next life, I want to be a personal trainer. Rachel and I met at the high school stadium for an hour of some seriously serious aerobic activity. I felt like Jillian Michaels. It was such a nice change of pace and I can really tell that I got something out of it! My clothes were sopping wet and my legs were shaking afterwards. Can't wait to do it again!

Regardless of the 191 miles I've run since school let out, I've not seen a lot of results on the scale this summer. I have been eating more because I have been burning so many calories during my runs and whatnot, but I really think that I've been mostly gaining muscle. My legs are rock hard. I'm so close to Tina Turner legs that I can taste it. Even though I've improved my distance and toned up a good bit this summer, I am 14 pounds shy of my overall goal weight. Too much time and sweat has been devoted to achieving this amazing task, so I can't stop now. Ideally, I'd like to have it off by the end of the year. Now that Blakely is willing to make more changes, I am really going to step it up in the kitchen. Meals are not the issue in my house. The problem is in the amount of snacks we eat. I tried to make apple chips tonight, but they turned out to be a serious Pinterest fail. They tasted like pure brown sugar and had the texture of bark.

Bleh.

Even though my apple chips were a serious disaster, I managed to stir up a few delicious and healthy meals this week. I am proud to announce that I have finally tried eggplant! I don't know why but I have always had an irrational fear of it's texture. I stopped by a local produce stand the other day because the peaches and watermelon were irresistible. He coaxed me into trying it, and it was outstanding!

Skinny eggplant parmesan

I also tried this amazing crockpot recipe that consisted of several of my favorite ingredients. I don't know anything about calories, carbs, or fat in this recipe, but I didn't care. Watch your portions and you'll be fine.

Cilantro Lime Chicken

Here is a really great article that give advice for what to do and what to avoid when taking a break from working out. I tried to stick to it during my two day hiatus. Maybe it will help you too!

6 ways to stay lean

Lastly, I will leave you with some words of wisdom. As always, shoot me a message if you have any questions or are looking for any advice! Good luck this week in your attempt to live the life you deserve! 

"The only person you should try to be better than is the person you were yesterday."

Drinking your calories

I've spent the last two days glued to a chair learning how to teach nonverbal children how to communicate through picture choices. I'll spare you all of the details since I'm sure there are very few of you that are actually interested, but it was a real eye-opener for me. It gave me tons of motivation and ideas for how I am going to manage my classroom next year. It also gave me hope for my friends (students- I call them friends) that I have that lack communication, which is essentially, the most important thing we can ever learn. Sixteen hours well spent if you ask me!

Sixteen hours in a classroom also meant sixteen hours of sitting, which is borderline torture for me. My legs became quite restless and I just couldn't get comfortable. Sitting for so long actually made me want to run. Usually, after a day full of work-related things, I am anxious to plop down on my couch and read a book or watch Law & Order until I fall asleep. Rachel and I ran Monday and Tuesday. Monday was an incredible run for me. I accidentally ran 6 miles again. It wasn't my intention to that long, but I though Rachel had been kidnapped, so I took an extra mile to try chase her down. Luckily, she was just following behind me, so there was really no emergency at all. She runs with a Sweeney Todd razor blade tucked into her arm band. I imagine a very dramatic fight that would involve me breaking into a show tune should anyone approach us in the wrong way. Tuesday was also a fantastic run! We have a new running buddy! I am so excited that the two teacher I will be working with at my new school are just as active as I am! It will really help with the whole accountability thing that I speak of so often. Kelley told us yesterday that she was a runner and could do 5 miles, and what do ya know?! So do we! We hit up the fort for a 5 miler, which soon turned into a very humid 3 miler, followed by a very wet 2 miles. I learned that rainy runs make for much quicker miles. I was at a pretty consistent 9 minute 25 second mile until the last two. I finished those in 8 minutes 40 seconds. You know what that tells me? I'm not running at my full potential. I could give a thousand excuses that would consist of me complaining about the heat and how I spend all day at work before I run, but I won't. I know that I am capable of a faster mile. Like my fear of distance, I also still fear being out of breath. It's comfortable for me to run at the pace that I do, so I cling to it. No more! My goal for the Color Run is to finish in 27 minutes. That would be at least a 9 minute mile throughout the race. 

I've been doing some research on what to eat before and after workouts. Obviously, I know not to eat a Wendy's number 5. I did it once when I was first trying to get in shape and I spewed all over the place during a step aerobics class. That was a good lesson for me to learn but also a dumb thing for me to do in the first place. I've also learned the hard way that Oreos are not a good pre-run snack. I got aboout 30 seconds in to my 5 miles and suffered agonizing stomach cramps the entire time. I've found a lot of information about the importance of WHEN you eat before you workout. This is something I never thought about. My research has shown me that eating at a certain amount of time prior to your workout will affect your energy level during your workout. Here is an awesome website that lays it out in an easy to read format. 

What to eat before you run

I have to brag on amazing boyfriend. Blakely and I have finally, after almost 5 years together, found a common goal that we are both incredibly serious about. We want to hike the Appalachian Trail. All 2,000+ gorgeous miles of it. We would have to do it on our summer breaks, but it is the first time I have seen him really passionate about something that involves any kind of physical activity. He is already research and planning for it. He realizes that he cannot just go on this incredibly rigorous adventure without preparing himself physically, so he is all of the sudden motivated to make changes in his life to prepare for it. His exact words were, "I'll do all of the planning if you will help me get in shape for it." Talk about music to my ears! 

I've said it in previous entries, Blakely despises working out. I think it's understandable. There are days when I'd exchange my finger nails for to opportunity to skip the gym. The first part of living a healthier lifestyle is CHANGING your lifestyle. It's hands down that hardest thing to do. Making the transition from a completely worry-free, eat what I want, when I want lifestyle to a calorie counting, water chugging life is a big change. You really have to analyze what you're eating and drinking as well as your activity level before you can even commit. Blakely eats relatively healthy because I am the one that cooks in our house. Blakely's problem, and I see it often in my friends and family, is that he drinks his calories. I'll bet that it never occurred to some of you that the majority of your calories are coming from what you are drinking everyday. I know that I never realized it until I read an entire article about Starbucks Frappuccinos. My favorite thing in the world when I was 18 was the brownie frappuccino from Starbucks. I probably drank 4 or 5 of them every week. Not only was that a lot of money wasted, but I was also drinking an additional 400 calories in one drink. That disgusted me. That's the amount of calories I eat for dinner! 

I started looking at all of my drinks and realizing that they loaded with calories and high amounts of sugar. That was when I really began to appreciate the simplicity and nutritional value of water. Any who, back to Blakely.

Blakely loves soda more than anything, maybe even more than me. Who can blame him? The fizzy goodness of an ice cold fountain drink is too tempting for words. He drinks mostly soda when he is at work because it is convenient for him. When he is home, we have juice, milk, and sometimes tea or green tea. We always have water, but he hates it. I could never get him to understand the benefits of drinking water on a regular basis. It's hard to believe someone that a drink can change the way you feel and, maybe it's just me, improve your mood. When I am hydrated, I feel happier because I know that I am making healthy choices. Maybe I'm just weird. He made the suggestion that we buy a case of water bottles the other night, so we went right out and picked them up. He is also taking my advice about drinking water at work. He says that the past few times he's worked, he has drank nothing but water until he gets ready to leave and allows himself a soda. This is huge. I don't think you understand what this means. Soda is Blakely's dirty mistress, and I've been trying to shake her for years! It's small changes like this that I know are going to lead to bigger and better changes. I am unbelievably proud that he is taking the first step toward joining me on the healthy side! 

I don't remember the exact article that I read years ago, but here is another good one that is really helpful for making proper drink choices. 

Eat your calories, don't drink them

I found this on Pinterest a few months ago, and it shows several popular snack items and the amount of sugar in them. It also shows popular drink choices. Consider the amount of sugar in your drinks. It will really open your eyes to the importance of cutting back. 

For those of you that want to enjoy an adult beverage, Weight Watchers offers an amazing cheat sheet for choosing low calorie alcoholic drinks. I guess I should tell you to drink responsibly, for more than one reason! 

Cocktail Cheat Sheet

Don't hesitate to shoot me a facebook message if there is anything you'd like for me to talk about on here! If I don't know the answer to any of your questions, I will do whatever I can to find it!

Good luck this week in your pursuit of living a happier and healthier life! 

Here's some motivation for you!