An Eat Clean Diet success story!

This particular story was extremely inspiring for me. She had many of the issues I face! Definitely motivating!!

Success Stories - Stacey Haley - The Eat-Clean Diet

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Friday!!

It's been a busy week, and I'm really excited that we don't have a show this weekend! Our schedule gets fairly frantic in September and October, so I'm going to enjoy my last weekend of relaxation for a while.

The last couple of days have been pretty good! I woke up yesterday morning and stretched and realized that my hamstrings felt like someone had beaten them with a crowbar! Sitting down isn't a problem, but trying to get out of a chair is a bit difficult. Now I know what those dead lifts are designed to do! Glutes are a bit sore today, but everything else feels okay!

I'm going to spend some quality time with the new man in my life this weekend - Tokio's Mom is out of town, so I'm going to be attempting to exercise him for her. It will be great for me to see if I can put together what we've been working on without my coach there to whisper "thumbs on top, carry your hands, sit on your pockets, shoulders back, chest up, more inside leg, make him look to the left (right), half halt, half halt..." :) See, I can do it!! KK is coming up on Saturday to do a photo shoot for us, so maybe we'll have some good shots to post.

I'm hoping to take Sabrah out to Lake Bryan this weekend with my friend Leslie for a lovely little jaunt. I ordered a neat book called "The Power of Positive Dog Training" and am looking forward to working with my pups, especially Sabrah, using the methods described in this book. We're hoping to start our agility classes in September provided that they mesh with my work schedule.

Off to finish up the afternoon here at work! Hopefully I'll have the opportunity to do a little blogging this weekend; otherwise look for another looong post on Monday!

Busy 24 hours!

I woke up this morning feeling pretty rough. I had a really hard time falling asleep last night even though I was totally exhausted - my body was very very sore. Finally about a quarter to two, I got up and downed 800mg of ibuprofin - and sweet relief came shortly after! Unfortunately, I had to wake up. :)

I was afraid that my workout this morning was going to be extremely difficult, but I was surprised at what I was capable of (for the second time in 24 hours!) and progressed through my warmup, more squats with arm weights against the xball on the wall, and some complicated plank/lunge/step up moves on the step block. We then moved to free weights and worked my upper body (chest and back) with presses and upright rows, then finished off the set with dead lifts to strenghen the lower back. (Breathe and repeat) I really enjoyed this morning! I made it through the entire 30 minutes without feeling sick at all! Yay!! I'm truly amazed at how quickly I'm improving in stamina. I didn't fall asleep in my chair this morning, at least!

As I mentioned before, this morning was the second time I'd surprised myself in 24 hours; the first surprise was last night during my lesson on Tokio with Sarah. I was pretty sore in my quads and in my posterior regions, so I fully expected to fatigue quickly and asked that we work on the stuff that would require the most effort and strength right away. Well we did, and I never fatigued!! I finished my lesson on a very high note, and still felt capable of doing more!

We worked last night on using half halts at the trot to balance and create throughness in his back, and I had some really nice quarter and half circles! Dad was there to video, so I'm hoping that he caught some of those moments for me to see. He asked me one time why we ride horses like that - seeing as how it's so difficult to learn to put all the pieces together. My answer at the time was that it was the communication with the animal, the experience of the ride, and the challenge of learning to do it all correctly. My answer to that same question last night would have been simply "because it feels like I'm floating." :) I'm starting to understand how to put myself and the horse together, hold it together in a non-forceful way, and sense what minor changes to make to maintain it for more than 3 strides. My last two lessons have been tremendous breakthroughs for me!

I really want to thank all my sweet family and friends for the words of encouragement you've sent me after reading yesterday's post. Tiff, Aunt Janet, Mom, KK, Sarah, Sharon, Katie, Julie, Patty, and Leslie - your support is essential to me, and I hope that I can repay you for it in some small way.

Also, Congratulations to some of my very favorite people are in order!! First, a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Mason Russell Blalock and congrats to Mom and Dad, Jessica and Kyle! And a huge Hey!!! WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! congrats to Gared and Shawna who got engaged!!!!!!! I'm sooooo very happy for you all! Jessica and Kyle - I can't wait to meet the little man, and Shawna, cruise? Soon? Please? Yay!!!

Summary of the first week of the New Me!

This lovely picture is to demonstrate how I currently feel about the "place" I've been in for the last few years. Don't get me wrong - I don't have a bad life, at all whatsoever! I just haven't been living it to the fullest. I've decided to commit to making my next thirty years (sounds like a Tim McGraw song) be fun, fulfilling, adventurous, and healthy! So, I'll get this party started by sharing my "List".

I started my List about the time that Julie, Kate, and Dusty moved to New York, but really got serious about accomplishing stuff on it about a month ago (with the exception of the dressage lessons) I've put an asterisk by the ones that I've begun!

6 month Hobby/Activity/Intrest-to-be-Cultivated list:

Pay car off**!!*!*!*!* (done!)

Dressage Lessons* (every Tuesday evening with the best trainer in the world - Sarah Denham!)

Working out with personal trainer* (Mon and Wed mornings at *ugh* 8 am with the other best trainer in the world - Sharon Johnson!)

Start cooking/experimenting with recipes* (Eating Clean means I have to actually cook, and I'm finding that I love it!)

Photography (begun research on cameras)

New Laptop (Dusty and I are researching, and I'll prob. buy in the next couple of months)

Sabrah - obedience/agility classes (start in September)

Trip to see Julie/Kate/Dusty (also next month)

Dressage Schooling Show (Sometime this fall)

Cruise (planning for January/early Feb)

Iphone

Take Western Regional Dental Hygiene Board, get Texas License (next exam is in the Spring)Savings!!

12 month list:

Ireland trip

Hiking/other outdoor adventurous trips

Find me a man!

More frequent trips to MS

I also would love to find a church to attend and get involved with, but it seems that my weekends are generally booked through the rest of the year between working shows and going out of town. So if I can't do that, I intend to start working my way through some Bible Studies like Beth Moore and so on. That falls in my 6 month list as well! Gotta make a trip to the Christian Bookstore. :)

I will also be chronicling my workouts, riding lessons, and new recipes that I come up with. Here's a summary of the last week:

Workouts:

I started with Sharon on Wednesday morning, bright and early, at 8 a.m. I made the mistake of not eating breakfast before I got there (didn't allow enough time to do it), so it was a tough workout for me. I started with 5 mins on the elliptical, then moved to a circuit of walking lunges with a 4 lb medicine ball (rotating to alternate sides with each lunge), leg presses, assisted pull-ups, a HUGE step block, some tricep curls and then rows. After 3 sets, we finished with some yoga stretches, which were great, but my stupid belly kept getting in the way. It's starting to get the picture that it's GOING DOWN, MAN. ;) I left the studio and went on to work, got there an hour early, and spent the entire hour sitting in my chair recovering, and finally was able to eat a little breakfast. And boy, was I tired that night! BUT, I did manage to go to Kroger and stock up on supplies for my new way of eating. I spent about $110, but those groceries have fed me (and April a few times) all week long - 3 meals a day plus 2 energy booster "snacks", and I have the basics in my pantry to keep it up.

Yesterday morning (again, ugh, 8 a.m.) was better in the sense that I had made time to eat before, and had much more energy! I was definitely more prepared, and started with my 5 min warmup on the elliptical (with a little bit of arm resistance added in), then more walking lunges with the medicine ball. Next we did squats against the wall with an exercise ball behind my back and hand weights to press up as I came up. Then on the leg press. After 3 sets, I was wiped!! I got to work an hour early again, and fell asleep in my chair for about 20 minutes, haha! I'm pretty sore in my quads, hamstrings, and glutes today, but yay! My lesson tonight is going to be kinda tough, I think. Hello, my dear friend Advil...

Speaking of meals, I came up with a few yummy recipes that I think will become staples for me. Wednesday night, I made a salad with Romaine lettuce, baby spinach, whole wheat rotini pasta, cucumber slices, shredded mozzerella cheese, and a chicken breast that I had um, sauteed? in olive oil, salt and pepper, onion, and a little garlic powder. Very yummy! Thursday night, I made my own southwestern eggroll/burrito thingy - whole wheat tortilla, black beans and corn, brown rice, chicken, and shredded (organic 2%) cheese, seasoned with my own blend of "southwest" seasoning. I put the burrito in the oven to crisp and melt the cheese, and voila! (or ole!) Last night, I made another salad - inspired by the Apple Crunch salad at O'Charleys. It was the Romaine/Baby Spinach blend with garbanzo beans, whole wheat rotini, Gala apple slices, pecans, shredded (organic 2%) mozzerella, cucumbers, and chicken that I'd george-foreman'd with soy sauce. I added a yummy dressing on the side (made from low-fat plain yogurt and orange juice concentrate), and had a really delicious Asian-y tasting dinner. All of these meals I've made have resulted in lots of leftovers, and I have been combining the elements for my lunches every day. For breakfast, I have been eating low-fat vanilla yogurt with fresh raspberries, a slice of toast with peanut butter, and a glass of milk, or raisin bran with a side of yogurt or all-natural applesauce. I'm eating really well! And feeling even better!!! For the basics on my new eating philosophy, check out the Eat Clean Diet, and also Clean Eating Magazine.

Riding Lessons:

Last week, I tried out my new butt spray. Sounds like a personal problem, I know, but it's the most amazing thing ever! :) It's basically spray-on glue that gives you a little more stick in the saddle. For a big mover like Tokio, it's a necessity. Sarah bought some, tried it, and immediately called me to recommend that I bring a can home for myself! I applied a little to the inside of my half chaps, and a light dusting of my seat, and my ride last Monday was one of the best I've had! In addition to being able to keep my lower leg in place more easily, I was able to sit the canter more effectively, and even make changes to my position (thumbs on top, elbows glued to my sides) while still maintaining impulsion (the gas pedal). We also worked on effective half-halts (and I finally grasped the concept of what they really are and what they actually do) and canter departs (moving from a nice, forward, on-the-bit walk directly into the canter without losing contact, position, or my sanity). Tokio is absolutely awesome, a gentleman, and a total saint for putting up with me, and teaching me so much! And I can't say enough about what a wonderful instructor Sarah is - she's supportive, encouraging, and entertaining, and even if it's just the most minor thing, she enthusiastically praises and compliments each little breakthrough. I've ridden all my life, but have never felt such a sense of accomplishment as I do at the end of a lesson on Tokio.

Apparently, I haven't put enough peppermints in the machine yet...