This outdoor pool is one mile from our house.  A house that we’ve lived in for almost four years and we’re just now getting our butts over there to take advantage of it.  It even meets the “Three C’s” (that I just made up) – Close, Clean and Cheap.  Don’t ask me what took us so long, I have no idea.

Outdoor Pool

Choices Lead to Habits

February 26th, 2013 | Posted by Alison Spath in Fitness - (9 Comments)

Do you know the best thing about running on cold and dreary days?

Cold and Dreary

It makes running on the sunny days that much brighter.

(I know that sounds corny but it’s true!)

My weekend long run for Week 4 of half marathon training was seven miles. It was 30-something degrees and I wore all my usual winter running gear with the addition of a windbreaker over my fleece. By the time I was three miles in, I was starting to feel HOT and overdressed. Sometime around mile four I finally took off my neck warmer and mittens and shoved them in the pockets of my jacket before tying it around my waist for the remaining three miles home.

I had an appointment first thing this morning to drop our car off for its annual inspection. Our repair shop is only a mile from home, and since Zak was off today (and all week for the holidays!) I was able to leave him home with the kiddos while I drove the car to the shop. I had a neighbor offer to follow me there and drive me home, but at the last minute I decided to use the opportunity for some early morning exercise and run home instead.

Some Exercise Love

December 1st, 2011 | Posted by Alison Spath in Fitness - (1 Comments)

My energy is returning, the second trimester is nearly upon us here!  I almost feel like I’m starting to recognize myself again, larger waist circumference notwithstanding.

I’ve spent every spare moment of the last two days catching up on some long overdue housework.  I forgot how good my stairs look without a nest of dust bunnies in every corner.  All the finger smears and toothpaste splatters have been wiped from the mirrors.  The laundry is caught up, the floors have been mopped and I finally sucked the giant cob web out of the corner of our entry way (with the vacuum, people) that I’ve been staring at for weeks.

I do not recommend running a marathon on short notice.

I will never do that again.

But do I regret it?

Destined to Be an Old Woman with No Regrets

Absolutely not.

And if you told me you wanted to try it, I wouldn’t talk you out of it either. If you’re an experienced runner and have run a marathon or two before? Go for it.

With that said, it’s obviously best to run a marathon when properly trained – but if it weren’t for the fact that I went into this under-trained, I probably wouldn’t have investigated the run/walk approach to a marathon.  From where I sit now, I’m very grateful I had a reason to try it.

Lasting weight loss is serious business.

If and when you lose a significant amount of weight, (and even a small amount of weight can qualify as “significant”) it will likely be a big part of your personal evolution and the life long journey you’re on to understanding and truly knowing yourself.

It’s usually not until after you’ve lost the weight or have hit a plateau that you discover losing weight is only half the battle.  Keeping the weight off is the other half.  It can be really tough to work through personal baggage and heal old wounds that may have lead you to turn to food for comfort or entertainment in the past.  In some cases it will be even harder than counting calories or finding the motivation to exercise or get active.

This is the third post in a three part series about measuring the various aspects related to weight loss to more effectively achieve weight loss success.

This series began with the line “what gets measured gets managed“.

Part 1 was about counting calories.

Part 2 was about keeping track of your work out stats.

Part 3 is going to be about measuring your weight in order to manage it.

I am of the personal opinion that if you want to get serious about losing weight, calorie counting is the best approach for real results.

This is the first post in a three part series about measuring the various aspects related to weight loss to improve your chances of weight loss success.

I’m starting with food journaling because in my experience, it was the changes in my diet that had the most significant impact on my weight loss when compared to exercise alone.  Whether or not you count calories – true weight loss comes down to consuming fewer calories than you burn.

“what gets measured gets managed.”

That’s a quote from a guy named Peter Drucker.  It’s most typically applied in the world of business and marketing, but it can easily be applied to any aspect of your life that you would like to improve.

For our purposes today, let’s apply it to weight loss.

In short, the things you keep close track of are what get your attention and effort.  When you monitor and track and act with intention, you are much more likely to get the results you’re after.

Dressed to Clean

August 6th, 2011 | Posted by Alison Spath in Healthy Habits - (1 Comments)

It’s Saturday morning.

It’s been a long week.

Translation: I’m cleaning today.

But first!  I need to say good morning to my cup of coffee, my laptop, Barbie and a Fashion Fairy Tale Easy Reader, dress up shoes that should not be on the table in the first place, a broken slinky and a pink knit snake named Hissy that are all about to be trudged back upstairs to the playroom in a moment here.

Coffee First

Get Motivated

When it comes to getting motivated to clean house, getting dressed to clean is an amazing trick.