February 04, 2013

Introducing Motivational Mondays


For the past month or so, I've been doing a fun "Motivational Monday" post on Facebook--where I ask everyone to shamelessly brag about something health or fitness related that they did in the past week. It's so inspiring to see all of the challenges people faced, how they handled them, the miles run, the healthy food eaten, the binge-free days...

So now that things are settling down (I had a super busy January!), I'd like to start sharing some of  the Motivational Monday posts on my blog. Here are just a few of the replies from today:




Kendall Marie, a Twitter friend, has been celebrating all week the one-year anniversary of changing her health habits--she's lost 70 pounds and has taken up running!


Check out her progress!! Doesn't she look amazing?


Anyway, I'd like to showcase some motivational stuff on Mondays, so that is my plan. You can read the full Facebook thread here--LOTS of great accomplishments! I'll do it again next Monday, so if you have something to feel proud about, feel free to share!


Being Monday, I was scheduled for speed work today--intervals. I hate intervals! I like that they go by so quickly, but they're really hard and exhausting. I usually do 8x400 (8 repeats of 400 meters, or 1/4 mile) basically as fast as I can handle. When I do them on the treadmill, I jump off the treadmill and just rest in-between intervals; when I do them outside, I walk in-between intervals.

Today, I decided to change it up a little and do 4x800 (4 repeats of 800 meters, or 1/2 mile). That way I'd be doing the same distance, but just in longer intervals. I do my 400's at about 9.3 mph, but obviously if I was going to double the distance, I would have to go slower. I chose 8.6 mph (about a 7:00/mi pace).

It was HARD, but the whole workout went by pretty quickly because I only had to run four times (3 1/2 minutes at a time)--totaling 2 miles. I only earned 2 activity PointsPlus for it, but at least it got me out of the negative this week :)

For breakfast, I toasted an English muffin and spread it with PB2 + mashed banana. It was just so-so. I'm just not a huge banana fan.
After breakfast, I had to go to the dentist. I didn't have a cavity, but when I went to the dentist last week, he said something strange was going on with a filling that I had. Today, he said that the drilling would be very shallow, so I wouldn't need to get numbed--I was so relieved, because I hate getting numbed! He drilled and fixed the filling, and discovered that the molar had a very small crack in it, almost like it was trying to split in half.

That was scary! He checked out my bite, and saw that the problem was from the surgery that fixed my broken jaw. My upper molar was fitting into my lower one the wrong way (the surgery shifted my teeth slightly), and was trying to push it apart every time I would bite down, and it cracked.

He had these little blue tabs that he had me bite down on, and they left blue ink on my teeth so that I could see where my teeth came together while biting. It was really interesting to see just how badly that side came together! I never noticed it before.

The dentist told me that he could file the teeth (that's not the word he used, but that's how he described it) so that it would take the pressure off of that tooth. It just took about five minutes, but it made a big difference in my bite! He had me bite down on the blue thing again, and my bite was much more even. Did I mention that I love my dentist?! He didn't even charge me for what he did today.

I tried a new food find today. Jerry ate one of these at work, and told me they tasted just like an Almond Joy, so naturally, I had to try it! It's the new Fiber One Coconut Almond chewy bar:
I know people either love or hate Fiber One stuff, but I happen to love it. My very favorite are the Oats 'n Chocolate chewy bars, but these new ones may have taken the lead. It truly did taste JUST like an Almond Joy. They are 4 PointsPlus, which isn't bad at all.

30 comments:

  1. My 61 yr old dentist died suddenly 2 weeks ago today. I'd been his patient for 30+ years. I'll miss him greatly. It's difficult to lose someone you trust so much :o(

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  2. I love the oats and choc! It's like dessert. I can't wait to find those in my grocery stores.

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    1. I agree! When I'm in the mood for something chocolate, it's my go-to snack :)

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  3. I'm OBSESSED with Almond Joys and haven't has one in forever. You just made my year!!!

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  4. I love just about any bar. I just had a Balance bar that tasted just like Girl Scouts Thin Mints!

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    1. I usually don't like bars--I do love Clif bars and the Fiber One bars, but I can't stand protein bars! These coconut ones are SO good, though.

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  5. Ackk TEETH. Dentist visits always scare me, I don't know how you braved a drilling! As for Fiber One, I'm still figuring out where I stand. I do like the cereals, because I use them as a base when making cereal/yogurt/fruit bowls, however the granola bars don't keep me ful more than 4.3 seconds.

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    1. The drilling was a breeze compared to what I went through with the arch bars when my jaw was broken! When the doctor removed them, the only way to describe it was like flossing an opened paper clip. That still makes me cringe!

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  6. I think your PB2/banana mix looks great, but I happen to love bananas (like I could eat 5 a day if I would let myself)! Maybe someday I'll get some of the PB2 and give it a shot.

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    1. You would probably like it, then! It was very banana-y ;)

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  7. Love the motivational reading! I really needed to see something because after my birthday weekend I needed something to kick me in the butt to get moving again.
    I love Fiber One bars, but they make my stomach hurt so badly. I love the caramel ones and since I love almond joys, I may have to give them another try and see how they affect me.

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    1. I've heard a lot of people complain of stomach upset with the Fiber One products--I'm so glad I don't have that issue, because I love them!

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  8. I LOVE fiber one stuff. I eat the 100 calorie fiber one bars and recently found PB&J fiber one bar! It taste just like PB&J!!! I was excited lol.

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    1. I've never seen a PB&J one--interesting!!

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  9. Those look good, and if you binge on those...I am sure your tummy will greatly regret it...ha!!

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    1. That's so true! Even though I love them, I've never binged on them--because I'm sure my stomach would hurt for days!

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  10. Fiber one bars are the best! Super healthy, and they taste like a dessert. Not like the ones you have to make taste like a dessert. They really taste like a dessert... without the excess unhealthy fats and refined sugars.

    Speaking of, I tried something new yesterday.. Peach tea (stash brand) with one bag of blueberry acai green tea (8 cups to 7 tea bags total) iced tea with Truvia sweetener, like 10 or 11 packets and a little blue agave nectar. It is sooo good.

    And for cooking I've been using zylitol with birch. You can get it different places. The best I've found is Health Garden Kosher Birch Xylitol from Amazon. Just watch using big proportions of it if you're going to be eating all of something.. like a fruit salad.. because large amounts can be have a laxative effect. It is good for baking pies and desserts or making things like iced tea. It tastes like sugar... I've found I can actually use a little less, its a little sweeter. It has a clean taste, and doesn't leave you with a sugar slump afterwards.. and it' good for your teeth... P.S. I've used it in kool-aid... a healthy Kool-aid not made with artificial sweeteners. It was great!

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    1. Mmm, I love peach tea--that sounds good!

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  11. I've had the fiber one bars just like that but they are the Caramel nut protein kind. They are awesome!

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    1. I want to try those ones next! I just discovered they have them at Sam's Club, which is the cheapest way to buy them. I wish they had the coconut ones, but I'm hoping I'll like the caramel ones just as much :)

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  12. My new favorite bar is the Nature Valley Protein bars. The Dark Chocolate Peanutbutter and the Caramel Salty Nut one are my two favorites. I am afraid to try anything else Fiber one because I tried their soft chewy chocolate squares hoping for a fix for a brownie craving one time and absolutely hated it. Decided not to even finish chewing it because I didn't want to waste any more calories than I already had. lol. I finally found a fix for my brownie cravings just a couple days ago, though! It's the Weight Watcher's Chocolate Brownie. They are soo moist and just the perfect consistency and taste!

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    1. I like the Nature Valley bars, too, but not as much as the Fiber One. I didn't like the Fiber One brownies at all, however--they were very dry and cardboard-like! I'm going to look for the WW ones now :)

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  13. I love the idea of motivation Monday. I'll be back on Monday (and other days) for SURE!

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    1. Great! It's been super inspiring to read on Facebook each week :)

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  14. I needed this. After a stressful day yesterday all I wanted to do was go home and relax. I've started working out and quit so many times in the past because I'd gain weight instead of seeing a loss. I figured why bother. After reading your entire blog, it's given me hope. Since I saw my doctor last week to make sure that it was ok for me to start working out, she let me know that my blood pressure was a little elevated. In an effort to nip that in the bud and get my life back, I need to lose this weight.

    I have to work extra hard because of my hypothyroidism. I've got a notebook, written down some goals/dreams that I'd like to do, I'm noting down my weight, blood pressure, which exercise I've done and for how long. I've started watching more closely what I'm eating and amounts but I haven't started counting calories yet. I've also given up soda (soda is to me what monster cookies are to you)! Small starts but at least a start.

    My sister and sister in law are runners and I'd like to be able to run a 5K with them but I think that may not be in the cards for me. Not solely because of weight but because of ankle issues. I sprained my ankle 19 years ago (my doctor told me that I would've been better off had I broken it) and I still have problems with it today. It's weak and painful, my doctor says I'm developing osteoarthritis in it. I'm going to start ankle strengthening exercises; even if I can't run it with them, maybe we can walk one together.

    At any rate, I needed this yesterday to keep me from quitting before I even started. Thank you.

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    1. That's great that you got the okay from your doctor to start making some changes! Even if you just do small changes, they really add up. I love that you were able to give up soda--I know that's a very difficult thing for a lot of people to do. Best wishes with all your goals!

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  15. Always helps me to stay motivated to see others blogging about fitness and trying to be healthy. Keep on blogging! And come visit mine if you'd like! I'm just getting started. :)

    http://desertrunning.blogspot.com/

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  16. Dentists scare me but yours sound great! Almond joy! I've got to try that!!

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  17. I've been eating the fiber one bars for a few weeks now and they are good! Love that they are pretty low cal for the protein and such! Try the caramel nut one its delish!

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I used to publish ALL comments (even the mean ones) but I recently chose not to publish those. I always welcome constructive comments/criticism, but there is no need for unnecessary rudeness/hate. But please--I love reading what you have to say! (This comment form is super finicky, so I apologize if you're unable to comment)

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