September Stuff

Hiiiiii! How are you?

I know I have been MIA from blogging for almost two weeks, so I hope you have not sunk into a deep depression. I guess I just don't have as much to post about when I am not at a wedding or traveling. Sad face:(

Welcome to the wonderful world of being back at work.

I think this is the first year that I have really not been ready to come back. Most years I am excited for the productivity that returning to work brings, but maybe due to my busy summer of traveling or the fact that I worked all summer (unlike past summers), I could have used a few extra weeks.

Oh, well.

One of the main things I always have to get back into when work starts up is a new exercise schedule and meal planning. I am babysitting Tuesday and Thursdays this year after school from 3:30-5:00 and have also joined a fall social wiffleball league that plays on either Tuesday or Thursday, so those days leave little room for a workout unless I want to go at the end of the day, which is not my favorite (especially when it is still hot and/or dark early).  Other days I am just TIRED after work and have been wanting a nap more instead of feeling energized enough for exercise. I have a neighbor that I walk with at 5 PM most every day, and sometimes that is all I have energy for. So between all of that and the fact that it is getting dark earlier, I am getting up before work around 5:30 AM to run. In the dark.

I don't absolutely HATE running in the morning, because since I am half asleep it is more like I am running in a trance than a torturous state and I do have more energy as the day goes on when I run in the AM. It is just not fun in the evenings mentally knowing I need to get to bed early enough to have enough energy for a run. I am trying to reframe my thoughts (hello counseling techniques!) and be thankful for the sleep I do get because I know many people live on a lot less than what I get most nights (7.5- 8 hours during the week).

Reframing my thoughts!

I also have been trying to work on my eating plan. I did well overall in the summer (besides weddings and vacations becauseIlovefoodatweddingsandwhenIamoutoftown- pass another cupcake please!), but I was finding as the summer was winding down that I was not feeling as satiated or energized from my meals. I have developed into much more of an eater and lifestyle liver based on how I FEEL rather than how I LOOK. I don't like the way many foods make me feel and I don't like feeling hungry all the time. I keep adapting my lifestyle from many different books I read and people I talk to, and I know am working on integrating Primal Eating into my way of life. Focusing on natural foods (including meats!) that are raised and slaughtered properly and foods (like fruits, vegetables and eggs) that provide nutritional value and fuel. I have moved a long way passed monitoring calories only, and now look more to what is IN the food I eat and how I feel when I have had it. This way of eating requires more planning and money initially, but once I get the hang of it, I think it will balance out. Am I completely abandoning being a vegetarian? No. I still won't eat meat when I don't know where it comes from, but I am ok with local, organic meats.

This won't be a 100% time program, as I will still have the occasional sweet treat and carb, but I am aiming for 80% of my eating and lifestyle to be based on this plan. My running is easily incorporated into this, and I am excited to see how my body feels. I am noticeably more focused on my body and how I feel than I used to be- I don't like late nights at all anymore because it disrupts my sleep schedule and I hate how I feel the day after a poor evening of eating. Ahhhh welcome to adulthood and healthy living I guess:)!

So that is about all that is new with me. A wedding update to come after this weekend when my college friends Colleen and TJ tie the know!

Oh, and here is the new MBK 2013-2014 counseling team! Sorry it is cut a little awkwardly...