Whoa!!! Nearly 4 years since my last post....what?!?

Thanks to time hop I found myself going back and reading my blog.  Why do I torture myself with these things?  So amazing how excited I was about life, working out and what was to come.  My how the times have changed!  Don't get me wrong, I'm still excited about my life, it's just the whole working out thing that I cringe at right now.  For the first time in my life, I'm not working out and haven't been for the last 3 years.  So easy to jump off that wagon and so hard to jump back on.  Eeek! 

I read the entire blog Saturday, got myself up and walked 4.5 miles. I didn't die but I'm definitely NOT in the shape I was in when I started this blog.  In fact, I texted the Hus to come pick me up as I was done and so were my aging hips.  I sure was motivating back then but as I walked I slowly started to cry.  I thought about all the changes that have taken place in the last 4 years.  Nursing school got harder and more intense and I stopped working out as much.  I taught Zumba for a little bit longer and slowly stopped doing that too.  I started working and working and working and then gaining, gaining and gaining.  We lost Dustin's dad and a week later, his grandmother passed away too.  My kids just keep growing and growing, slowly slipping through my fingers.  I feel my nest slowly getting emptier and it saddens me.  It doesn't help that Jason, my oldest, has decided to attend NMMI for high school.  This requires him to live ON campus and not under my roof for the school year.  *enter river of tears here*  While I'm totally excited for him, I'm still sad that he won't be at home.  

My focus has been on my family, our meals together, our lives together and making sure my babies are supplied with whatever they may need while a lot of times putting what Maureen needs on the back burner.  Been there?  I'm sure we all have and I've got news, we are human.  So I'm starting this blog again to motivate, not you, but myself to keep striving to be that Maureen I was meant to be.  I'm here to say life happens, priorities change and we may not be in the health we once were.  It's not okay to beat ourselves up for that, which I have done so much these last few years.  From this point forward, I'm going to be gentle with my ever changing life; be nice to me and soften my heart to the life changes that are out of my control; lift my spirit so that my health is, once again, my priority and in turn I will be a better me (wife, mom, friend).  

 

"Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy." - Anne Frank

Today marks the 4th year since my dad's death and thought provoking it has been.  That day, our family's world crumbled.  It was horrible and brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it.  I will never forget that day no matter how many years pass.  My dad, I know is with me all the time and today he proved it.

When I was younger, after my dad lost his dad, he would always say that whenever he saw an Irish Setter that it reminded him so much of his dad and it usually happened when his dad was on his mind the most.  I understood exactly what he meant when my dad passed away.  My sister said at his memorial that matter cannot not be created nor destroyed, it just changes form.  We believe that my dad took the form of a monarch butterfly that day and now I'm always reminded of him when I see them. 

I had a nursing exam today and let's just say it was NOT my best performance.  I'm sure I could have prepared more for it and been less distracted by life but like my sister, I have adult onset A.D.D.  :)  Anyway, we are sitting in Mental Health later in the day and the fire alarm goes off randomly and we evacuate to the front lawn.  The break was nice, a minute to soak in some sun and not be cooped up in the building.  We of course, are bitching about how horrible the exam went when I looked over at the Mexican bird of paradise flower beside us and this monarch butterfly flies down and lands on it.  I lost it!  Hi DAD!  A simple sign that I'm headed in the right path even if I've had a horrible day and that he is there with me when I need it the most.  :)  Thanks Dad!  You always knew how to reassure me even when things were at their toughest!  You are my hero and my motivator and for that I am forever grateful.

It's the INSIDE that counts!

As most of you know, I have started nursing school...YAY!  My mind is overwhelmed most days and I find it hard to blog as often as I would like to.  One of my biggest concerns about school, which seems minor now, was when I was going to work out.  I have to say, this has not been a problem.  I still wake up and lift weights with my powerlifting team and I started teaching Zumba classes at the gym and a shortened class to my fellow class mates.  Working out doesn't seem like a chore anymore.  It's something that I've really started to enjoy and if I miss a day, even my nursing instructors notice that I'm not myself. It's a privilege (sp) and now something that I really look forward to! 

But that's not the message I wanted to share.  The BIG deal, the BIG picture I wanted to share is so deep (literally).  I have reeped the rewards of working out.  I've lost weight and I feel so great!  But that's not it either...that's just a perk.  As I'm mulling over all of this nursing stuff and trying to cram every last bit of information into my tiny brain, I can't help but notice that each and every disease we have learned thus far requires a nurse to teach the importance of diet and exercise.  We've been through respiratory, cardiac, urinary, skin, etc. and each and every time, I see the words "lifestyle changes to improve diet and exercise".  We all, especially women, are so concerned about our appearance.  Stop focusing on that and start focusing on what is happening on the inside while you're making these lifestyle changes.  You are strengthening your vital organs which will in turn decrease your risk for so many diseases and prolong your life.  Even if you are just doing 30 minutes a day, that is something and your innards are LOVING the attention and let's face it, your outards will start reaping the positive rewards too.  Most importantly, you are moving to a new HEALTHIER, BETTER YOU! 

I'm addicted and I just can't get enough....powerlifting that is!

Ok...so I attended my first ever powerlifting meet this last weekend because my team had 3 lifters competing.  Sergio did bicep curl & placed 1st in his division!  Lucas deadlifted and placed first in his division!  AND Drew benched and not only placed first but set an American record benching 615 pounds!  They were outstanding! 

I have to be honest here...I didn't really get it, you know, the whole "Beast Mode" concept.  Was it really for me?  Was I truly a part of this team (not because of them but because of me)?  I felt like I was in for just the workout and I still really didn't get it BUT after watching the competition...WHOA!!!  Something just clicked!  It was like I put on my Beast Mode shirt and I held my chest a little higher yesterday...not just because of how well they did but because I was part of something bigger than just myself or our day to day stuff.  I was a part of this team that strives to achieve more than just going to the gym.  Everyone there speaks the same language and we all understand eachother and the mindset that is involved...talk about motivating!  Just what I needed to light a fire under my ass! 

Lucas & Marissa always say "lifting with a purpose"...while we are being honest, I didn't get that either!  I get it now and plan to put those words into action!  I am so ready to get back in the gym tomorrow and really strive to see how far I can go with this!  I was intimidated this time by competition and women lifting more than I could.  This will not be the case any more!  I want to be the girl that chuckles as I pass by people because I know I can deadlift them or that 70 year old woman that is still powerlifting!  That WILL be me!  And I am so going to rock that singlet with my girls Reana & Marissa!  It is on!

Thanks team Beast Mode!  You guys inspire me to push the limits!  :)

Kick Your Excuses to the Curb & Move On!!!

This is a hard blog to write but at risk of sounding like an insensitive, blunt, unempathetic beeeeee-otch, I'm just going step right out on a limb here and then I will kindly remove myself from my soapbox.  :) 

 

How much does your mental health affect your weight loss and your life in general?  People, you are making too many excuses for yourself and I DO NOT EMPATHIZE WITH YOU!  Call me an insensitive bitch if you want to but the truth is you are all making excuses and it's time to stop and get over it!!  I know, easier said than done but seriously enough is enough.  Day in and day out, Americans are making excuses for themselves and it is leading to horrible decisions.  I'm too busy to make a sandwich for myself so drive thru it is; I have too much going on, I don't have time for the gym; my parents died so I'm gonna eat this giant fried twinky and two stew meat and potato burritos...you get the picture. 

Is anyone else as frustrated as I am?  I, of all people, get it!  I've been there; horrible things have happened to me and I've been there too.  Let me be the proof that you can OVERCOME!  You will prevail!   I did and I am thriving today because of where I've been.  I went through, in seven months, what people go through in a lifetime.  I lost both my parents and it was horrible.  I let that be my excuse; that I was grieving so much that I didn't have time to take care of myself.  Are you serious?  Does anyone else see how rediculous these excuses are?  I mean really, it probably takes more time to drive through McDonald's than it does to make a turkey sandwich, right?  The truth is, I made these excuses for myself.  In an instant you can overcome your excuses!  Your mind is your best tool, so get out there and USE IT!

Educate yourself!  The more you know about diet and weightloss and how your body responds, the more results you are going to have.  Take the negative energy and the silly excuses to the gym and take it out on yourself.  Let go and stop letting these little things win.  Mind over body....yes! it hurts and it will hurt a lot but it's going to hurt a lot less than a heart attack! 

Harness the endorphins (happy hormones) that are released when you exercise!  You will not only start to reap the benefits of exercise (ie: weight loss) but you will feel so much better about yourself and start to see things more positively.  I've read that these endorphins can actually act as a natural antidepressant.  How powerful is that?  Even if you aren't in the mood, make yourself go and reap the positive, happy hormones associated with said workout!

My point is, as Jason Ellis so elequently puts, is to "HARDEN THE FUCK UP"!  [Insert apology here to mom's of friends; friends of my moms; etc. that read my blog, don't judge, I say fuck a lot and to be honest, it's way better than a heroine addiction]  Get out there and give life all you can give, stop making excuses for yourself and go get 'er done!  That is all! 

*Maureen kindly removes herself from soapbox located center stage and exits stage right*

Calling all BLOG readers!! Attention: Maureen needs motivation on the tread mill!

Does anyone else find it hard to get back into the swing of things after a long weekend?!?  I know I do especially when most of the weekend involved aliens, barbeques, bad food, a little drinking, swimming,  fireworks and of course, the hot-hot sun!  It's kind of what Independence Day is all about.  It's exhausting to say the least.  So how do you find motivation to get back to it? 

Today, I have to thank all of you who read this blog!  Why, you are wondering?  What did you do?  Well, you all had a hand at motivating the motivator and you didn't even know it!  I hit the gym this morning at 8:30 and started with some HIIT (high intensity interval training) and after about 10 minutes I was ready to quit, call it a day, throw in the towel and I kept thinking to myself "Self, what would your blog readers think? Would you be as motivating if you quit now?"  It was like I had all these little voices (blog reader voices, of course) in the back of my head saying "KEEP GOING! DON'T STOP NOW!"  Your voices pushed me through, got me over the hump and you all helped and for that I thank you!  I stayed on for 30 minutes and ran through my sprints twice then did weight training!  So PLEASE keep reading!  :)  You motivate me!  You keep me on track!  And my hope is that this silly little blog will have the same profound affect on you!  Get out there and be the best YOU you can be!

What are you teaching your kids? Featured Family - The Rascons

What are you teaching your children about a healthy lifestyle?  It's time to ask ourselves this question, America because the obesity epidemic is on the rise and has been for years.  It's been said by so many that our most precious natural resource is our children and I believe this to be true so ask yourself, what are you teaching your children? 

I've been reflecting on my own childhood and the lessons my parents taught me.  My parents were wonderful people who taught me so much about life and how to live it and to be honest, are still teaching me those lessons after they have passed (probably more so than before).  However, I think they had a downfall in the health department and it's not a reflection of them necessarily but their lifestyle.  I didn't see my parents work out and there was no one ever there to really say "Maureen, stop eating the entire box of gushers in one sitting".  I learned overindulgence of southern foods and sweets.  I vaguely remember my childhood (repressed memories I guess) but I do remember being praised for eating an entire can of biscuits with my grandma's gravy.  There was never really anyone there to teach me how to be healthy.  We had refined, processed foods readily available and that is what I learned. 

So as an overweight adult, I had to relearn what I was/wasn't taught.  I had to learn about the dangers of processed foods, refined sugars and carbohydrates and learn the benefits of a balanced diet free of massive portion sizes (thank Dad!).  A lesson I think I learned the hard way.  In no way am I blaming my parents for my weight issues but I think it contributed to my lack of knowledge of what is healthy.  I also remember going to my friend, Crystal's house and thinking it was weird that all they had was healthy, low fat food and that there wasn't a piece of white bread to be found.  There was always workout equipment there and they were always members of a gym.  I never really understood what they were doing and what the point was and as I look back today I think they taught their kids a valuable lesson.  They were healthy and fit and they in turn passed that down to their 2 daughters who are also healthy, fit and absolutely gorgeous women.  A few years ago, they even ran a race together!  How cool is that?!?  So I started thinking, what am I teaching my kids?  Am I doing as good a job as John & Linda?  Could I run that race with my kids?  I know the answer now is yes but a year ago...I don't think so!  You should ask yourself the same question.  I want my children to be better than me, not have the struggles I do with my weight.  I want to set them up for all the successes life has to offer.  They won't understand why now but when they are parents they will instill the same lessons to their kids (at least that would be my hope). 

Are you teaching them a life of sitting on the couch watching TV or getting out and being active?  Are you teaching them the benefits of a well balanced diet or the convenience of the drive-thru?  I'm not saying sit your kids down, class-room style but LEAD BY EXAMPLE.  They will learn the importance just by watching you.  I think the answer to part of the obesity of this nation is the resource we have in our children.  Teach them the ways of health & wellness and in return maybe they can turn our country around.  If we don't, I think the problem is only going to get bigger and to me, that is really sad.