It's not a thin journey to healthy.

An acorn is an acorn. It grows into an oak tree. Just like a pumpkin seed grows into a pumpkin. We are all seeds. Don't compare yourself to a pumpkin seed if you are an acorn.

[journaltohealthyme]

Reading

Guys do you see this? I have read 5 in this series since I told you that I’m lukewarm with this series because it’s Twilightesque. Well, the attributes that make it like Twilight are still there. But you remember me telling you that I was invested in a side character? Well, that side character just became more main. And it’s great. One of my favorite things right now is these two best friends are going through very stressful situations individually. I’m hoping that it makes them stronger together instead of pulling them apart. 

[journaltohealthyme]

Reading

This book is AMAZING. I loved it from start to finish. It makes me want to read the original Phantom. I loved the movie already. The characters are really amazing all the way around. 

[journaltohealthyme]

Let’s talk about shit.

Literally.

How often do you go poop? What color is your urine? Are you aware that these two things can tell you how healthy you are? 

https://9gag.com/gag/aXXZ5wv?ref=pn

*neither chart is mine. borrowed from the interweb*

Now, I am not the best at drinking liquids. Therefore, I’ve never been the best at pooping. But I do know a lot of the weight I lost during basic training was due to the fact that I was drinking a lot of water because I was terrified of the sheet. Which is a sheet chilling in a cooler filled with ice water that they wrap around you if you pass out. Passing out was a write-up. And the fact that I was eating yogurt almost every morning for breakfast because I knew I needed the vitamins but I also knew that milk would make me sick in the heat. (My breakfast every morning was literally meat, oatmeal/grits, yogurt, raisins and nuts with the army equivalent of gatorade. Can’t eat eggs allergic. Was afraid to eat bread because of my pt score.) I went poop every day at least once. And I peed even when I was on the range. That’s what I’m trying to get back to. So between monitoring my water intake and fiber tablets. I’m hoping to have a regular bathroom schedule soon.

[journaltohealthyme]

Reading

First let me preface that this is a historical fiction set in the 1500′s Europe. So if you know absolutely nothing about that time period...well, it wouldn’t be a difficult read. But it may confuse you. Luckily though if you retained enough from your high school world history class (Do they even teach the plague anymore in schools?) you’ll understand the story just fine. Now with all of that said, I enjoyed this story. It was the weirdest book to date that I’ve ever read. But I enjoyed it.

[journaltohealthyme]

Reading

Just finished Betrayed the other day. This book series I’m luke-warm about. It’s a little Twilight-esque for me. And I am not a Twilight fan. If I didn’t have questions about what’s going to happen to certain characters I could stop reading this series right now. But I’m going to push forward and hope it’s a slow developing story that will suck me in. (He he he...suck me in. Because it’s about vampires. I crack myself up)

[journaltohealthyme]

Reading

I read this entire series in two days in between working and running to the library to get the next book. The characters were so real in their emotions. A great coming to age series.

[journaltohealthyme]

Reading

So I found this series by accident. You see when I go to the library I bounce between the young adult section and the adult fiction.  Glory is hands down my favorite vampire to date. She is spunky and has all the dilemma’s a woman has. 

[journaltohealthyme]

Reading

When I was younger I read a book by Sarah Dessen called Keeping the Moon. Every time I run out of something to check out at the library I always check it out again. Well, with this reading challenge I decided I was going to try to read every book my library had written by her. This book did not disappoint me. She has a wonderful ability to show feelings and emotions. 

[journaltohealthyme]

Reading

Ok I’m really ashamed to say that I was closer to the 30 reading these. But that did not stop me from enjoying them. Wonderfully written, wonderfully relate-able. I wish I had read them when I was younger. There is a 5th book when they are older that I am dying to get my hands on. 

[journaltohealthyme]

Exercises

When I started this the first time I was hypocritically just loading things into the queue. This time around I’m not going to do that. This time I’m going to upload exactly what I do. Some of them I’ll pre-queue like when I do my 3 mile walk with my walking buddy. That is pretty regular. If I don’t walk I’ll make a note or I’ll try to walk 3 miles anyway. This way when I’m moaning in a few days about how painfully slow this whole getting into shape process is, I can be like oh yeah...I only worked out that much. 

Tuesday: First I walked 1 mile at the local walking track.

I did 35 minutes on the wii fit. Which is really around 30 minutes of True exercising. 15 minutes of wii fit yoga which is where the difference is because some count 2 minutes when in reality it was closer to 1 minute and some count 1 minute when it’s 30-45 seconds. Then I did most of the strength training exercises which is roughly 2 minutes a piece of: single leg extension, push up and side plank, torso twists, jackknife (the Army calls these V-ups), lunge, rowing squat (I used 3lb weights here), single leg twist (held a 3lb weight), sideways leg lift, plank, triceps extensions (again used a 3lb weight), arm and leg lift

Now this isn’t me promoting the Wii Fit. Because you can just as easily find a yoga video on youtube and do all those other exercises on your own. I use the Wii Fit because my Mii being round is motivation.

That evening my husband and I went to the gym for right around an hour. First we got on the treadmill. He likes to stay on until it tells him he’s burned 200 calories then he goes pumps weights. I set the treadmill to the fat burning setting which is rolling inclines. I walk the first five minutes, run/jog the next 15 and cool down for 3 minutes. Then I went I did 15 reps of 100 pounds on 4 leg machines and 15 reps of 40 pounds on 2 arm machines. Then repeated the cycle.

Wednesday: I did all of the yoga poses that I’m comfortable with on the Wii Fit and some more of the strengthening exercises. It equaled roughly 20 minutes of real exercise.

Then my husband and I went to the gym again. 20 minutes on the elliptical set on glute training.  First five minutes walking. Next two minutes walking backwards. Next 15 alternating between sprinting and walking. Then I did 15 reps of 50lbs on 6 arm machines.  And I’m not even going to lie. The last 10 minutes I was there, I was in the massage chair.

[journaltohealthyme]

Reading

Only four of these count toward my reading challenge because I had read the 1st book in the last week of 2016. I checked them out of my local library which is close enough that I could ride my bike. As summer is approaching I plan to ride my bike there with my youngest stepson to exercise mind and body.

The Dragon Keeper is a really good series about coming into your own with religious undertones. I apologize that I can’t give a better summary but it’s definitely a series that if you enjoy the Chronicles of Narnia you’ll love this.

[journaltohealthyme]

Reading Challenge

So my best friend said in December that in year 2017 she wanted to read 75 books. I mathematically pointed out to her that there is only 52 weeks in a year and that means that 23 weeks out of the year she would have to read 2 books. Which is a lot harder dealing while adulting. I said I would challenge myself to read 50. I am on book 18 now. All of the books I’ve read so far will be posted soon. 

[journaltohealthyme]

Letter from Me

So...I did not go to basic training on October 21, 2013. I went February 24, 2014. My youngest niece was born that day. It was the last text message I received before my phone died. I went into basic unable to perform a correct push up and definitely not able to run two miles in the time I was supposed to. Which FYI is not the 14 minutes I had originally claimed. Apparently you're not expected to make 100%. The PT test is not like a college exam. In fact I was so bad at PT the drill sergeants were betting on me failing. But I had already done the failing thing. I wasn't going to fail again. And I didn't. I went on to AIT were I graduated with honors. 

Somehow I found my way back here.

You see the truth is when I came home from training, I was a size 6. Now I'm flirting with a size 12. Though it's not really the number that bothers me. And I'm well aware that some of that weight is somewhat because I'm closer to 30 now. 10 year reunion is next year. But it's the realization that I let myself go. And I feel it. 

Tonight I'm going to the gym with my husband. And in the morning I'm going to get up early get to the track run a little before walking 3 miles with my friend Sarah. Then I'm going to return here. Because I'm going to be accountable to someone. And that someone is me.

[journaltohealthyme]

Letter From Me

It's been 13 days. My room isn't any cleaner than it was except I traded the air mattress for sleeping bags. I didn't have any amazing epiphanies of how to make this blog more effective. Effective isn't really the word I want to use there, but it will do for now.

As you know by now, I'm joining the Army National Guard. Yes I'm a girl, and girls should join the Air Force because it's more female friendly. Blah blah blah. I did actually want to join the Air Force Reserve, however, in the two weeks it took for them to call me back I had already talked to a ANG recruiter and taken the ASVAB. Anyway in those 13 days of my absence I learned it was a good possibility that I will be leaving for boot camp October 21st. (I'll let that sink in about how soon that is) That means in less than a month I need to be fit enough to do 80+ situps in 2 minutes, 40+ pushups in 2 minutes, jog 2 miles in under 14 minutes and hike 16 miles with 65lbs on my back in under 5 hours. Now thanks to the interweb I found several articles and blog posts about how to prepare for bootcamp.

But you probably aren't joining the military.

I started this tumblr because I'm really sick and tired of the "must be skinny/have to be skinny" world. I'm tired of photoshopped stars placed with articles about how to become thin in two weeks. And I'm really tired of eating disorder statistics increasing and eating disorders gaining a wider berth in age range. However, I'm that personality type that can't reach out to people and sympathize with them and listen to their woes and what they believe their flaws are. I mean I can listen for a little while but ultimately I end up getting annoyed that said person isn't taking action to not let their "flaws" control them. (This is where I have to add that as much as I love having 33 followers, I know this is going to offend someone. I'm sorry) 

When I was little about 6 or 7, I had this floppy legged teddy bear. Well one of the other little girls, managed to tear a leg off. My mom sewed the leg back on, but the next time I was at that little girl's house the leg got detached again. So I made my mom teach me how to sew. I wanted to be able to fix the bear. 

People with eating disorders, or self esteem issues, or depression, or any form of mental health issue aren't stuffed animals that can be sewn back together. It doesn't work that way. Instead those people need to want to learn how to put themselves back together from the inside.

That sounds heartless, I know. Sounds like I'm going "just leave them alone. They'll learn how to fix it." But that's not what I'm saying. Just like my mom had to teach me how to sew to fix the bear, they're going to need a teacher. There lies the problem. You can't be a teacher unless you understand what needs to be taught. And these lessons are so individualized that you need to know someone very very well in order to teach them.

[journaltohealthyme]

Letter From Me

So just an update I'll be going to do my physical for the National Guard within the next two weeks. I got an 85 on the ASVAB. I'm excited.

I'm sorry (again) for my post being lax. I wrote out an exercise and started a queue. Then I personally changed my exercise regiment. So I'm going to go clean my room right now. After that I'm going to sit down and work out another queue. And really solidify the direction of this blog. 

If you wanna message me with suggestions please do. Do you have any?

[journaltohealthyme]

Exercises of the Day

80 jumping jacks, 20 crunches

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Journal Prompt

Kindness:

1. the state or quality of being kind: kindness to animals.

2. a kind act; favor: his many kindnesses to me. 

3. kind behavior: I will never forget your kindness. 

4. friendly feeling; liking.

Never look down on anybody unless you're helping him up.  ~Jesse Jackson