get motivated – tips from a lazy-ish person

Every time I see an article that says “running motivation tips and tricks” I immediately start reading it.  I’ve read countless articles like this.  I appreciate what they have to say, I really do.  The advice is quality but doesn’t always address my motivational dilemmas.

Most of the authors seem to be people who can’t sit still.  Me?  More than capable!  Or it seems the days they aren’t motivated are few and far between.  I seem to struggle with the motivation to get up and get out more often.  So, I decided to write a piece myself.  Perhaps it might resonate with you too.  I can’t be the only person out there who needs a slightly different take on the “how to go for a run (work out) when you really don’t want to” … at least I hope not.

Problem #1: The couch is too comfy.  The thing of it is, I can be lazy when it comes time to working out (as you might’ve guess by the title!).  Once I get too cozy, all bets are off and there is a higher chance of me staying where I’m at rather than hitting the streets in my trainers.

 

The Fix: I hate to say it, but I can’t sit down when I get home.  I have to change into my work out clothes immediately and can’t do any of the  “I’m going to sit for a moment” business.  Don’t sit down!  Ride the wave of adrenaline from getting home from work (or wherever), or the alarm clock, do the little things that need to be done, change, and get out the door.  As fast as possible.  Before the couch’s siren calls or the snooze button become too loud and convincing!

this is essentially where the couch comes into play

Problem #2: Sabotaging my workout time.  There are way too many times where I’ve decided on a time for a run when deep down I knew I wouldn’t be able to fit it into my schedule.  I’ve picked a time during a really busy day when I knew it was going to be massively crunched and it could be sacrificed.  But I felt all noble & accomplished that I was planning for it.  When it doesn’t happen, because my timetable was ridiculous, I get down on myself for not making the workout happen.  At the same time I can blame not going on not having enough time.  Built in excuse that isn’t based on being a lazy buns!

The Fix: There are going to be days when a run simply can’t happen.  I need to be honest with myself regarding these days.  This is the way of training.  BUT some time management needs to happen here.  I can keep the days where my agenda items are stacked miles high to a minimum by planning ahead.  This means doing as much prep for the day as possible and looking for more efficient routes to accomplish tasks <— a constant work in progress.  I know people suggest scheduling a work out time and viewing it as an appt you can’t possibly miss.  My brain is onto this game though, and if we are on the same wave length, so is yours.  This is where getting out the door by sheer force of grit and will come into play until it becomes more habitual.

I need to work harder on making good habits … bad habits are just so much easier to establish!

Problem #3: Overhyping the start of training.  This is a classic motivation killer because it becomes this MASSIVE event.  I recognize some suggest to announce your training start date to the world to garner support.  However, for procrastinators like myself, it turns the start date into a scary impending opportunity for defeat.  Suddenly there is this monumental task sitting there and it’s much easier to shy away then risk falling flat on my face in front of an audience.

The Fix: Don’t make the sweeping announcement.  Pretty simple, yeah?  I do want to share with the world, but these declarations can too overwhelming.  An element of procrastination is fear of failure, so the build up can be too much.  Begin training and get a more established routine down, & then yell it from the rooftops!  I’ve done it both ways, and when I went ahead and waited until I was a couple of weeks into my training to spread the good news, I still got support and it was of the “keep up the great work” variety.  When I declared my start date, I got lots of “good lucks!” which are just as nice, of course, although the latter works better for me.

Problem #4: Getting frustrated & losing focus.  This runs parallel to my conundrum of setting my expectations too high.  Train for a marathon in 6 weeks when my running fitness is in the gutter?  Of course I can!  I tend to get frustrated when I don’t make progress as quick as I want or expect of myself.  This is a common theme in every area of my life, so it naturally carries over to my running.  Hope is a wonderful thing, nevertheless, when it comes to expecting our bodies to perform physical miracles they aren’t possibly prepped for, they rebel.  In all kinds of painful ways!  With regards to losing focus, marathon training seems to last FOR-E-VER, so what is one missed run here or there?  Most likely nothing terrible, but for us motivationally challenged folk, the “here or there” can derail a great established routine quickly.

The Fix: Take a good look at the expectations.  Expectations really do get us in trouble – I find we tend to either set them too high or too low without taking all of variables into consideration.  Not to mention, the need to check the good ol’ ego.  Any type of training takes hard work, and focusing on small chunks at a time helps turn goals into realities.  The frustration piece … well, this could just be me.  I don’t mind hard work but I want results entirely too quickly.  I’m a bit ridiculous!  I also need to remind myself, A LOT, of just how easy it is for me to slip back into the cushy bad habits and crush those “it won’t be so bad” thoughts with a stomp from my Brooks.

I’m hoping I’m not the only person who struggles with motivation and isn’t always helped by the pearls of wisdom that are commonly offered.  Again, I don’t think the advice is bad and I do utilize it, nonetheless, the above tips are what I fall back to when I’m in need of that boost.  I love running, I really do.  I love the feeling of a healthy routine of running when I get home from work.  Not to mention giving myself multiple high-fives when I’m done working out and all cleaned up from a good sweat session.  Getting started though … or fighting exhaustion after a long day … or simply a “I don’t wanna” can jeopardize success and be a challenge to fight.

Oh, and watch some inspirational running documentaries.  I love the one about the Barkley Marathons – these are always really helpful in the motivational category!

a running plan is a’brewin’

I’ve wanted to get back to running.  The Turkey Trot went surprisingly well.  I thought I would barely huff and puff my way through it.  So, a happy girl I was, when things went smoother than my pessimistic premonition.

It’s also been a year since my last marathon.  The Dopey/Disney Marathon weekend was two weekends ago and my facebook Timehop-ped me back to those days and memories.  I am starting to get restless without a race on my calendar to look forward to.  Trust me, this is still an odd thing for me to say considering 8 or 9 years I would have scoffed at this type of statement about running.  Or any statment involving my name and running really.  This is calling my name:

it’s in my backyard

I love that it’s local, the weather is amazingly cool, and it’s a beautiful course.  Oh!  And family can come cheer me on – yay!  I talked to a woman at one of my LuLaRoe pop-up boutiques this past week and she has only missed a couple of years of this race.  She raved about it.  Not to mention, she was very nice and told me to contact her if I had any questions regarding the race/course.  I love my fellow runners!

This nailed it.  I’m signing up soon.  For the full 26.2.  I’m a little behind in training, but seriously, when has that EVER stopped me?!

this is a dynamic example of how I like to spend my free time  

Of course the lottery for the New York marathon is also currently open.  Yet another marathon call!  It stays open until February 17th.  I put my name in the year before last, but no such luck.  I’ll submit my entry soon for this one, too.  I’m thinking of signing up for it on the 3rd since this is my birthday.  Maybe it will be good luck?

I had visions of starting to run about a week and half ago.  In my mind’s eye, I was doing a great job of getting up and being outside pronto.  Mother Nature likes to mess with my brain and motivation.  The scene of my small town …

this was my backyard. it makes me giddy to say “my backyard”!

The snow is finally rained out and the streets are clear enough for me to be up and off my bum.  I saw a few other dedicated individuals running when there was snow/ice on the ground but grace, agility, and balance are not adjectives used to describe yours truly.  Now the excuses are gone and the race is a day closer.

I haven’t thought about a training plan.  My best adherence to a training plan was 87% and it was when I was part of a training group.  My best training cycle when I was on my own resulted in a 68% plan follow through.  I would like to do slightly better this go around.  Any suggestions or “I swear by” training plans?  Do you create your own or follow a more established one?

okay, I’m teasing – I really do want your advice!  awesome quote though, yeah?!

inner thoughts

I couldn’t decide on a title for this because it really is going to be a bunch of rambling – that probably should be the title.  The following things have been rattling around my brain for the last few days and I need an outlet.  Lucky you!  Of course it’s in list form, silly goose!

1. People who say you either shouldn’t or can’t eat a whole pie by yourself clearly lack ambition.  Trust me.  I am ambitious.  I really don’t know why I don’t make pumpkin pie more often – I love it.  Maybe it has to do with my ambitious nature.

2. Super thankful for my little ice machine.  My normal supplier was closed up for the holiday weekend but “babycakes” (as I affectionately nicknamed her – stolen from Spike, see below) did a great job.  Multiple cupfuls of ice were consumed.

someone left this was on the ground – ice just WASTED. shameful

3. I had big plans on being productive during this past minibreak.  I wasn’t.  Unless you count powering through a couple of seasons of Flashpoint, which I doubt I should.  TeamSpike forever.

look how cute he is!

4. Have you ever watched so many episodes of a tv show that you get really into the characters?  Seriously, I had to remind myself “these people ARE NOT real!”  Maybe I should have talked to more actual humans…

5. I did not go black friday shopping this year.  I’ve done it for YEARS – back in the day when I was home for Thanksgiving break during college and my mom would drag me out of bed to run through walmart picking up presents for the little cousins and family.  While I kind of felt like I abandoned a tradition, I didn’t need anything.  Not to mention I didn’t want to be mobbed by all of the people and traffic.  Social anxiety saved me money and clutter this year!

6. Monday morning I had the brilliant idea to weigh myself.  I know, WTF was I thinking?!  Nevertheless, I knew it was time to face the numbers.  I haven’t moved much since I ran the marathon.  I should definitely be more than 2 lbs heavier but “thankfully” my ulcer makes it difficult to eat, so you know, silver lining.  Now, I need to get back on the treadmill for some walking, swimming for less impact and continue to strengthen my muscles with the PT exercises.  All of this written out looks a bit overwhelming considering my recent lack of motivation so I am going to break it down into some manageable pieces.

truth

7. Speaking of ulcer city, two things.  Sad face – I can no longer have my afternoon coffee (well, I managed yesterday but probably not advised).  I’m not kidding when I say, I find a sense of lost in this fact.  I luuuuurve it.  But it kicks up my stomach pains, so to the curb with it.  Next up – happy face – my stomach hurt on Wednesday even though I sort of had the day off BUT I felt better for 3.5 days!  Better than I have in MONTHS.  It was delightful.  Sunday afternoon?  Acid boiled up again.  Stress man… working on some life changes.

That’s all for now.  I have a couple of other random posts on the way and hopefully some kind of aerobic activities to report on in the next few days.  I have every intention of losing these two silly pounds in the next 22 days, so I better get crackin’.  Not to mention, the endorphins, digestion help and the overall good feels that come with being active.

this might count?

fangirling & more

Yesterday I watched some of the Boston Marathon – so amazing!  One of my former Ragnar teammates ran and she kicked some booty!  It is just so freakin’ inspiring, I can’t even handle it.

It makes me want to RUN ALL THE MILES!  SIGN UP FOR ALL THE RACES!  DO ALL THE TRAINING!  In fact, last night I looked into a few fall marathons.  I have no idea what to pick, all I know is I want one on the calendar.  That and a 1/2 – it’s going to happen soon – there is no denying it.

Some positives after my headachy post…

Yesterday it was windy and rainy all day.  I loved it.  The sun never came out – just gray and wonderful.  I’ve noticed I am missing PNW-like weather more and more… I think it’s a sign.

Because of the aforementioned weather, I get to stretch some of my winter/fall wardrobe a little longer.  I dig it.  I love to layer.  In fact, I was talking to a co-worker last week and they were talking about all of the “elements” I wear.  I decided to adopt this word into my style vocabulary.  I like to wear a variety of elements.

Since the need to sign up for a 1/2 and a full is hitting me, I wonder if there is a giant surge in registrations across the country/globe after Boston.  Someone should do some research and get back to me – much obliged.

The Blerch looks at me everyday.  Everyone asks me what it is and it’s very hard to explain.  But it helps to keep me motivated.  Sometimes the motivation is to simply to get through a difficult work day, which is no small feat.  Good job Blerch.

blerch – reminding me to not give in!

I’ve lost some weight.  During the Whole 30 I dropped 9 or 10 lbs but I wasn’t sure if it was a lasting weight loss or simply a short term by-product of the drastic changes.  Now, a few months later, I can say it’s for real.  It’s a solid 10-12 lbs and I feel much better.  I’m shooting for 8 lbs more.  I once took a Self magazine health assessment deal to find my “healthy weight”.  I was certain it would be higher than my weight at the time, 125 lbs.  Nope.  It said I should be around 110.  Yikes.  Naturally, I tried to get down to 110.  After a surgery, I managed it.  However, this is not a healthy weight for me.  Despite being a shorty, I’m not structurally built to maintain a 110 lbs and still eat, run – all that jazz.  Lesson?  Don’t take those assessments in “health” mags.  A couple of lifestyle changes I took with me were measuring my coffee additions every morning, gluten-free, A LOT more protein, actually cooking meals and reading labels.

I thought there was more of a point to this post.  Oh well.  Running on the docket for this eve, although it will be some inside miles since it is cold and windy outside and I don’t feel like freezing my buns.  I’ll leave with this pic of Simon.  He was giving me the ol’ ‘you don’t give enough attention’ look yesterday.  Yep, my poor chubby bunny of a cat totally suffers from lack of attention!

silly cat

thursday truths

Man, I wanted to think of another “t” word for this title as I love alliteration.  But I was too lazy.

Anyway, here are some truths:

1.  I didn’t run Mon/Tues/Wed.  I know I said I was going to and that I didn’t think I should run more than 3 days in a row.  Now I’m about to run 4 days in a row to finish out the week.  What can I say?  I was cold.  And tired.  And lazy.

2.  I don’t like mini Reeses cups but I like regular size ones.

3.  I’ve figured out how to have two coffees a day.  I figure since my morning coffee is smaller (BARELY 16 oz) then I definitely need 6-8 oz more in the afternoon.  It’s science.

this is me

4.  My co-workers mentioned this movie today and now we all can’t stop laughing about it.

5.  As mentioned, I had pizza last week.  Now, I can’t get rid of that craving!  I’m ordering it again on Friday night.

6.  My friends have surprised me with a fun day on Saturday with all of us together.  They all have kiddies and two live out of town so this is a BIG deal.  The truth part?  We are going to watch 50 Shades of Grey.  The things I do for my friends.

7.  I’m really in the mood to buy stuff.  I’ve had to talk myself out of it on a couple of occasions so far and even asked office mate to step in and talk me down from the purchasing cliff.  Aside from the two pairs of running shoes (used birthday money) I’ve been doing okay.  But the urge is so tough to fight!

8.  I’m just freakin’ freezing lately.  It puts the kabosh on ALL of my motivation.  I want my hoodie/sweatpants cocoon forever.

this was basically me today

9.  I’ve been in bed by 10 pm (one 10:30) every single night for the last week and a half.  I’m surprised at how this has helped my tummy.

10.  Speaking of my tummy, I desperately wanted to order the best pizza ever this past Saturday.  It’s from a local place, mega deep dish, buttery goodness.  I mean, I had the phone number DIALED.  Then I remembered how horrible I felt last week and thankfully held myself back.  It was a good decision, especially since I’ve felt pretty decent all week.

11.  Of course this means I did some of that horribleness to myself last week.  Pretty much a work in progress, I am.

this is the opinion of my stomach

12.  My concept of hell would be an endless line of cars that I had to scrap ice and snow off of forever.  I absolutely hate doing this.  I have no idea why I live in MI.

13.  I’m headed to a real live PT professional tonight to have my ankle/arch checked out!  My arch has been messed up for a couple of years now and my ankle for about a year, maybe a tad longer.  It’s a free walk-in injury clinic that happens once a month through our local running group.  I almost didn’t make an appt because driving at night AND in the snow is just a bad idea for me in general.  Then I figured out I wouldn’t be able to make it for another two months.  I decided to stop being lazy/nervous and JUST DO IT.

14.  Apparently, I can’t count as I realized (with the help of a friend) that Simon will be 10 yrs old this May.  What in sam-hill?!  I can’t even get over this!  I thought he was going to be 8.  Some pet-mom I am.

Simon loves some Rocky 4! This was two years ago. I’m weirded out…

I WILL run tonight.  I can’t put it off any longer if I am going to hit 20 miles this week.  I’m hoping PT person will show me how to tape my ankle up right as it helps immensely.  Or they will just pull the ache/pain out of it all magic like – I’d be okay with this as well.

Over and out friends.

friday brain dump

1.  I ran/walked last night!  It was the first time since Sunday and I was worried I was in for it.  “It” being loads of pain and labored breathing worthy of a 40 yr smoker.  Not to mention, once I’m on the lazy train, it’s not so easy for me to jump off of it.  But I did and it was better than I anticipated.

2.  While on the tready, someone from my alma mater called.  Yes, they were asking me to contribute monies but she also asked me lots of questions about my experience at GU and they were related to what I was saying.  It was so fun to talk about my times at my beloved Gonzaga!

so much love for this place!

3.  MI winter.  You are cold.  Or “frigid” as my weather app states.

4.  I made the meme above.  I was excited but then realized it was harder than I anticipated.  Not because the process was hard rather I felt on the spot to “be funny”!  This is exactly the order (be funny) I gave to office mate and he looked at me and said, “too much pressure”.  I concur – I’ll rely on the interwebs for mine.

5.  I’m going to eat some pizza this weekend!  I am so excited!  I haven’t had pizza in a month and a half, which is seriously too long.  Gluten free and hopefully easy on the tum-tum.

6.  I wore all shades of black/dark blue this week in honor of good ol’ V-day.  I used to love Valentine’s back in the day when we exchanged them in grade school.  Also, back then we just went and bought a box of them at the store & attached candy.  With regular tape – the horror!  I’ve had some of the worst valentine’s days ever here in MI so this year and last year as a singleton, I send my love to my friends and family and this is enough.  Although there is a bit a bitterness that lingers, hence the black dress for the week.

7.  I had to go to the store twice this week during my lunch break because I can’t keep my med refills straight.  I was all set to be able to hibernate this weekend (see above winter meme) – I even decided to order cat litter and a new windshield wiper from amazon last night!  This morning I realized I have a different prescription that is going to need to be filled this weekend.  Bullocks!

8.  This article is really good.  There is a lot of swearing so if that isn’t your thing then either pass it over or just prepare yourself.  The message is great though.

this is mark manson’s image for the article – I just took out the title. He gets all of the credit for a great article cover photo!

I’m out!  Enjoy your weekend!

the big birthday

thanks beautiful man

Here we are… my birthday.

For me, my birthday is essentially a version of Jan. 1.  I make all kinds of resolutions/plans since I’m rehashing the past year anyway.  Resolutions isn’t exactly a fair word since I’ve given these up a few years ago.  But still, it makes me think about what I want for my year.  And this helps define my purpose for the next 365 days.

Yesterday (my actual birthday) was a really busy day at work.  We gave tours to perspective students and I worked a table from noon-4 pm.  The highlight of this was the caf offers these oh so delicious cookies.  Seriously, they are my absolute favorite.  They are filled to the brim with gluten and sugar but I decided to throw that aside for my birthday treat.  I’m sure I’ll pay for it but LOOK

#worthit

The frosting is perfect – the fondant W?  Nope – that hits the wayside.  For dinner, I was off to Red Robin.  I’ve been craving a burger and fries and they have the best fries ever!  I also really like their gluten-free hamburger buns.  I got silly full with french fries, campfire sauce and a birthday beverage.  I’m not kidding – I brought home 3/4 of my burger and more fries.  AND 3 containers of campfire sauce <–totally addicted.

I also came home to a lovely snuggle buddy

Work out update, I ran/walked 3 miles on Monday.  I didn’t get right up and get on the tready, I lazed around for the day, watched some Parks and Rec, Super Natural and ate an undercooked waffle.  Seriously, snow days are MEANT to be enjoyed no matter that was a partial work day.  I still got them miles done (along with some cleaning) because I have this dandy renewed sense of motivation.  The miles were a struggle, I’m guessing it was from the 4th day in a row on the treadmill.  Most likely not a lot for many but since I’m still in the “getting back into it” phase, I was feeling a bit shin splinty.

Anyway, it was a better birthday than I anticipated.  Not because I thought it would be a bad day per say, my friends and family are/were wonderful.  But I thought I would have the birthday blues.  However, I realized I DIDN’T feel as down in the dumps about being a year older (mostly – I mean, c’mon, it still freaks me out somewhat) rather I have a good feeling about the year…

to me! I mean if this doesn’t inspire a good year, what would?!

wellness update week 2

Snow day!  It was called last night at 7 pm.  This is huge.  Usually, if there is a snow day called I get the notification at 5 am because they wait to make sure there is no possible way to stay open.  That should give you a hint of the giant chunk of snow that fell.  As my dear friend said, “it’s the universe gift to you for your birthday!”  Good omen for a good year?

Anyway, we are here to talk wellness from this past week.

Mind

The first part of last week was pretty stressful.  I did some tapping & was pleased to see it helped.  The days went by quickly as I had twice the number of meetings during the week as before.  I also felt really productive this week, which is always nice.

check this out – an empty to do list!

Friday was an anxious morning.  I had bad dreams the night before & didn’t get to see some of my usual suspects who help ease some of it.  Instead, I broke down to office mate within 5 minutes of him coming to the office.  Don’t you wish you could share an office with me?!

A big mood booster mid-week was a yummy dinner with a dear friend!  Nothing like good food & good talk.

Last, the whole birthday thing… It’s looming (tomorrow!!) & filling my mind with all kinds of doubts, big plans, angst, & being grateful to be around to see this day again.  However, it dawned on me that I’m now officially old enough to have a midlife crisis.  An actual MID-LIFE crisis-whaaa?!?!

Body

I worked out 5 days last week! I have no idea when the last time this happened.  Years?!  Monday was 3.5 miles-3 on the treadmill & a 1/2 mile around campus.  Tuesday was the same scenario/mileage.  Remember?  I don’t do Monday work outs.  Eww-gross.  So, my actions were worthy of these honorable mentions.  Wed, dinner & Thursday was another rest day.  I had no juice in the tank.  Friday looked to be the same-I was even in my running skirt but the couch was so inviting & Simon so snuggly.  BUT I made it, for 2 miles.

Science experiment: see the details here.  I followed through.  Announcing it to you all was a big help, office mate knew & wanted an update & my sister called to get some details.  Saturday-5 miles & most of those were running.  I put 1/2 of my running clothes on straight-away, only drank 1/2 of my coffee & then magically enough was on the tready.  My stomach seemed to do pretty well with this plan.  I was hungry afterward & downed 2 hard-boiled eggs quickly.  Too much for the ol’tum for a couple of hours.  I was really productive for the rest of the day, too.  Laundry, dishes, kitchen cleaning, energy bite making, Old Navy run & vacuuming.

Sunday.  I definitely had less enthusiasm for the experiment & I drew out my 1/2 cup of coffee for longer than I should’ve!  Nevertheless, as I was in 1/2 of my running gear, I got on the treadmill.  I wasn’t feeling good enough for running, so I walked 5 miles instead.  I did feel better after the walking session. And it made 19 miles for the week!  Wahoo!  I’ve made some good progress the last 3 weeks: 7 miles, 10 & now 19. I’m pleased.  31 miles for January!

The experiment was a success.  I’m going to give it a go for the next few wkends to see if this is real change and a real help to my health.  Yep, I did learn something in those bio classes – repeat those experiments.

No swimming though, as I’d hoped.  Part of it was I just too cold to want to get all wet in a pool.  Then there is this 8k on Saturday.  So I concentrated on running.  I also did better with following my combo diets so while I don’t feel excellent it was much better than the week prior.  Progress?  Better follow-through?  I’m playing it safe for a while in regards to food-apparently gut healing takes some time.  Must heal the tummy!!

unscientific science experiment

As previously stated (more than) a few times, it seems I’ve been sick every single weekend for the last couple of months.  Some of this is unavoidable since not feeling well is kind of my (gluten-free) bread and butter.  However, on the weekends it intensifies.

pretty, no?

So, as mentioned on Monday, I’m going to conduct an experiment this weekend.  Brief caveat, the reason this isn’t totally scientific is because I can’t create the exact environments/conditions of previous weekends.  There were a variety of variables that I can’t (and don’t want to repeat) so I’m going to wing it on that part.  This is where the unscientific part comes into play.  My bio profs from undergrad would totally give me side-eye at this point.

LOVE her (I feel this way most days, actually)

Nevertheless, (I changed my major anyway) here is what the experiment will entail both Saturday and Sunday:

1.  Wake up and change into half of my running clothes – the other half will be sweatpants because I love them.

2.  Eat a banana, take my meds and make a cup of coffee.

3.  I’m only allowing myself to drink 1/2 of my coffee.  No more.  This will test me.

truth – but science must prevail!

4.  Jump on the treadmill – or at least meander my way to it.  My reward will be getting the rest of my coffee when I’ve finished my work out.

5.  Get ready for the day.  Enjoy aforementioned coffee.

6.  Be excited for sticking to the experiment.

I really have absolutely NO idea if this will help with sickness issues or not.  Fingers definitely crossed.  I will say, my anxiety and now stomach problems always hit me harder during on Saturdays and I think it’s due to my mind/body decompressing from the week.  My docs have talked about this phenom with me and essentially, when I get time to rest, all of the pent up business from the week hits me.  Sometimes my migraines work this way too.

I hate working out in the mornings – so many tests this weekend!

If anything it will be a change up from the norm.  What I’ve  been doing so far certainly hasn’t helped not to mention my couch cushions could use a rest from my  buns.

Last night?  Nope, no treadmilling.  Instead I put those eggplants to good use and made these patty type deals.  Truthfully, I’ve never had eggplant so I wasn’t sure what to expect or if I would even like it.  Today I had a patty and half over some salad for lunch and it was good!  I used some balsamic as well and it was even more filling than I anticipated.  Here is the recipe I used but of course I axed the garlic (major stomach killer), the onions, although I used a smidgen of onion powder and added some paprika for my spice.  I’ve always likeed paprika but now I’m falling more and more in love with it.

eggplant success dance

I’ll report back with whether or not my weekend experiment was successful on Monday.  Yay for Friday – I’m ready to embrace some laundry, some Old Navy and making those energy bites.

tasty energy bites – I need one stat

Today I’m feeling all kinds of out of sorts and lethargic.

Here is what I’ve done so far to battle these feelings:

1.  Drink a 32 oz coffee (not super either diet approved)

2.  Took a 20 min nap during lunch.

3.  Drank 7 oz of hot chocolate (I’m losing track as to whether or not this is diet approved)

4.  Walked around outside.

5.  Was somewhat successful in being productive today.

None of these helped.

I’m still debating whether or not to do some miles on the treadmill.  I’m guessing it will aid in my feeling blah but the energy it takes to just change my clothes sounds like too much.  Then there are the two eggplants sitting in my fridge that are on their last little eggplant legs and I don’t want to lose them.  They need and want to be eggplant patties!  How about the fact that it is FREEZING outside and my body temp won’t regulate itself.  Of course… running would help this.

this looks like a good compromise

*Sigh*

Instead I will post this recipe for these very tasty energy bites.  Yesterday, we had a presentation from a nutrition education counselor in our meeting.  He brought us said yummies and I was a bit skeptical at first.  I should not have been.  Seriously, make these and eat them – your tummy/taste buds will appreciate you!

Energy Bites:

1 cup Old Fashioned Oats (I bought gluten-free)

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup of honey

1 cup of coconut flakes

1/2 cup ground flaxseed

1/4 cup sliced almonds

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1 tsp vanilla

Mix it all in a bowl.  Let the mixture chill in the fridge for 30-45 mins.  Once chilled, roll into bite size balls and EAT THEM!

Store them in an air tight container in the fridge.

***I bought dried blueberries instead and will use some pecans as they don’t seem to bother my stomach.  I haven’t decided about the honey – it’s a no-go on FODMAP so maybe I will 1/2 the amount called for?  I didn’t have any troubles yesterday so not sure yet… my life is full of such decisions!

Tomorrow is another day!  With the power of these treats I will prevail!