No Excuses November: Weekend Update

Oh, wow! What a busy weekend! My initial No Excuses November plan was to have a blog post daily, but that definitely did not happen this weekend. I have revised my goal – still shooting for daily, but giving a little bit of leeway on weekends. I don’t think I’ll be nearly as busy the rest of the month as I was this past weekend but who knows! (And yes, I totally meant to post this last night - whoops!!)

Thursday night I had a great workout at the gym followed by a delicious dinner. I made some super healthy – and super easy - Banana Protein Pancakes. Take a look at how simple this recipe is:

Just mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and fry up like a normal pancake! This amount made about two pancakes – just enough for me :-) I chose to top mine with just a little bit of honey but you can do all kinds of combinations depending what your nutritional goals are.

Friday was crazy for me. Mostly because I had tickets to the P!nk concert Friday night. I’m not even joking, this was by far the most phenomenal show I have ever seen – and I’ve been to more than a few concerts in my day. I’ll admit that the Keith Urban concert I attended Saturday was phenomenal as well, but P!nk’s performance just blows everyone out of the water. She is far more talented than I ever imagined – being able to accomplish Cirque de Soliel-like tasks WHILE singing blows my mind!

That being said, Keith Urban is still a VERY pretty man and my floor seats were amazing.

Needless to say, with all of the concerts I did not eat the healthiest this weekend. Or really invest a whole lot of time working out. I did invest some time into new shoes though!

And into decorating my Christmas tree:

I know, I know, it is only November but it just looks and feels better when it is decorated for Christmas. Makes me smile at least!

My big "Monday Highlight" other than getting a great workout in and eating some healthy teriyaki chicken for dinner was my shiny new wireless keyboard and mouse at work...also note the awesome new owl mug :-)

I'll get my Tuesday post out tonight...expect good things!!

No Excuses November: Strength

So today I'm going to start off with a short story. I was lifting yesterday after work, like usual, when I was approached by someone I hadn't seen before. Now let me say one thing here: when I lift, I totally zone out. I'm in my own world, doing my own thing and sometimes it may look like I'm looking around -  or at someone or something - but I'm really just looking through things. I don't pay attention to my surroundings at all - I'm just totally in my own head.

Anyway, I was approached by someone I'd never seen before and he opened the conversation with, "Can I tell you something? I gotta tell you something." So naturally, I allowed him to continue. "I see you working out and whenever I see you, in my head I go, "There's that strong girl.' I see you putting up that weight every day and all I can think is, 'Wow, she's strong.' That's what I call you, 'the strong girl.'"

Needless to say, I was flattered and it definitely put a spring in my step. But it got me thinking about different kinds of strength. Sure, I can go to the gym and deadlift and clean and squat and feeling physical strength puts me in a better mental place. But that physical strength is such a small part of the package; an integral, yet miniscule part of what I consider my overall strength.

And while I'm flattered and proud of being noticed for what I accomplish in the gym, I'm more proud of my inner strength: the strength that I've acquired through overcoming all of the trials life has thrown at me and working through all of the questionable decisions I have made.

Life is hard. The daily grind wears on you. Relationships, friendships, jobs - everything takes its toll. And though we grow and we learn how to deal with different people's temperaments and different situations, each of these obstacles force us to look inside for strength. The strength to find a way to learn from each situation; the strength to not let a situation break us down. And each time we get through, our strength is building and we are growing.

Ten years ago I was not the person that I am today. Not even close. Ten years ago I was just finding my strength. I was just learning how to overcome the negative around me and I was just realizing that I was the one who had the power to decide what would happen next. I could choose to give that power to someone or something else, but I was still the one making that decision. It was just dawning on me that I didn't have to give that power away, I could retain that power and use it to build my own strength.

Its a process, it really is. Whether you're finding your strength at the gym or finding your inner strength, it takes time and it doesn't happen all at once. Take each small victory for what it is worth: a VICTORY. Know that each step forward, no matter how small, is still progress. And each step back isn't a failure, but a chance to learn a new lesson.

No Excuses November: Challenges

Obviously No Excuses November is a challenge in itself, but it is ultimately about overcoming obstacles, establishing goals, making new routines and taking time out to really find what kind of person you want to be. It isn't all about getting things done and being more productive. It is about challenging yourself to become a better person all around.

 

We’re presented with challenges every day. My most obvious immediate challenge is just getting my butt out of bed in the morning to get that cardio in. Now that I’ve missed both Monday and Tuesday I officially have no leeway – there is no excuse to miss Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. 

There are always going to be obstacles to your goals. There are always going to be things that you’d rather do instead. Things that sound more fun than cleaning or more delicious than chicken and vegetables. Things that are prettier yet more expensive and less practical. The end objective is irrelevant, you still have to have that will power, determination and motivation to reach your goal.

There have been obvious challenges for me already this month: getting my morning cardio in, saying no to all the leftover Halloween candy at work, spending two hours on a Monday night cooking when I could be relaxing after my workout. Some challenges aren't so obvious - and these are the ones I feel are really worth discussing.

One of my not so obvious challenges that I’ve encountered in just these few short days is that, in some regards, I am just entirely too ambitious. No Excuses November is about establishing your goals – I’ve said it a million times. But when we set our goals, we have to make sure they are realistic. Anyone ever heard of SMART goals? Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound. I have a graphic hanging up in my station at work.

Things take time to accomplish and things come up that we didn’t necessarily plan on. I’m guilty of this on a normal basis but more so since this project has begun: I’m setting too many daily goals. They’re just small ones. Things I want to get done or finally tackle that I’ve been putting off. Things that need done at some point but that I’m moving up and deciding to do NOW. But I’m being unrealistic. And in the spirit of no excuses, I’ve been unnecessarily hard on myself. There is a point we have to come to where we have to acknowledge the possible. No, nothing is exactly impossible, but some things can be a little unrealistic without an additional 4 hours in the day.

In the spirit of being realistic I have decided that my weekly Tuesday routine should be to just relax. On Tuesdays I want to take time to get the things done that I meant to finish Saturday or Sunday or Monday but didn't get to. I want Tuesdays to be the day I can fall back on and know that I have when I may have over extended myself with previous agendas.

That being said, I definitely did not catch up on the two things I haven't managed to finish from this week (vacuuming and and PT job application). I did, however, make some super fun gingerbread cookies with one of my friends after my workout this evening :-)

And I managed to make a homemade pizza over my lunch break. It was delicious and extremely easy to make. I'll leave you with the "recipe" (I have this awful habit of not measuring spices). I took an ultra thin pizza crust and coated it with some extra virgin olive oil. I sprinkled some garlic into the olive oil and then topped with 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese. I sliced up some baby tomatoes and then seasoned the entire pizza with oregano and basil. So good! And it only took 15 minutes to prep and cook!

Happy No Excuses November - don't get discouraged and stick with it!!

No Excuses November: First Monday

That about sums up my thoughts this morning! Honestly, I had my morning all planned out last night. I was going to get up, do some cardio, make some breakfast and head off to work on time - maybe even early. Well, let's just say that isn't exactly how things panned out.

I managed to drag myself out of bed 15 minutes after my second alarm. Ok, in the spirit of honesty I'll admit I hit snooze on my cardio alarm about 4 times before just saying "not today." Even without my workout, I refused to let myself skip my healthy breakfast.

My one egg, two egg white, turkey and mozzarella sandwich was perfect fuel for a Monday morning.

I didn't have time for groceries yesterday with how productive I was so the lunch hour was perfect for a run to the store. I stocked up on what I'll need for the week - Meal Prep Monday is new routine #1 - and grabbed some fresh fruit and veggies from the salad bar for lunch.

Right after work was straight to the gym for some lifting. The goal on the Workout Routine is cardio at least three mornings a week and lifting at least three evenings. I'm also shooting for a combo of cardio and lifting on every Saturday or Sunday. I'm hoping I can get these things established to the point where they're no longer work anymore...how it used to be :-)

Had some tuna for my healthy dinner and a small piece of dark chocolate for dessert - gotta love Dove!

I know I mentioned Meal Prep Monday earlier and I'm hard at work sitting on my couch waiting for my chicken to cook. To be fair, the turkey meatloaf muffins are already done :-p

Oh, don't worry. I'm also applying for the part-time job I want to start this Spring...more info on that as the opportunity unfolds but I'm definitely keeping my fingers crossed.

So far No Excuses November is off to a great start for me, despite missing my workout this morning. Now, I know I'm the one who implemented this whole thing, but I think there is an important lesson to be learned here:  One mistake doesn't have to ruin the whole day! Even though things didn't go as planned this morning, I kept on going as if they had and still managed to accomplish so much - including cleaning the most weight I've ever cleaned at the gym! And the even better news is, its only Monday!  I have all week to still get my three morning cardio sessions in :-)

I've already had some great No Excuses November accomplishments. In just two days I've established my Sunday and Monday routines:

Sundays: Walk Zoey, Workout, Cleaning, Laundry and other Chores around the House

Mondays: Meal Prep, Cardio, Lifting and Accomplishing one small project 

And gotten so many little things done that I had been putting off. I can't wait to see what my new Tuesday routines will be. And remember, goals don't have to be big for them to make a BIG difference!

No Excuses November

November kind of gets a bad rap. Sure, there is Thanksgiving but so many people dread the month of November and we have to wait all the way to the end of the month for that delicious meal. Temperatures get colder, Christmas items (which came out as early as August this year) are formerly welcomed everywhere and men do that no shave thing.

That's why this year I've decided to institute "No Excuses November" for myself and any of my friends willing to participate. I've had a rough time getting motivated lately (in SO many different arenas) and I thought taking a month to revamp, revitalize and rejuvenate my routine was in order.

No Excuses November isn't about one specific thing - its about everything! I'm making it a point to set weekly goals that I want to become my new lifestyle. Week one's goal is to map out new routines. I've gotten into the habit lately of getting off work, planting on my couch and spending the majority of my evenings there. Well, that needs to stop!

My new routines will help me to be productive and stay on top of all those little things I've been forgetting about lately. Or even the little things I've just been purposely blowing off (cardio, anyone?).

I still have some work to do on what exactly my new routines will be but I'm very excited about my first day of No Excuses November - I got so much done! I started this morning by taking Zoey for a walk. We went down to the greenbelt and enjoyed the beautiful fall weather...and colors:

Zoey was doing so well on the walk and we didn't run into too many people so I had to let her roam free just a little:

She did great! No running off and stayed near me the whole time. What a great pup! After our walk Zoe passed out while I made lunch and headed to the gym. That's a three mile walk followed by cardio and lifting. I had to hurry home a little faster than I preferred because mom came over to help with some yardwork. We didn't get it finished but we sure did get a lot done! I'll be finishing up the rest next weekend - no excuses!

I'll fill you in on what my new routines are as soon as I get them concretely laid out...and I definitely will before the week is out! I already have so much on my to-do list for tomorrow!