What’s in your Lunch Box?

Why is it that when you are training for something you tend to eat healthier?

When training we are more conscious of everything we eat and do. We are more structured and disciplined. As you might have experienced, when you are training for an event, or working out regularly, you become more structured as a person. YOU have to fit workouts into your busy day. The more you have to do, the more you try to get done. When your daily canvas is blank, you can easily procrastinate because of the abundance of time so you are more likely not to structure your life. The same goes for nutrition. If you workout & train, you find a purpose to everything you ingest. You know what will keep you healthy, give you the right energy and strengthen your body. When you aren’t working out you tend to eat whatever sounds good.

What I experienced when I got injured, what a total emotional devastation. NOW WHAT- that’s how I felt. So I went from eating anywhere between 3000-4000 good calories a day and working out a couple of times a day to laying on the couch and emotionally eating. Not needing to think about what I was eating I continued to eat 3000-4000 calories a day, except they were empty calories.

So how do you snap out of it and balance a healthy diet when physically and emotionally down. After a few weeks of a total depression because I couldn’t get my endorphin fix and feeling bad for myself thinking when will I ever be able to run, bike, swim, lift and play again. I hit the wall- THE REAL WALL. At some point you must look around and assess the situation, and realize there is always something you can do. Even if all you can do is move your eyeballs- you are then exercising your eyes.

You have to start somewhere. Set goals, make a list and look at your diet. If you are not burning 4000 calories, then you don’t  need to intake 4000 calories. Find the balance. It was hard for me to realize that I had to start from walking 1 block (and that's kicking my ass) to slowly three weeks later getting in the pool  and swimming for 15 minutes, to only doing standing postures in yoga, but the more you accomplish the more powerful you feel and the light begins to shine again.

So to all of you, who are down, GET UP, EAT RIGHT & TAKE A STEP. It is the first step to an eternal way.

Namaste

If yoga has taught me anything, it is to truly look within learn patience and really enjoy true peace.

Yoga has so many known benefits, increased flexibility, the massaging of your organs, joint strength, improvement of posture, improving circulation, but to me the ultimate benefit has been connecting you mind and your body. Yoga tends to create a mental awareness of the magnificent mind-body connection that through controlled breathing & physical movements you reach peace. Listen to your body, clear your mind; get rid of anxiety- find that place that fills you with love & peace. Namaste...

Do not dwell in the past; do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.
Buddha

The Power of Patience, Persistence & Pain

 If any of you know me, you would know that I’m not very patient, and don’t do to well with pain -- but one thing I am, is persistent. Usually if you have one of these characteristics you can overcome a lot, but how do you teach yourself to overcome & conquer the hard times. My first lesson, is evaluate the situation. So I decided to look up the definition of all three.

 Patience is the state of endurance under difficult circumstances. Patience is the level of endurance one's character can take before negativity.

To Persist is to continue steadfastly or firmly in some state, purpose, course of action, especially in spite of opposition.

Pain, is an unpleasant sensation often associated with damage to the body.

 So primarily you should evaluate your situation, and then create a personal plan of how you will overcome the situation. By creating a plan you are actually holding yourself accountable to something & this will help you take the steps forward one day at a time to recovery & success.

Pause or Stop

When training for a triathlon, it's hard to manage your training time, especially if you have a full time job, a family, social life, and other interests and events. I try to dedicate three mornings a week to am swimming, then three evenings to bike rides and three evenings to running. In addition to that, I try to lift weights lunchtime 2-3 days a week, even if it's for 20-30 minutes & two days a week I do hot yoga. During my triathlon training three months ago, I had just bought some new shoes and I was in my breaking them in stage, since it was a really hot day, I decided to bike indoors at the gym. Well many stationary bikes can not be perfectly adjusted to your body. Having that said, I bike for about 12 miles before I started to feel some sharp pain in my left knee that shooting down. Anyway I pushed through it- First bad step- I biked about 8 more miles and then I was smart enough to hop on the treadmill to see if my knee feel better running. That's mistake number two. After a couple of miles, my shooting pains got worse and I finally stopped. That was the beginning of a very long painful IT Band Injury (Iliotibial band syndrome) that has lasted over four months now. The lesson here, is if it hurts STOP because long term it is NOT worth it. I'm paying the price of pushing it. I have taken a complete brake from running and biking and all I have been able to do in the past 4 months is swim. Unfortunately 4 weeks ago, I fell at work and broke my tailbone. I just hope this is the end of my injuries and the beginning of a healthy strong recovery to my next triathlon.