Meditation “A-Ha” Moment

Meditation is a trending topic that doesn’t seem to be losing steam. I think we all understand the immense benefits that can be found with a regular meditation practice, but I suspect many of you struggle as much as I do. I have read the hundreds, probably thousands, of articles helping me to understand how important meditation is and can be for my life. I’m just not getting there. I have taken short 2-4 hour classes, day long seminars, and month-long programs with homework and meetings 1-2 times per week. I’ve downloaded ALL.OF.THE.APPS. I’m not connecting and I keep thinking that maybe it’s just me, but I’m stubborn and I can’t accept that it’s just me.

Then this morning happened. I was listening to Episode 115 – Happier of The Minimalists podcast and they had Dan Harris on as a guest. He is the author of 10% Happier and most recently, Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics. Spoiler alert: I couldn’t download his books fast enough. They are both ready and waiting in my Audible queue. I won’t give up on this meditation “thing” despite the hours and hours I have poured into it with no success. Today’s breakthrough proved that my efforts were not in vain because they led me to Dan Harris.

I don’t think these are his exact words but Dan said something along the lines of, “Meditation is knowing you’re distracted and starting again.” Meditation is not a quiet, uninterrupted mind but yet this is what I have been striving for, for years. I took my first meditation course in college when I worked for a psychologists clinic. That’s coming up on almost ten years ago and I’m still not good at it! Dan’s words this morning really sparked something new inside of me though.

When I’m meditating and my mind is all over the damn place and focusing on my breath is just about the last thing I can do, I’m doing it! Not only am I doing it, I’m doing it well! Think about it this way, I’m a runner so this makes the most sense to me and I think sports tend to be the easiest to understand on a grander level. Those days when you are absolutely pumped to go on a run and you go out and kill it, what do you learn? Yeah, you had a great run and you were excited to do it, but what did you get out of it? Now think about a day when you have no desire to run, maybe even because you have a big challenge ahead of you. Your first real long run during marathon training, for example. When you get out there and do it, and achieve your goal despite not wanting to and/or thinking you can’t, what do learn?

Same thing goes for meditation. When you are calm and collected and sit down to meditate, of course you are going to think you are the most bad ass meditator the world has ever seen. Did you get anything from it though (other than the ego boost)? 🙂 Probably not. I know those are the times that I felt like I was doing it right but they were also the most disheartening because I just felt a little bit more calm. It was kind of a “what was the point?”, kind of moment.

After listening to Dan’s words on the podcast, I gave it another shot when I was far from cool and collected. Guess what? His words resonated. The old me would have berated myself and told myself I’m the worst meditator in the world and I should throw in the towel. To some extent, that’s basically what I’ve been doing for almost ten years. I’m a very active, on-the-go, highly productive type of person. So, naturally, meditation comes very difficult to me and if I feel like I’m not doing it right or “getting it”, I’m not going to waste my time.

I finally understand how people can meditate in the morning. Any expert I have ever listened to or read about has pushed the benefits of morning meditation. I always thought these people were bat-shit crazy. My mind is all over the damn place in the morning. That or I’m ready to fall back asleep if I try too early in the day! 🙂 I’m looking forward to trying it tomorrow morning when I’m feeling like a crazed lunatic. I’ll update you weekly on my progress with my newfound knowledge.

If you have insight and/or you have experience a breakthrough from this knowledge, please let me know! I would LOVE to chat about it!

With love,
Elizabeth ❤

Tone It Up Nutrition

For me, this year is the year of the anti-diet. I tried so many different diets last year and while I learned a lot, I also found my head spinning constantly. There were many times over the last year where I found myself sitting, completely unsure of what I could or should eat. At one point, I was afraid to eat anything but raw fruits and vegetables. I was miserable. I’ve started the re-building process and as you may know, this year is about small, meaningful changes.

I’ve followed the ladies of Tone It Up for quite some time now. I like the movement and I like the inspiration they are giving to so many women. Recently, something called out to me and I decided to jump on their website. By the end, I was ordering their nutrition plan kit and I was ready to go all in. There are many things I like about them, including the fitness portion, but I want to focus on the nutrition aspect today. The reason I hit that order button was because I was purchasing guidelines. How to eat to fuel my body with no major restrictions. I started with the Love Your Body Series because it includes meal plans to follow and I wasn’t at a place where I wanted to try to put together my own meals yet. 

Yesterday was day one. The biggest thing I learned yesterday was that along the way, I forgot how to read hunger cues. I was eating when I wasn’t really hungry half the time and waiting far too long at other times. (You know, that shaky, desperate, I’ll eat anything that comes near me, type of feeling.) The layout and timing of the meals suits me perfectly and when I was bored throughout the day, I realized that I would normally grab something to eat even though I wasn’t hungry.

Knowing what to eat had become a big struggle as well. I was desperately scanning Pinterest and buying new cookbooks to try to put together meal plans. It was time consuming, expensive and still wasn’t working. I needed the guesswork taken out. If someday I decide to move toward Paleo or Vegetarianism, they have plans to support those diets plus more. For now, I’m on the regular plan with no major restrictions other than added sugar and fried foods.

One of my goals this year was to also eliminate the processed foods from my diet and my family’s as well as reduce waste. I can see this plan helping with both of these efforts. With the meal plan to follow and shopping lists provided for each week, I’m buying exactly what I need and I’m using it as long as I continue to follow the meal plan, which I will. 🙂

A big bonus that really had me excited last night was that it won’t be a huge adjustment for my husband. He went through the roller coaster with me last year which meant a lot of “weird” recipes and despite my best efforts to accommodate everyone, he ended up having those diets forced upon him come dinner time as well. Last night, I made the Chicken Cacciatore and he LOVED it. Tone It Up ladies, you have my attention. 🙂

Vice Detox

I am currently reading The Wellness Project and right from the beginning she had my attention. One of the first big changes she talks about are her vices, sugar, alcohol and caffeine. If you saw my post from yesterday, you learned that my goal this year is to take small steps in improving my health rather than a life-altering, overwhelming overhaul. As this is something that has been in the back of my mind, I decided to start my own vice detox.

My version is a bit different. I am eliminating coffee completely. I am limiting alcohol to one drink on Friday and Saturday nights only. I’ll get to sugar later after this initial round with coffee and alcohol.

If you know me, you know that coffee is almost a part of who I am. I live by it which is precisely the problem. It has completely control over me. Without coffee, I don’t know how to start my day. At the same time, I know coffee is wreaking havoc on my internal organs. The acid reflux that accompanies my afternoon coffee is unbearable. Just yesterday, when I decided this vice detox needed to happen now, even my morning cup of coffee made my acid reflux flare and I was miserable for the rest of the day.

Instead of running to the coffee maker, here is what my morning now looks like:

Notice, I’m still having a bit of green tea. While reducing my caffeine consumption overall is important to me, eliminating coffee itself is my focus. And let’s be very real, if I didn’t have this green tea, no way would I even make it through day 1 of this vice detox once the caffeine headaches kicked in!

To my surprise, I didn’t try to offset the lack of caffeine with sugar. I was sure I would reach for a lot of sugar and made myself several notes as a reminder. What was also very surprising was that my energy was actually pretty high all day. Yes, I have the caffeine headache. Not terrible but certainly noticeable. I am thankful for a slower work week while I work through this caffeine detox. I’m definitely not at 100% but so much better than I thought!

In other news, if you need an awesome weeknight dinner, look no further than this Slow Cooker Chicken and Mushroom Stroganoff. YUM! With how busy our lives have become, I was struggling with dinners and realized that I needed to start embracing the slow cookers to make sure I was getting dinner on the table. This recipe will 100% be a part of our regular rotation from now on! Delightful!

KISS (Keep it Simple Stupid)

In reading the title, you are reading my mantra for the coming year. I am focused on simplifying every area of my life. I have realized that I let life and the circumstances surrounding life control me. My family and I had gotten so busy, that I didn’t have the control I wanted. I simply kept my head above water. Consider this, if my life was simpler, would it be such a struggle to manage? If I have fewer things in my house, I have less to clean, less clutter to pick up and less to eventually throw away. If I spend time meal planning, I spend less time grocery shopping, figuring out what to eat last minute, and throwing away unused and wasted groceries.

Keep thinking about these two examples. There are other goals embedded within these examples as well. When I looked at my goals for 2018, I quickly realized that simplifying my life would be the first and biggest step toward achieving my goals.

  • Reduce waste
  • Increase amount of $ in savings account
  • Eliminate processed foods
  • Embrace minimalism

In addition, while simplifying my life, I will have more time for the goals I care about most such as training for a marathon, spending more focused time with my family, strengthening my marriage, and exploring new hobbies.

The biggest drive for simplifying my life is in regaining my sanity. I’m studying at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition and my nutrition was the cornerstone of my focus and activities in 2017. You know what happened? I was far too strict. I learned some things along the way but the biggest thing I learned is that I have to be very careful when trying new diets. Losing weight would not be healthy for me, but it was happening. After doing Whole30, I was so afraid of eating anything that wasn’t a raw fruit or vegetable that I was miserable. I was weak. I was always hungry. I had no energy. It took me months to climb back out and start eating like a normal human being again. While I do see the merits and benefits, it wasn’t for me in the end.

This year will be different. I will continue to make improvements in my health, fitness, nutrition and overall wellness but I will be doing it slowly and I’ll be doing it my way. Baby steps. Right now, I’m removing coffee from my diet and limiting my alcohol to one glass per night on Friday and Saturday nights only. These are simple changes that I can make that will improve my health over time. Once I have these under control (and have made it through the withdrawal phase of reducing caffeine intake), I’ll add a new item to focus on in improving my health.

The big takeaway here… if a diet is not working and you aren’t feeling well, stop. It’s not for you. Move on. The creators of these diets make it seem like you just need to push through because it should be working for you since it worked for them and many others. You are not the creator and you are not the person next to you. Listen to your body. Listen to what it is trying to tell you. I promise it’s not your fault. It’s the diet not you. One thing I will urge you to do is use it as a learning experience. Look at the aspects of the diet that you struggle with the most. Learn something new about yourself and now the diet is a success! 🙂

Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting – this is a hot topic right now. I’ve read about it on several blogs and it seems to be coming up frequently on various podcasts. Even though the ketogenic diet is on my mind right now, it is not the right time to embark on that type of diet just weeks before Christmas. I would most certainly be setting myself up for failure. Intermittent fasting is something that I have also been wanting to try and I feel that it is a positive change that is sustainable through this time of year.

You’re probably thinking I’ve done loads of research and have this intricate plan. That’s not quite how I work. I do some research to verify my decision to move forward but I wait until the time is right. So, at 6am this morning, I decided to go all in. I pulled together the bits of research I had done and made a plan for the next few days.

Surprisingly, the morning went quite well. I honestly expected to be miserable because it’s pretty well known that I like to eat all the time. This morning, I had one cup of coffee (only one!) and went about my day. I handled some work meetings and worked out mid-morning. After my workout, I went back to more meetings. I had a clear head all morning (well, as clear as possible given the fact I’m fighting a cold) and my energy stayed consistent through the morning. Normally, I see a dip in my energy around 9-10am and reach for more coffee. My many cups of morning coffee were now down to only one first thing in the morning. This alone was eye opening.

Around 11am, I knew I had to pay attention. I have gotten very good at listening to my body overtime and I was quite thankful for that today. Shortly after 11am, I started to feely the shaky, desperate for food feeling. The, “when the clock strikes 12, I’m going to eat everything I can find” kind of feeling. So, rather than waiting until 12, I ate around 11:30am. I ate a good, balanced meal and felt fantastic. I didn’t feel weighed down or bloated, I felt satisfied and strong. I didn’t overeat like I expected to either; I ate just what my body needed.

In order to make sure I eat enough, I’m using MyFitnessPal to track all of my food consumption. I sometimes struggle with this on a normal day, so due to the fact I am restricting my intake to a shorter time period, I’m being extra-sensitive. The last thing I need is to lose weight. This is a benefit that drives many people to IF, but I’m doing it for the many other reported health benefits. For me, I just need to find some consistency. Especially considering how much I travel, I need some consistency in my health that can translate to both home and travel.

He’s the weird thing for me. I’m battling a cold but I had energy at 2PM. WHAT?! Normally, when I’m feeling 100%, I’m ready to die at 2pm. Seriously, so f-ing tired! I’m feeling good about this!

So far, I am very excited about this journey. I have read about some of the struggles with hormone imbalances that women can face in this journey so I am also monitoring that aspect. I read an article today that indicated BCAAs can help your muscles during your fasting period, so I’m going to try that tomorrow.

First meal: 11:30am
Time since last meal: roughly 16 hours
Last meal: 7:45pm
Feast window: 11:30am – 7:45pm

Today was an intermittent fasting success!

I Failed Whole30 and I’m Glad

You’re intrigued, huh? This post likely won’t go in the direction you’re expecting so hear me out. Two weeks into Whole30, Labor Day weekend was upon us. I had no reason to veer off track; we did not have any major plans or parties. We spent some lovely time at the beach but all in all, it was a pretty regular long weekend. I can’t tell you exactly what it was, but on Day 14, we got to the beach and I said to my family, “I don’t think mommy’s diet is going to hold up today.” Once I gave myself permission, I knew I would “cheat”.

There are a few interesting things to think about here. Once I gave myself permission, it actually took quite a while for me to cheat. All of the things that I thought I wanted over the last couple of weeks, were no longer appealing now that I could have them. When I finally did indulge, the thing that I was hoping wouldn’t happen, did. I felt awful. I wanted to get sick. I was super cranky the next day. I looked like I was about 6 months pregnant from the bloat. I felt sick. The most interesting part about this? I only had 1 beer and a few tortilla chips. That’s nothing! That’s barely cheating and look at what it did to me!

Clearly I needed this more than I thought. My why was strong coming into this, at least I thought it was, but I am not a fan of, “You can’t have, do, eat, etc…” From a mental perspective, it doesn’t hold up. I question it. I want to know all of the science. Even when I do, I just don’t like being told what to do! Now that I have failed the program, I am in charge of why I am or am not eating foods. Now I am sticking to Whole30 100% because I want to.

I was noticing transformations that I never expected. Let’s take my performance at the gym. The beast that I knew was inside finally came out. The exercise-induced asthma that I developed as a child was suddenly gone. My lungs were no longer holding me back and I was unstoppable. That cheat day put all of that in jeopardy. I was/am not ok with that. Most importantly, I haven’t had reflux since starting the program. I don’t know the last time I went that long without reflux. If I’m looking at a life without reflux if I keep eating fresh, amazing food, I’ll take it!

I’m now able to connect my why with me. Not reasons I’ve read from testimonials. Not because someone told me it would be great for me. Not because I read it in a book. This time, Whole30 is on my terms.

With gratitude,

Elizabeth

 

Perspective

Hi friends! I’ve been going at full speed all day so I apologize if this post is a bit harder to read. My brain is officially leaving the station. 🙂 I had a realization the other day that led to a thought-provoking conversation with my husband and I think everyone can benefit from it. At the end of the day, all of the twists and turns and variations of our conversation came down to perspective in one way or another.

 

I woke up like this.

While this is an idealistic fantasy, do you really want to “wake up like this”. Personally, I want people to know about the blood, sweat and tears that got me to where I am today. I don’t want to downplay a second of it because I worked my ass off. There seems to be this social mindset that by not trying very hard but still doing well is some impressive thing. Why? I remember that from school. “Oh, I barely tried on that test and got an A.” Ok… Why do we want to pretend like we did nothing for all of the great things in our life?

I didn’t wake up like this. I didn’t get a body like this because I’m lucky. I’m not able to do the things I do because I’m just built for it. That’s crap and the only reason you’re telling yourself that, is to make yourself feel better. Don’t you dare downplay my commitment and hard work to make yourself feel better for not trying hard. I’m not here because I got lucky. I’m here because I put in the time day-in and day-out. You bet your ass that’s the message my daughter will get growing up. No silver spoons in this house. That’s not how I was raised and it doesn’t do anybody any good. Ok, rant over. 🙂 I suppose I didn’t quite realize how strongly I felt about this topic until now. Enjoy. I’d love your feedback and thoughts (even/especially if you disagree)!

Have a lovely day!
XO Elizabeth

Embracing Minimalism

Today did not start off great. I woke up tired and cranky (it was very much my own fault). I struggled through the first hour or two and all of a sudden I was in the zone. I’ve been struggling for a while with the clutter and organization in my house and it’s finally gotten to the “enough is enough” stage. This is the downside of working from home, I have to sit and stare at these kinds of problems. After finishing a big project with a tight deadline, I went on a rampage.

I started to break down the areas of my house that are bothering me the most. My office was ground zero. It becomes the dumping ground for everything and it greatly impacts my productivity. I have so much on my plate every single day and re-organizing is the last thing I want to be spending my time doing. Things should have their place, they should get put back in that place after being used and that is that.

I started by making a checklist of everything that I thought needed to be done at the time and started gutting various areas in my office. Everything came out of the closet. My side of the desk was completely cleared off. I cleared out my cabinet. Emptied one of the bookcases. I wasn’t messing around. It looked like a tornado but the wave of peace that washed over me when I saw those empty spaces told me I was on to something. I went through all of the items now laying on my floor and asked myself some questions:

  • When did I use it last?
  • When do I see myself using it again?
  • Am I keeping it just because?
  • Have I ever used it?
  • If I’m not sure when I might use it again, can I replace it quickly for a reasonable amount of money?
  • If I was in someone else’s house and was looking for this item, where would I think to go?

Some of these questions may sound odd, but hear me out. Let’s actually start with the last question… I found nail polish in my office. I found my daughter’s toys. I found snacks. None of these things should have been in my office. So, that led me to this question. If it didn’t belong in my office, I put it in the room that made sense. I didn’t worry about cleaning that room though. One step at a time. No multi-tasking. That’s how I’ve ended up discouraged in the past. I tear apart five rooms and then I’m too exhausted to actually put them back together.

Ok, back on track. The rest of the questions really help me understand whether I keep the item or get rid of it. If I can replace it quickly and for a reasonable sum and I don’t know if I’ll ever need it again, it’s gone. If I haven’t used it in years, gone. You get the point. I rebuilt the areas of my office that I had torn apart and even though I still have the urge to get going, I feel so much more free. It’s like a huge weight has been lifted. If you don’t believe it when people say physical clutter = mental clutter, you need to go through this exercise.

I created a checklist to finish my office and then made a list of all of the rooms in my house and prioritized them. At the moment, I know which room I’ll be minimalizing next and so on. I may not be as much of a minimalist as I’d ultimately like to be, but judging by how much stuff left my house in a garbage bag today, I’d say I’m on the right track.

I really encourage you to watch The Minimalists documentary on Netflix and listen to their podcast. Even though I was so inspired and aligned with the message, I wasn’t sure how ready I really was to take the leap. I kept listening to the podcasts and reading blog posts and the mindset finally started to sink in. If you’re interested in the movement, I highly suggest starting by educating yourself. Don’t just go throwing away all of your stuff. 🙂 Baby steps!

Have a lovely day friends!
XO Elizabeth

Logging and Planning

More super exciting stuff coming your way! I know these topics may seem a bit boring but they are important so here me out. Also, keep me accountable in the future when I think I’m just that good that I don’t need them anymore. (Hint: I’ll never be that good!)

Let’s start with logging. I have recently started logging everything. Every workout. Everything I eat. My moods throughout the day. My energy levels throughout the day. Where I spend my time. Every task that pops into my head (no matter how small). The list goes on and on. Basically, if it’s in my head, it’s going down on paper.

One reason I do this is because it frees up so much mental clutter. It’s like minimalism for your brain. 🙂 Another reason I do this is to improve my productivity and schedule my day appropriately. When are my high-energy/brain clarity moments? You better believe I’m scheduling my creative tasks, like preparing presentations, during this time. When do I feel like I need a break and need to put my feet up? This is when I schedule in admin work or other jobs that don’t take a lot of brainpower or creativity.

File Jun 21, 9 27 08 PM

I plan out close to every minute of my day and then look back to see when I deviated. Then, I try to diagnose why I deviated. Sometimes it is an unexpected phone call or meeting. Other times, I didn’t have the energy to do a good job with the task I had scheduled in that time block. I need to know that so it doesn’t happen again! Basically, what I’m getting to is that logging helps you analyze your days and find trends in order to optimize your time and energy. The reason some people are uber-productive? They know how to plan out their day accordingly.

Incredibly productive people don’t walk into their day with no plan and just sit down and miraculously solve the world’s problems. They look at what is on their plate, prioritize and make a plan. This also keeps you from being bored or looking for work. When is the most likely time for someone to open up Facebook and lose several hours? When they have just finished a project and aren’t sure what to do next. That hasn’t happened to me in a long time thankfully. On days when I don’t plan appropriately, the thought sneaks into my head and I get frustrated with myself!

For me, the Bullet Journal is my go-to strategy. I have spent hundreds (probably thousands) of dollars on various paper planners and apps trying to find the right ones. For my paper planner, I need a Bullet Journal because I need it to be 100% mine. I don’t fit in a nice, shiny box. I am juggling so many things and the off-the-shelf pre-configured paper planners just don’t cut it for me. I also use the “2DO” app for managing all of my tasks. If I leave it to just my paper planner, things will get lost. For me, it just doesn’t work for planning projects and future tasks properly. Things were always getting lost. Finally, I use Evernote and Dropbox for note-taking and document management respectively.

Ultimately, don’t search for a tool to solve all of your problems. That was my key mistake in the beginning. I would buy the pretty paper planner thinking all of a sudden I would be productive. The reality is, you have to do the work and the tool needs to complement your processes.

Last but not least, keep an open mind and evolve. What you implement today will not work one year from now. You are changing. The world around you is changing. Your processes need to change as well. Realign with your goals and priorities and let your planning follow suit.