Learning New Habits

First of all:  Thanks to all my friends who are willing to read about this journey and be my encouragement/support system.  Your willingness to jump in and help is humbling.


So, as part of this fitness journey, I'm trying to learn new habits.
1.  Get rest (8 hours is the goal but 6 hours of sleep is usually the reality); resist hitting the snooze button and just get up
2.  Eating well (by eating well, I mean Paleo and I'm supplementing this with homemade vegetable/fruit juice...more veggies than fruit)
3.  Exercising (regular gym workouts with intensity and Crossfit on the weekends)
4.  Meditating (not easy since my brain tangential thoughts...hard to quiet all that riotous noise in my head).

I happened to read a blog that I like to follow called Zen Habits (#ZenHabits).
Today's posting talked about http://zenhabits.net/bank/ was creating compound habits (e.g., like compound investments.  Making small changes over time to lead to habits.  For example, to start waking up earlier, don't do it in a big chunk, start waking up earlier 5 minutes at a time and before you know it, you are waking up two hours earlier and not feeling the huge impact of the change).

EATING WELL
I think I'm changing gradually with the exception of food.
In a book that I read called, IT STARTS WITH FOOD, six pack abs are made in the kitchen (what you eat)...So, I'm trying their Whole 30 program and eating Paleo for 30 days.

Today is day 2 of my Paleo journey.
I had pot roast for breakfast (a homemade crockpot concoction that I made on Sunday and will eat off of most of this week), a pre-made Paleo lunch by PowerSupply (they deliver pre-made Paleo meals to Crossfit Gyms in the DC region (I go to #CrossfitManassas), and I'll have pot roast for dinner.  For snacks, I had two 16 oz vegetable juices that I made with my juicer at home last night. 
Biggest thing that I have noticed, I'm not having the crazy, grumbling stomach cravings that I usually do when I'm eating candy and other sweets during the day.


EXERCISING
Today's small add, I did assisted pull ups (112# assist).  For the tough mudder, I'm pretty sure I need to be able to schlep myself over things...I need to start improving that upper body strength now.  I'd like to be able to do 5 pull ups by April.  Do you think that's doable?


REST
Last night, was only 6 hours.
Will try better for tonight


MEDITATION
Will endeavour to meditate tonight as part of my bed time ritual. 
I'll commit to 3 minutes per night (a small change).

Wish me luck!

Get serious!

So here are some metrics over time.
Not a whole lot of progress.



Truths:
(1) I don't consistently eat like I should
(2) I don't consistently exercise like I should

Goals:
(1) To eat more Paleo (I will follow the advice of #CFFOTG (Crossfit Fire of the Gods) which has led me to #RobbWolf, #Whole30, #BalancedBites)
(2) To juice veggies and fruit (I follow #Drew Canole and his guidance on juicing)
(3) Exercise consistently with intensity to complete the following races this year:
- Complete the Tough Mudder in April 2013 (signed up yesterday)
- Half Marathon on 01 Jun 2013
- Marathon in Oct 2013
I will do this at Lifetime Fitness and #CrossfitManassas.

Defining my Why:
I want to be more fit and healthy in order to be more energetic.
To decrease and/or the eliminate the need for BP medicine.
To give me more longevity so I can be a great wife, mother, child, and friend.

And...just to put it all out there...here's my before shot (Jan 2013).

I commit to 90 days of being more healthful...will post an after shot at that time.

Tea with Lemon

I found a new love!
Lemons!
Nothing more enjoyable in my tea than a healthy squeeze of lemon juice.
It just wakes up the flavor.
I drank a lot of tea this week while sitting in a class...easy to stay hydrated when you're a captive audience...just keep that 16oz container Starbucks mug filled to the brim.