We're better together.

I have a love/hate relationship with social media. Sometimes I feel like you only get the shiny versions of people, not the raw version. That's why I created a group just for us. It's called barre3, you & me. It's a support group of sorts. We can share the good shiny things and the not so good things. We can lift each other up when we need a little pepping and find supportive ears (or eyes) when we hit a rough snag. Barre3 for me is an ongoing journey. Sometimes I'm on my best behavior and sometimes I'm not. The ebb and flow of life. 

I've also added subject-matter experts to the group who chime in to answer questions and provide advice along the way: 

Alexis Goldstein L.Ac.C.SMA, MS, Dipl. OM- Chinese Medicine Expert -Acupuncturist. Alexis fields questions on injury/rehab/self-care/musculoskeletal informationhttp://anatomyacupuncture.com/

Jennifer Caliman - Fitness Expert - Personal Trainer, Pilates Instructor. Jenn fields questions on anatomy/physiology/injury prevention/ rehab. http://www.intimatepilates.com/about-us/instructors/

Dr Jennifer Karon-Flores, ND - Naturopathic Medicine and Holistic Health Expert http://www.kwanyinhealingarts.com/

Amos Prudhon, RD - Food Expert -Dietician and Chef. http://amosprudhon.com/

See you there! 

xo,

Jenn

10 years free!

Please excuse my brevity here, but I'm typing on my iPhone from bed. I'm too excited to sleep but won't risk waking everybody up by tiptoeing out to the desk for my computer. Hubby and I are heading to Vegas in the morning! Justin Timberlake in LV? Yes please! Yay!

We have so much to celebrate! Hubby's birthday, the Holidays, and my test results. I got my annual results back and I'm once again cancer free. That makes it ten years. I'm finally starting to believe it isn't coming back. It's a great reminder of how special life is and why we need to do all we can to give our mere mortal bodies every best chance at longevity.

After a big thanksgiving feast and planned debauchery in Vegas this weekend, I'm starting a 7 day body blast on Monday. Detox a bit and get back in the right mindset.

Celebrating 10 cancer free years with the family they said I'd never be able to have. Yay!

Xo
Jenn




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Triggers & Habits

Sorry for the silence. Things at work have been so hectic! The last thing I want to do when I wrap up for the day is to get back online. That said though, I thought that makes this an even more important time to open up and do my usual brand of over-sharing. After all, my sole purpose for writing this blog is to help you... on the off chance that any of this does in fact help you. I had a call today with a colleague. When I asked how she was, she replied "Busy, just like everyone else." Good point. Every one of us can say that... especially as we approach the Holidays. Busyness mixed with a just a pinch of seasonal depression... then sprinkle in a dose of Holiday comfort food and you have yourself a recipe for disaster.

So, let's talk about habits for a minute. We all have them. Good and bad. We've talked a lot about building good habits with exercise and routine. It's easy to talk about in the summertime when the days seem to go on forever. Not so much this time of year. At least not for me. These past couple of weeks, I've found it harder and harder to get my 40 minutes in. Even 30. My new habit is to do a 10 minute workout with the kids in front of the TV after dinner. I've been doing it almost every day. They think it's fun and like to join in. I don't even think about it anymore... it's just part of the day. Today, I added in another 10 in the middle of the day. If I can do 2 at least 6 days a week, I'll be thrilled.

That brings me to the idea of triggers. I'm a stress eater... so I have had to work really hard to identify and pinpoint my triggers. Boredom. Stress. Lack of sleep. Feeling like I failed in some way... like missing workouts. All of those are triggers for me that kick in old bad habits. I'm trying to use those same triggers to my benefit. Now that I've proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that barre3 is my very next coping mechanism for stress, I'm trying to use it as a determining factor for when to do my mid-day workout. That moment when I feel frazzled... so much to do I don't know where to start... I'm stopping for 10 minutes, pressing play, and coming back at it a little more centered.

I'm going to build new habits associated with my triggers. One day at a time.

Body wisdom is a journey... and we're on it together!

Is the stress of season getting to you? I'd love to hear your best practices!

xo
Jenn

Duplicity. (The sleeping giant)

It's wild to me how sure I was that sugar would never even be tempting again. I could look at myself right in the eyes and say with total confidence that I was in full control.

This week, I learned that is not in fact the case. There is this entirely duplicitous alter ego in my mind just waiting to come out of hiding. This inner self-saboteur lurking just below the surface... always optimistic that an opportunity will come around again. Like a sleeping giant, it awakens and takes over. It becomes so big that it blocks out the sun and I forget what it was like to feel the warm glow on my face. I somehow forget what I'm capable of... even though I was totally capable of it just days before. So strange. So cruel.

I guess it's addiction.

In my naiveté, I have often asked myself why an alcoholic can't just have a glass of wine now and then. Like why does it have to be all drama and extremes?

Never having dealt with an addiction of my own, I truly just couldn't relate. I am a huge believer in mind-over-matter and have found it hard to imagine encountering a substance that I couldn't walk away from if I put my mind to it.

Well, guess what y'all.

I. Was. Wrong.

So, last week I thought to myself, I just had an awesome barre3 class in studio followed by a green smoothie for lunch. I can totally have one piece of Halloween candy, right? I mean, what's the big deal?

In hind sight I realize it had been months since I'd eaten refined sugar. Now I can say with no doubt that it's a trigger for me. A gateway drug of sorts. The minute I have sugar, I henceforth crave sugar. It's a doozy of a craving too. All consuming. So, later that day I thought, well, one more won't hurt. The next day, I had a piece after breakfast... lunch... dinner. It escalated pretty quickly. This morning when I woke up feeling horrible and wanting sugar and coffee, I knew. I can't just casually occasionally have sugar. It's gonna have to be all drama and extremes.

It makes me feel horrible, throws my blood sugar off, gives me peaks and crashes, messes with my moods, messes with my sleep, messes with my skin... and leads to more sugar cravings... which leads to more carb cravings... which leads to caffeine cravings.

It's wild.

I'm SOOOOOO done.

So, back to the backup plan of the original 28-to-Great round. I've got a bit of dark chocolate and some barre3 "barres" on hand to get me through my sugar cravings over the next couple of days.

Is there a 12-step program for candy?

Seriously. No sugar.

It's funny, when I had my food intolerance testing done, I FAILED refined sugar all the way. Just as badly as I failed gluten. I'm not sure why I decided that the sugar thing was optional while adhering to the gluten rules knowing that my life quite literally depended on it.

Duplicity. It's a thing.

I'm over it.

xo,
Jenn

Swamps.

Well, last week was a flop. I'm just being honest. Between pain week and Halloween candy, it was like trying to walk through the Fire Swamp without my Farm Boy. ROUSs at every turn. At first I was like, well I'm in pain but at least I can do my 10 minutes. Then I was like, oh just one piece of candy won't hurt.

Newsflash.

One piece of candy totally hurt. I hadn't craved sugar in months because I hadn't been eating it. One piece of candy a couple of days in a row and all of a sudden I was crazy for sugar all over again. I hit that old familiar rut of feeling like I'd blown the day anyway so what's the point of working out... all the negativity came flooding in.

I went from the Fire Swamp to the Swamps of Sadness in an instant.

So, I went 4 days without a workout.

Today, I'm recommitting. Sadie's email today was perfect. I'm done with sugar and ramping up to finish strong with 6 workouts this week. I did the 40 minute online Wisdom workout this morning. An oldie but a goodie. The core work is awesome. I feel better than I have in days.

Like anything, it's all about perspective, right? Even swamps have their moments...

xo,
Jenn

I'm not OK with just OK. (a pain week)

This week has been full of ups and downs where this challenge is concerned. I have some pretty gnarly endometriosis. That combined with my PCOS occasionally results in a perfect storm. I call it a pain week. This week has been one. Even my ND who always has a homeopathic solution just sent me home with some vicodin and recommended "taking it easy". Every time I go from sitting to standing, walk, or laugh, it feels like I'm being sawed in half. Good times.

The thing is, I'm on the fall challenge! While I feel that a pain week is an extenuating circumstance, I still have felt determined to keep it going. Yesterday it was first thing in the morning and today... just now. Just before midnight. I've been waiting for a moment when I don't hurt so much and getting up to do a 10 minute online workout. 10 minutes is NOT the 40 minutes I promised myself. A friend said "That's OK, at least you're doing it!" but all I heard her say was OK. I am not OK with just OK.

UGH!

It's been giving me the blues these past two days. I'm trying not to have a pity party. I know in another day or two I'll be feeling fine again... it's just so frustrating feeling limited when I'm motivated to do so much more.

I had signed up for a studio class tomorrow but just cancelled it. This evening was an especially bad pain night and I don't want to rock the boat. I rescheduled for Friday and dangit, I'm going to make it! Tomorrow I'll try at least a second 10 in the day. Maybe a 40. We'll see.

Sorry for this whiney post, but I didn't want you to think I'd forgotten about you or anything.

The good news is with all this extra sitting around, I've gotten another 5,000 words into my novel writing process. Silver lining!

I hope you're having a better week!

xo,
Jenn

Whatever works!

Today it was trashy TV. I'm on my period (sorry for the over-share!) and all I want to do is eat candy and lay on the couch in this precious window of time in which the twins are napping simultaneously. I have an episode of the Vampire Diaries on DVR. No, I'm not proud of my tweenage taste in TV, but I promised you honesty in this blog. Besides, don't knock it till you try it :)

Anyway, today I wouldn't let myself lay on the couch to watch my show until I did my workout. I spent a little quality time with Candace, and now I'm flat on my back with a heating pad on watching this amazing show and talking to you. Bliss!

I say, whatever works!

Another thing that works when motivation is nowhere to be found is my husband. I know that if I tell him I don't feel like working out he will call me a wuss without fail. I hate being called a wuss like Marty McFly hates being called a chicken. I press play immediately just to prove him wrong. Even though I know he's going to say it, it still works. Nowadays I'll put on workout gear and then waltz right up to him and whine "Baaaaabe, I don't wanna workout today." knowing that whatever he says next will be just the thing!

What are your tricks to get yourself moving when you're not feeling it? I'd love to hear them!