Getting healthy and fit in real time, in real life…

My Coffee Supplement

Ok, I’m going to be honest.  I’m drinking coffee. Regularly. 

I love coffee. I'm sorry!

And some of you may have witnessed it last week at the THRIVE events.  Now before you tsk tsk- I’m not drinking as many cups of coffee as before I started this all (although last week was a little more)…but still, I’m not quitting.  I’ve cut down. 

At first I was disappointed with myself, but I like to look on the bright side of things so bear with me.

I’ve started to realize that I’m using caffeine in a really smart way- I’m thinking of it as a drug now, so I’m using it when I need “drugs.” (ok, hold off before you jump to conclusions when I say that!)

What I mean by that is: I’m using it in the way that it can be a supplement to my diet to boost my energy when I need to.  Instead of it being just a regular part of my diet, I’m taking a coffee as if it’s an energy pill when I need it.  In much the same way that I’ll include a smoothie to boost my immune system, or take an Advil to deal with a headache, I’m using caffeine in my diet.  I understand it better now too!  I know it’s not long-standing energy so I used it to help me push through when I need to be peppy and cheery in short-term segments when I’m not feeling it so much.  It also helps me to get focused and motivated when I can’t seem to gather it in any other way.  So there you have it: I’m not working on eliminating coffee anymore. I’m happy with it being a supplement, just as I use other food as fuel for my body.  I think if we look back at why I quit coffee (to ingest more water to build on my back health), I think we can see some success: I’m not blindly downing coffee anymore- I usually only have a half cup to get that boost- and I’m drinking a lot more water.  I guess it points out that we need to be very specific about our goals.

If you’re interested in more about coffee, you can check out this interesting link that a colleague happened to be looking at while I walked by his computer: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/coffee.

Fatigue, Exercise and Back Health

I’ve felt a little tired lately (aftermath of working hard last week, no doubt), so I haven’t been as active as I would have liked to be.  When I’m not physically active (mainly doing yoga or going climbing), it seems my back is not appreciative of the rest!  So last night I was very pleased to do yoga (after seeing my chiropractor) and reinvigorate my physical body.  I was surprised at how quickly I had lost some of my muscle strength.  It made me shake my head at myself. 

But it is shoulder season (as Jolene mentioned- it’s hard to get motivated to do something in the rain).  It’s that time of year that leaves me restless- I can’t climb outside, I don’t really enjoy hiking that much, and I can’t yet ski.  Climbing indoors is ok, but it’s not my favourite (I don’t like paying for it, for one, and for two, it’s not outside!), so I’ve been slacking a little lately.

But that’s changing this weekend! So long to Shoulder Season!

Plans for the Rest of the Week

I’m very excited- the seasons have changed fully now, and I’m able to open up my to-do list to include skiing!  So this weekend I’m going to Mt. Baker, and I’m also trying to figure out a way to do some backcountry skiing too (perhaps in the Whistler area).  I’ll try to take some pictures to share with you.

And I forgot to mention really that I’ve started running.  No, let’s call it more like jogging.  But last week, during THRIVE week, I felt so stressed out that I would wake up at 5:30 am and lie in bed thinking anxiously about all the things I did wrong, or forgot or needed to do.  So that was painful.  And I had to make it stop.

So I decided that morning runs would be helpful to get all that anxious energy out of me.  And so you’ll find me a few times a week running with my dog at 6 am or so, along Kits Beach and then up Trafalgar hill (that is truly difficult).  It’s a 4 km run for a half hour or so (so nothing fancy!), but it makes me feel pretty good!  You should try it! (but not with me, because I don’t want you to see me panting like I do!).

I’d say I’m about 80% of my old self. I’ve still got some recovering to do from being sick last week.
I took a week off from running, (which took way more strength than actually running, by the way) and finally made it out for a decent run last night.
While I really am not a fan of running in the dark, and had a few coughing fits throughout the run, it could have gone much worse.

So let me revisit my post from 2 weeks ago.
There are two reasons why I haven’t been running as much as I’d like to:

1. It’s cold outside
2. There’s other stuff I’d rather be doing

So #1 might be why I was sick last week, but I followed most of the ‘running in the cold’ tips. Except that one that says dress like it’s 20 degrees warmer than it is. I’ll tell you, I’m dressed like it’s 5 degrees out, and I’m barely warm when I’m running. I’d be outright freezing if I dressed like it was 25 degrees outside. So I am rejecting that tip.

So now it’s time to tackle #2.  (Do I get bonus points for quadruple alliteration?)

Let’s face it. There’s always going to be something that is more appealing than running in the cold, wet darkness. So to try and get some exercise during daylight hours, I’ve signed up for a lunchtime bootcamp class on campus. It starts today so I don’t have an update on it yet, but it’ll be nice to get an additional workout during the day, in case I don’t always make it out for a run after work. It’s all part of my pre-emptive holiday health plan.  It’s also pretty convenient how this bootcamp runs during the Amazing Race Health Challenge, and is 4 weeks before our department’s follow-up fitness assessments.
Hmmm… That’s a lovely coincidence…

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I had a tough week and as a result I am a little late with my post.

I thought about what to write today and I decided I would talk about things that can lift your spirits.  Here are a few things that I did this week to lift my spirits:

1.  Took a nice hot bath

2.  Walked in the wind and the rain and revelled in the power of a storm

3.  Watched a funny movie (Ghost Town)

4.  Laughed with people

5.  Treated my Dad for dinner

6.  Thanked and appreciated the good people and things in my life

7.  Connected with an old friend

8.  Listened to some music (Queen and Beethoven, not at the same time of course)

9.  Enjoyed the full moon on Wednesday

The above is just the list of things that helped to lifted my spirits.

What are some things you do to lift your spirits?

Looking forward to hearing your comments!

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