The Day Has Come

Today the cross country team will be loading our excited selves onto a school bus to embark on a 12ish hour drive. 

But it will be totally worth it. 

Why, do you ask?

Well, my good folk, it is officially DISNEY TRIP!

Therefore it is HARRY POTTER LAND WEEKEND. 

In a matter of days I will be in possession of a wand. 

I am beyond excited. 

For my 'bus entertainment' I fully loaded my ipod up with Coldplay and packed three Harry Potter books. 

On a less great note, I  had a rough day yesterday. 

I won't go into detail about my now ex-boyfriend, but yesterday I found out he cheated on me. 

I don't tolerate cheating. Ever. 

Luckily I have amazing friends and family that were there for me. 

So have a great rest of the week! My weekend officially starts now!

Also, take a chance to thank your support group for all they do.

Letting Go

As a girl who used to be 'a bit hefty', I often find it hard to be happy just the way I am.
I stopped weighing myself a couple of months ago. No matter what the number was, I wasn't happy with it.

Sometimes you just have to stop and take a good hard look at yourself.
And this is the honest conclusion I came to:

I'm the healthiest I've ever been.
My diet isn't 100% perfect, but it's close enough (I'd say anywhere from 90-95%).
I put good foods into my body to fuel solid workouts that challenge me.

I think a lot of my negativity has stemmed from the energy crashes I experienced this summer and the slower race times.
The neurotic part of me worries that I'm getting out of shape, but the logical part of me knows that's not possible. I have kept consistent mileage and strength work.

I'm trying to add yoga back into my life because it gives me a sense of balance.
I will also (hopefully) start rock wall climbing again when the wall at the college opens back up.

As a senior in high school, I just feel like I'm in an awkward transitional phase.
I feel so ready to start college life and find my place in this world as an individual, but I've still got a  year left.

So until then I'm trying to bide my time and find activities around her that are stimulating.

Has anyone else experienced this? How did you manage the stress and lethargy?

Facebook Withdrawal.

I know this seems totally unrelated, but I gave up Facebook to focus on my 'self love'.
The problem is that I look at my old photos and compare myself to all my other friends.
Not healthy.
So POOF, Facebook is gone (for now).

I do have to admit, though. I'm going through Facebook withdrawal.
I mean, I LOVE Facebook..
(Yes, I'm one of those).

So now I'm sitting here watching Drew Carey's Improv-a-ganza and contemplating what to do with my time.

Major love for improv hottie Jeff Bryan Davis

Homework?
Read a book?
Self Meditate?

Nah, I'll just watch Jersey Shore.
(Just kidding, it isn't on).

Self Love

This time of year I always get super stressed.
I think my body is just trying to see me through to summer.

But with all this stress, something finally gave.
Surprisingly, I think it was a blessing in disguise.
I've lost about 20 pounds this past year.
And I still wanted to lose more.
I was watching every single calorie that I ate.
I rarely, if ever treated myself to something like dark chocolate.

But with all this extra stress added on, my obsession with numbers has broken.
Don't get me wrong, I still have my moments, but I've started relaxing with my food.
I'm still eating healthily, but I'm not focusing on numbers.
And I don't see sweets as the devil.
I figure, if focusing so hard on being a certain weight is stressing me out so much, why am I trying to lose more weight?

I should be content with the fact that I'm healthy.
I'm not overweight, and I exercise very frequently.
I guess I just got so caught up in the numbers that I lost sight of what being healthy is really about.
Being happy.

My Road to a Healthy Lifestyle

So I know it's been a LONG time since I posted. I just couldn't really keep up with everything going on in my life. 

But I feel like trying to pick my blogging up again, so I figured I'd pick things back up with the story of my "healthy turnaround" this past year. 

I guess I should start with the beginning of the summer. I was dating a cute boy, but we didn't have anything in common, other than the fact that we were dating out of boredom. 

I've struggled with my body image all my life, and dating a tall, thin guy only made me hate my short, soft figure even more. I went through a diet rollercoaster, eating obscene amounts of junk food and then throwing up. Horrible, I know, but I wasn't in a good place.

Me before my turnaround.

Near the end of the summer, we broke up and I turned my focus back to running, something I was set on doing, but not very good at. My diet and extra weight was holding me back. But luckily, I have one of the best coaches on the face of the planet. I was going to the Summer practices, and Coach (seeing my commitment) promised me a spot on the Cross Country Disney trip. 

That was just the push I needed. I wanted to prove that I deserved that spot. I started to turn my diet around and run more often. School started, but I could still barely push past a mile without huffing and puffing. 

But I stuck with it. My distances increased, my times decreased, and the fat started disappearing. I ran the Disney 5k, and although my time wasn't that hot, I was proud of all that I'd accomplished, and I had a great time. 

Getting healthier.

Once the season ended, most of my running buddies dropped the activity for the year, but it was just the beginning for me. I've been steadily bumping up my mileage, and I'm up to about 30 miles a week. I've continued to drop weight, and I've added yoga and strength training to my schedule. 

I rarely crave junk food now. I can't remember the last time I had a Dorito (an old favorite). I love fruits, vegetables, whole grain, and fish. I weigh every week just to make sure I'm not losing too much weight, but I try not to let the number on the scale influence my body image. The important thing is that I feel healthy and happy. 

 Feeling a lot better.

 I plan to continue training, and want to work my way up to a half-marathon.