Walk as if you are kissing the earth with your feet.

Walk as if you are kissing the earth with your feet.  

I wish I could truly convey to you how these eleven words make me feel.  Sadly, I often find words and the English language can only bring us so far when it comes to describing thoughts and emotions.  I am using this as my Monday Motivation even though it is not your typical "Woohoo! Conquer the day!" message.  

Walk as if you are kissing the earth with your feet.  

Beautiful.  I read that and I can just feel my bare feet against warm sand, feel the grains compacting and sliding underneath the soles of my feet.  Savoring every moment of contact between my foot and the earth below it.  It is such a simple phrase yet much of its meaning has been lost in modern day materialism and popular culture.  

Walk is if you are kissing the earth with your feet.  

The thoughts coming to my mind go beyond walking and into the philosophical.  Live as if you are embracing the world with your entire being.  It reminds me to get off of autopilot and take notice of what I am doing.  What I am feeling.  What I am taking in with my five senses.  

Walk as if you are kissing the earth with your feet.  

I want every step I take to be a kiss between my feet and the earth.  I want every action I take to be an embrace between my soul and the world.  I do not want to miss any of it because I am simply going through the motions.  I want to live not just survive.  I want it all.

☆ Stephanie Ann

Fitness Facts Friday

Hello all!

Welcome to what will become known as Fitness Facts Friday!  As part of my journey into the world of fitness and fitness coaching, I am studying to become certified as a personal trainer.  There are several reasons why I want to be certified as a personal trainer including but not limited to:

1. Increasing my knowledge of how the body works and how to maximize its capabilities
2. Have an official certification for my business 
3. Be able to apply the knowledge I learn to help others!

What will Fitness Facts Friday be?

An opportunity for me to share some of what I am learning through my studies with you!

I'm hoping to answer some questions people have about fitness and exercise along with giving some base knowledge.  Topics covered will include but won't be limited to:

• What exactly is a muscle?
• Why am I sore?  What is this lactic acid thing everyone always talks about?
• Will this exercise make my butt look big?
• How much protein do I really need?
• Using physics to maximize results
• Why do I have to eat well to see results?  Can't I just exercise?
• What benefits come from lifting weights?
• What benefits come from aerobic exercise?
• AND SO MUCH MORE!

I'm super excited to get this up and going next week :)  Make sure you check back next Friday to see what fun fitness fact I talk about first!  If you have any questions or want to know more about a specific topic, comment and I will look into it!  And remember:

☆ Stephanie Ann

21DFX Week 1 Review and Falling Off the Wagon

Wow!  One week done, two more weeks to go!  I'm sure you have noticed that for each day I am posting a photo of my tracking journal which includes, when and what I ate (note the color coded container reference after each meal), and some notes on how I felt/what went well/etc throughout the day.

If you look at them you will notice that Monday (1) went well, Tuesday (2) went well, Wednesday (3) went well, Thursday (4) went well, and then came Friday.  Not so well.  I had run out of a lot of my prepped food, woke up late and sprinted out the door, and then traveled down to Boston and had my first eating out experience of my 21DFX Challenge.

Not my finest hour.  

Oh MY!  I gave into my somewhat constant DONUT craving (they were free for the taking at work... busted).  It would have helped if I had brought prepped meals to work with me and hadn't been as hungry when I saw those free donuts but alas, I did not.  And you know what?  That is okay!  I'm not perfect and it is NOT the end of the world that I ate a donut, and half a scone.  I went out to eat in Boston and chose a relatively healthy meal of a grilled chicken sandwich with avocado, swiss cheese, and bacon along with a side of chips.  What I didn't get while out to eat was a beer or soda or dessert so I'm counting my eating out experience as a win!  After that I headed to the Big Air Competition at Fenway Park and froze my butt off watching some AMAZINGLY talented athletes fly through the air on skis!

Talk about inspiration and motivation!

Saturday morning it was back out to eat and needless to say, by this point I was barely holding onto the meal plan wagon.  I went with an omelette rather than the waffle with chocolate chips.  I may have spoiled myself but I knew that Sunday was Valentine's Day and I was going to spoil myself then with a little champagne and steak!  I skipped my workout on Sunday due to having taught 6 hours of snowboarding lessons out in temperatures below 5 degrees F and I was exhausted!  Needless to say, the steak, champagne, and chocolates enjoyed by all on V-Day were delicious.

Definitely off the wagon.  Time to reset, reprep, and get back to work!

Why'd you fall off the wagon Mom???!!!?

Welcome Monday:  

• Got in two workouts, Dirty 30 and Yoga 
• Drank adequate amounts of water
• Followed my meal plan
• Went to bed on time

Just because I fell off the wagon didn't mean I could not chase it down, do some make-up work, and hop right back on!  

 
☆ Stephanie Ann

Tomorrow Morning's Goal

It is often easier to start something one day at a time so even though the image says to "Wake up EVERY morning with the thought that something Wonderful is about to happen," I'm going to focus on waking up TOMORROW, February 5, 2016 with the thought that something wonderful is about to happen in my life.  Focus on the positives!  What you focus on will grow so don't spend extra brain power on negative or nonconstructive thoughts.

☆ Stephanie Ann