It’s Marathon Monday here in the New England! Today is the Boston Marathon and since I live on the race route, the roads are closed for the majority of the day.
I ran a marathon once. True story. I think it was 2006 and I trained with my boyfriend to run the Philadelphia Marathon.
On the drive from North Carolina to Philadelphia, he apparently got the flu and wasn’t able to run. #wishithoughtofthat
I ran. It sucked.
Part of the race went through a college campus where young (drunk) men on Fraternity Row were passing out beers to the runners.
I don’t drink beer. Besides, that sounds like a terrible idea, right? Who does that?
So of course I took one & drank it while running.
Well, I drank the half that was left after I spilled much of it down my shirt.
For the rest of the race I smelled like warm beer. You can imagine how awesome that was.
For some reason, I swelled up like the Michelin Man during the race and felt like I should have been rolled across the finish line, Veruca Salt style. I sure hope you are familiar with the Charlie & The Chocolate Factory reference!
Anyways, it’s Marathon Monday. My cousin Marc ran again (he does each year) and he finished in less than 3 hours. Go Marc! I love you, buddy!
Since the roads are closed, the gym is too. I’ll be doing a 10K row here and calling it a bit of a rest & recovery day.
What I’m really resting & recovering from is a weekend away of walking, eating & drinking.
On the food front:
I am fasting today. I can assure you that I ate & drank enough this weekend to fuel my body until tomorrow.
I’m drinking lots of water & cold brew coffee, but I need to give my digestive tract a chance to rest and my body a chance to use some of the fuel I over consumed this weekend.
I don’t regret a minute of the weekend – I had a blast and ate some great food.
Delicious charcuterie, yummy omelets and even some Easter chocolate! And drinks. There were definitely drinks.
Can we talk about guilt?
I totally know how easy it would be to slip into the mindset of “I blew it!” or “I’m off track” and then justify continuing to indulge today because I’m beating myself up for eating things that aren’t aligned with my goals.
Dude. C’mon on. That’s insane. Totally common, and totally insane.
That’s like spending beyond your budget and then getting so emotional about it that you go to the mall and take yourself on a shopping spree.
Grow up and stop being dramatic.
Seriously.
What you did yesterday is already gone. It’s food, not a problem.
It was a choice, not a crisis.
Leave it where it belongs: behind you.
Let go of it. Stop carrying burdens that you can set down and move past.
Today is a blank slate. Right now is a blank slate. Every single moment is a fresh start.
I am new in each moment. You are too.
Every choice is a chance to advance.
Did I fail because I indulged this weekend? No.
Am I mad about it? No.
Am I beating myself up? No.
Why?
Because it wouldn’t make a damn bit of a difference. It would make me feel DOWN and that’s pointless. It solves nothing.
Today I have an opportunity to take great care of myself. Period. The end.
I don’t need fuel today – there’s plenty still in my system. So, I’m focusing on getting work done, catching up on sleep (we were out laaaaaaaaate every night) and hydrating.
(Does that mean you should fast after over indulging? No. It’s just the choice I’m making for my body based on how I feel today, which is: not hungry.)
We also walked a bazillion miles this weekend. Do I get credit for that?
Here’s what I think: the expectancy effect, when applied, can change your life.
Lately I’ve been getting a lot of emails from people who are struggling. Their emails say things like, “I can’t get motivated” or “I do alright for a couple days but then I blow it” and “my weekends are out of control”.
All of these emails have one thing in common: low expectations.
There is a behavioral theory called the expectancy effect. It has been studied, scientifically, in depth. It basically says this:
I am determined to be happy today. It’s a choice I am making.
Happy by choice looks like this for me today:
Getting an iced coffee before my pedicure
Listening to great music while I drive (instead of a book or podcast)
Taking myself out to lunch
Wearing an outfit that makes me feel cute & feminine
Being patient & grateful while dealing with a banking issue – it’s not a crisis unless I get dramatic & impatient.
I got up around 5am to grind through some work before heading to the gym for an earlier-than-normal workout.
I’m headed out of town today and needed to get it in!
It was a solid workout.
“Frantic”
4 Rounds:
21/18 Calorie Bike
18 Thrusters (65/45#) (Not sure what a thruster is? Here you go.)
15 Pull-ups
Thrusters at 45 lbs are pretty light for me, but 18 unbroken in a metabolic workout gets spicy.
I was determined to do all 4 rounds unbroken on the thrusters, and I did, so I feel good about that.
After the workout I did some solo work on my toes-to-bar.
I am ABSOLUTELY feeling stronger and more efficient in my workouts. Yay for that!
On the food front:
Today is a weird day. I have to be in Boston for a meeting, then Cape Cod then NYC. All today. I’m writing this post before I hit the road and I’m not entirely sure what the day will bring from a food standpoint.
I will, however, tell you the plan.
I won’t eat before lunch because I’m not too hungry and I’ll be sitting on my butt for most of the day.
I’m stopping by Chipotle (yes, again) on my way to Boston and I know for sure what I’ll order there:
Salad
No rice, no beans
Chicken
Pico & guac
My plan is to grab a small bag of almonds or cashews to have on hand during my Boston meeting (though I’ll be honest, I don’t need them). I could absolutely get by with just lunch and dinner, but I’ll likely snack on some nuts because I feel like it.
Though I’m not entirely sure, I think I’ll have an early dinner on the Cape before heading out to NYC. I can assure you that it will be a light meal since I’ll be completely sedentary from dinner until bedtime and I hate traveling with a full stomach.
Maybe a salad, maybe just raw veggies and a protein bar from a grocery store. We will see what the day brings.
As you go into the holiday weekend and many of us will be surrounded by food, I want you to think about what you’ll choose to fill you up.
Sometimes, we turn to food to fill us because it’s convenient and familiar.
However, that’s notwhat we want to be filled with.
Maybe we need to fill ourselves with rest or connection. Maybe we need to fill ourselves with laughter and adventure. Maybe we need to fill ourselves with patience & gratitude.
You would fail fast if you filled yourself with sand when what you needed was water.
Happy Thursday, loves! My day started off with some work on Saturday’s podcast which got me thinking about back to my most powerful question:
What opportunities can I create today to take impeccable care of myself?
These things certainly won’t happen by accident. I won’t drift towards impeccable choices and consistent self-care.
This week has been totally crazy and I’ve been driving all over creation every day. Today, I don’t have to go anywhere other than the gym. That creates a lot of great self-care opportunities.
I can drink plenty of water – after yesterday’s intense massage I know it will help
I can bring a positive, enthusiastic, eager attitude to my workout
I can meditate for at least 20 minutes
I can cook a delicious, fat loss friendly dinner & enjoy it without my computer or phone
No need for a crazy long list, just a few things that feel like self care today.
…
At my gym, before each workout we all give each other fist bumps or high fives.
For some people, it’s more of an apprehensive eye roll that says “here we go, this is gonna suck!” or “is it over yet?”
I’ve decided that every time I give another athlete a high five or fist bump before a workout I say, “have fun!”
I mean, honestly, we aren’t Olympians. We aren’t competing against each other. Do your best and for chrissakes – have fun!
Stop being dramatic about self care. It’s a wonderful thing that we’re well enough to be able to move our bodies in this way.
Put a damn smile on your face & have some fun!
That’s as much of a pep talk for myself as it is for you. Especially given today’s workout! Ready for it?
“Family Feud”
AMRAP 25:
*Buy In: 50 burpees
50m Prowler Push (95/45#)
100m Sandbag Run (50/35)
200m Run
Yayyyyy all the running! #sarcasm
50 burpees.
Running with a sled.
Running with a sandbag.
Running with dead tired legs.
Repeat
(See why I needed that “have fun” pep talk today?!)
Speaking of legs…
The funniest thing happened during my massage yesterday. Well, it was funny to me and you’re gonna hear about it whether you agree or not.
The massage therapist was working on my hamstrings while I was laying on my belly. My knee was bent at a 90 degree angle to the table and she was moving it up and down like a water pump to see where the muscle was moving easily & where it wasn’t.
She wanted me to relax my leg instead of holding up the weight on my own.
She says, “let your leg be heavy”
I said, “Uh, that’s like telling water to be wet”
I hold about 80% of my body weight in my legs so that just cracked me up.
Heavy legs. Check! #overachiever
Yeah, the workout was pretty rough. After the first couple of rounds my legs felt like I was running uphill through molasses in the winter. Yup, that’s about right.
I collapsed on the pavement afterwards and relaxed in the sun. So nice.
Had fun.
On the food front:
I ate before my workout today. I was hungry this morning so I ate. I had a Paleo Power Meals bacon & egg muffin from the freezer. I’m not usually hungry in the morning. If I am, I eat. Pretty simple.
I absolutely love Paleo Power Meals – if you try them out, be sure to use the coupon code ebprimal20 to save 20% on your first order!
After my workout I ran over to Chipotle for another salad bowl. I had one yesterday and I forgot how much I love it! I personally opt for no rice & no beans. Just a salad with fajita veggies, chicken, pico & guac.
I kept my promise of drinking lots of water throughout the day and dinner was simple but delicious:
I took a can of wild caught salmon, mixed it up with some Primal Kitchen Chipotle Lime Mayo and had it with a bag of cauliflower rice.
Are you settling for “good enough” or not making further progress because you are “better than before”?
This is something I see all the time when people make progress. Maybe they lose weight, improve their health or start making better choices.
They haven’t reached their goal, but their effort drops off because they begin to justify excuses & indulgences based on the improvements they’ve made so far.
That’s a red flag.
By all means, celebrate your progress and improvements but don’t ever use them as reasons or rationale for making choices that prevent you from making progress.
