Some days are harder than others...

Why is it that one day you can feel completely wonderful, on top of the world, and the next you feel like you just want to go back to bed and sort of skip the day? Today is one of those 'skip' days for me, but I can't just go back to bed or I'll have to deal with the consequences tomorrow, and we all know that's not pretty. So I just keep trying to plow through the day, doing my best to get something productive done, but not feeling great about anything I spend my time on. "Should I work on that? Nah. Maybe I should try doing a little work here? No, I don't really feel like it today." Why am I feeling this way? Let's examine the evidence.

Exhibit #1: I stayed up a little too late last night and got up a bit earlier than usual this morning. Okay, so I am a little tired. That definitely contributes to the low energy. Sleep is so important, and I suffer every time I don't get enough sleep on a consistent basis. So tonight I will get to bed a little earlier, and I will sleep in a little later tomorrow if I feel the need. Done.

Exhibit #2: I have been fighting off a cold. I do feel like I am winning the battle, with the help of Dr. Christopher's herbs plus lots of herbal tea and OnGuard softgels (of course, I ran out of the OnGuard capsules yesterday so I don't have that extra boost anymore). However, perhaps the combination of not enough sleep and trying to fight off this bug is causing my energy to flag somewhat. Okay, so I will continue to pound the herbs and the herbal tea, and I will pick up more OnGuard softgels tomorrow. And I will get more sleep. Check.

Exhibit #3: It is snowing outside. NOT IT!!!! I love snow and it makes me feel happy and peaceful watching it fall. Maybe I just need to spend a little more time enjoying the falling snow to boost my energy. (:

Exhibit #4: I have exercised every day (except for Sundays) since December 30th without missing a day. So here's something interesting. When you move your body less (on a regular basis) your cells produce less mitochondria, which are your energy super factories, because you don't really seem to need them. I mean, why maintain a super factory if you aren't using up all the output, right? Up until December 30th, my exercising was very sporadic, to say the least ("I hope not sporadically." --name that movie). Plus, I was in school full-time, Monday through Thursday, from January through October. It's probably safe to say that I was living a rather sedentary lifestyle for most of the year, so my energy factories were shut down and the workers were all laid off. Now that I am moving my body again on a regular basis, they are busting their buns trying to get those factories rebuilt and all the workers re-hired, but they are having a hard time keeping up with the demand. I am doing pretty well fueling my body with sufficient amounts of nutritious food, but my cells can only build so fast. However, because I knew this was going to happen, having experienced it many times before, I called in reinforcements this time. I have been taking DoTerra's Mito2Max capsules to help my body build those factories more quickly and efficiently, and let me tell you, they work!!! I have suffered none of that typical fatigue and lethargy that I am used to feeling when I start trying a new workout regimen (yes, it's that same fatigue that has undermined my workout goals--and yours???--many, many times in the past). The thing is, though, I ran out of my Mito2Max capsules about 2 days ago. Hmmm.

Well my friends, based on the evidence I think we might have found our guilty party (lack of Mito2Max supplementation) and his accomplices (lack of sleep and cold bugs). Yea! I feel better already. I will get that Mito2Max tomorrow and I will continue to fight the good fight. (: For today, just know that I did get my workout in, despite the sluggishness, and I am happy for that. Now, back to trying to be productive. Well, maybe I'll go enjoy the snowfall for a few minutes first. (:

Thanks for reading. Sorry for the uber-long post, but it was really therapeutic for me today.

The Holidays--The True Test of Commitment

With Thanksgiving behind us, we are now officially into the holiday season. Tis the season of justifying excessively bad eating habits and easily rationalizing every missed workout (It's okay--it's the holidays. I'll start eating better and working out again come January.) Did you know that people gain an average of 7 pounds during the holidays? Did you also know that this weight gain is often not as temporary as we would like to believe, but may lead to long-term weight gain, far beyond what we bargained for with those justifications that sounded oh-so-valid to our ears? Take it from me, as one who for the last five years or more has exceeded that 7-pound average weight gain, that IT IS NOT WORTH IT!!! What kind of memories are you building for yourself with all these rationalizations? For me it has been mostly memories of feeling really lousy and hating myself when it's all over because of all the weight I have packed on. That is not what I want my holidays to be about. So this year I am doing things differently. I started a holiday fitness challenge with a small group of Facebook friends. Each person in the group has been asked to set their own, personal fitness/health goals, to check in on the FB group page every day, and to commit to seeing this challenge through until the end of the holiday season. We officially started yesterday, and I am very excited. My goals are to workout 6 days a week every week, and on January 2, 2012, to be able to say "I weigh 10 pounds less now than I did at my pre-Thanksgiving weigh-in." I have recently started the Beachbody RevAbs program, and it is kicking my booty! Seriously! It's tough, but I love it because I know I am going to see results as I stick with it and work for it every day. I am drinking my Shakeology every day, using my doTerra essential oils, and doing all of the things that have helped to bring me success in the past (e.g. EFT, scripture study, etc.). And now I have this challenge group to keep me even more motivated. How can I expect to motivate them to stay committed to reaching their goals if I am not committed to reaching my own goals? I had a really strong November (I'll post results for the month in a few days) and I know December is going to be even better. And you know what that means? It means I am going to feel great this holiday season, I am going to have more energy, and I am going to be happier and more able to enjoy the true spirit of the season! Those are the kind of memories that I want to make!