Fueled up, Ready to go!

Just a few thoughts pre-workout: Have you ever wondered why sometimes you feel great when you exercise and sometimes you feel horrible, even though it's the same workout you did last week? Why do you sometimes know in advance that it's going to be a "bad workout day"? Aside from mental sluggishness, why do you just sometimes not feel like exercising? These things can be so frustrating when we are trying our hardest to maintain a quality exercise routine!

Although there can be a variety of answers to these questions, two very common ones are lack of quality sleep at night and not eating the right things to fuel you up for your workout. To tackle the first observation, I know this can be tricky with those of us who really tend to be night owls, but a consistent bedtime is a good thing. Actually, it's a great thing! Sleep helps your body detox and rest up for the next day's activities. If you can get between 7-8 hours a night, it helps your metabolism and energy levels tremendously. You might also check out your pillow and mattress to see if they are the culprits behind any neck and back pain, or excessive tightness in the shoulders. If so, you may need an upgrade. No one really wants to cheap out on a quality pillow and mattress if we think about it; I mean, we spend one-third of our life sleeping!!

Food can be another trigger for lackluster exercise sessions. One of the most common things I saw as a trainer was not eating enough of the right things leading up to the exercise session to support the level of activity that was going to ensue. A good pre-workout snack would be a handful of fruit (like grapes) or maybe half an apple 20-30 minutes before exercise to provide a little burst of energy from the natural sugar in it. An excellent post-workout snack would juicing your greens; one of my faves is juicing cucumber, kale, lime, cilantro, and half an orange. Helps refuel your energy, plus fills you full of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

Of course, starting with a good breakfast is the first step to having a great workout later in the day. It's always good to have a little protein and good fat in your breakfast to help you feel full and energetic. My new favorite in the morning is to cook half a bell pepper, 2 slices of turkey (organic, nitrite free), half an avocado, 1 clove garlic, a little bit of salsa, and voila! Deliciousness that is so satisfying!! A good rule of thumb is if you feel low on energy, take a look at what you've been eating recently; if you see alot of refined carbohydrates, too little clean protein, and too few veggies, well...that just might be the issue! Try making a few positive changes here and there and see if you don't start to feel fueled up and ready to go for your workouts!

How to Hit a Curve Ball

We all know that life can throw you some curve balls, shake things up a bit, and just cause general change where it would be most inopportune! This is the fact of life -- it never stops changing. As much as we like to think we have a routine that is well under control, the simple truth is that we lack much more control over our day than we'd like to admit. When life brings challenges along and upsets the apple cart, how do we handle things that were part of our daily schedule when everything was "going according to plan?"

I tend to be a type A personality, and those who know me well would heartily agree. This also means I'm an "all or nothing" type of girl. So as far as nutrition, exercise, and stress go, I'm either all the way in or all the way out.  I don't have cheat days [singular], it's a cheat week that turns in to a cheat month. I can usually keep this part of my personality in order when life doesn't get in the way too much, and don't usually have the need for "cheating" in my healthy lifestyle. Several months ago, though, life threw a curve ball in the midst of a very calculated life decision that my husband and I made.

• Pursue a doctorate...wonderful right? Yes, it is quite wonderful!! My hubby and I decided after many years of thinking through the process that he should pursue his doctorate, and we are still very excited he's doing this!

• We move...we moved from Nebraska to Texas (which is home), which was so exciting, but anyone who has moved knows it is physically and emotionally taxing in so many ways.

• Look for jobs...oi! If this doesn't stress you out, maybe you should be my new best friend!

• Start Ph.d....Woohoo! Finally made it to start day, but so much work to get there.

I have just bullet-ed out the last 6 months of my life, so it does all look very nice and neat, but it definitely has been anything but that. In the process of emotional and physical stressors, exercise went on the back-burner, and good nutrition was minimally kept up (not to mention an array of other challenges that are outside the scope of an exercise and nutrition blog!).  As a result, my quality of life decreased, mainly because I did not have the energy to do things that I loved. With my "all-or-nothing" mentality, I began to lie to myself and say things like...

"I only have 2 days to work out this week, so why even bother?"         

"I don't have time to exercise" (I did, miraculously, have time to sneak in 30 minutes of TV, phew!)

"I don't have time to make a lunch with alot of veggies in it for work."

When, really, as an Exercise Physiologist, I knew better. I had to learn [re-learn] to take my health on a day by day basis and make time to do things (like exercise and eat my veggies) even when I didn't feel like it. I had to examine my choices, and choose to exercise instead of, say, watching television in the evenings. I also had to choose to say "no" to obligations that I knew would increase my stress level, but not edify me or my husband. I know this doesn't sound terribly exciting, but it is pretty effective.

I heard a man (Jay Martin) say one time that "If you don't learn how to hit a curve ball in life, you won't be able to make it to the Big Leagues." In my case, learning to balance exercise, nutrition and stress when life is changing and moving around me in a way that is not conducive to health, is a game-changer. If I want to make it to the "Big Leagues" and encourage others in their daily struggles in these same areas, I have to learn how to play the game and manage it in my own life.

I share these things with you because I want you to know that you are not alone in this sort of struggle with maintaining health. There is not enough education about how to make the right choices to make up for simply acting on the right choices for your health everyday. My encouragement to you is this -- try everyday; make an effort. Sometimes you'll hit the ball out of the park, and other days it's a struggle. But the reward is in knowing you're moving forward in your journey.