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Exercise

Women: Do you feel safe exercising alone?

This early onset of spring is so wonderful and I’ve been trying to soak up this warmth that makes me so happy by going on a lot of walks! The birds are all singing loudly because they’re so happy too. I’m excited to start running again soon, but I’m taking it slow at the moment due to spinal issues that won’t allow the high impact. So walking has to be good enough for the time being.

Earlier today, I went for a walk through the neighborhood and while I was out, I passed a handful of guys throwing a football around in a driveway. Just after I had passed by the foot of the driveway, one or two of the guys started cat-calling and making some offensive noises. I just kept walking and acted as if I didn’t notice what they were doing, but it set my mind on a series of thoughts that I have from time to time when I’m out exercising alone.

Do I feel safe when I’m out by myself? Maybe it’s irrational, but I doubt that I’m the only one who has these kinds of thoughts. They may not be the most common stories you see on the daily news, but there are enough stories of young women being abducted or abused to make me feel uncomfortable in certain situations. I don’t want to feel unsafe or that I have to bring my husband along each time I go out for a walk or a run but I do feel safer when he’s with me and that makes me sad.

Maybe I’m blowing an innocent enough situation out of proportion, but I don’t think it’s ok to objectify women and make them feel unsafe when they’re alone. Am I the only one who ever feels that tinge of fear?

Spring Walk — In front of the gates to Muhammad Ali’s estate.

In other news, moving day is in less than 2 days! We’re on our way back to Maryland and will be officially through with living in Michigan. It’s been most of 6 years that we’ve lived up here and now it’s finally coming to a close. I don’t know if I can say it’s bittersweet but there are a handful of things that I will miss having close by, namely St. Joseph and Lake Michigan.

Also, I made my first microwaved sweet potato today! It actually turned out pretty well and it’s kind of nice that I didn’t have to wait 45+ minutes for it to cook in the microwave. Winning!

Anyways, keep us in your thoughts for the next 48 hours as we drown in packing boxes and a long drive. <3

March 9, 2016 by Meagan Leanne

Exercise, Healthy eating, Training, Triathlon, Weight loss

Self-Improvement Begins Here

It’s been just about 3 months since I signed up to repeat my favorite (only) race from last year and now we’re sitting on 5 months until Iron Girl race day! I get really excited when thinking about doing this race again especially now that I have an understanding of what I’m doing and how training for a triathlon feels like.

Sometimes I feel wimpy when I say “training for” because it is a sprint distance and for someone who is doing an Ironman, this race is basically like any training day for them. But I remind myself to stop feeling pitiful because if I didn’t bother to put in the time or the effort to train for my little race, then I could still be sitting on the couch like I was last year dreaming that I’d one day lose weight.

Losing weight is hard. —If anyone has ever had an easy time with it, tell me your secrets please!— Last year, I knew I had to have a tangible goal that I was excited to work towards and that’s why I went in search of an event that would remind me daily of what I was training for. While there were definitely difficult days, I was never sad or upset to do my daily workout and I actually was usually excited for it because I knew that with each workout, I was building myself up to succeed once race day arrived. Just imagining crossing the finish line with the knowledge of what I had accomplished is what pushed me through the tough days.

My goal in doing this race was to build fitness, build confidence, and lose weight and I feel like I really succeeded last year. This year’s goal is build on that foundation and keep going, because there’s so much more that I want to accomplish.

Along with my fitness goals, I am trying to work on my diet and improving the quality of the foods I eat. I’m trying to drink more and eat more of a veggie based diet. I’m vegetarian but a lot of dairy, grains, and processed foods tend to dominate what I eat so I’m trying to scale back and make it more about the healthy stuff.

Over the next several months, I’m going to be sharing what I’m doing to improve my diet as well as how I’m preparing for this year’s race. I need support to make it on this continuing journey and I also want to be a support for those who need some encouragement to meet their own goals.

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If you’re interested in signing up for the Iron Girl Columbia Triathlon on August 7, 2016, –> Click HERE. (The price rises $20 on April 1st). I’m not advertising for any personal gain but I’m passionate about it because I really believe that this race is an empowering event for women.

March 6, 2016 by Meagan Leanne

Exercise, Training, Triathlon, Weight loss

Pilates workout for your legs and core

3 workouts for this week. Next week will be a better week because of the work I’ve put in now. At least I have to keep telling myself this. Winter makes me lethargic and it’s hard to want to do anything and apparently I’m not alone. This article gives some tips on how to deal with the winter blues.

Anyways, here’s this week’s workouts!

Monday: Feb. 1, Zumba for 35 minutes. Pilates strength workout for 15 minutes.

Tuesday: Feb. 2, Swim 1000m, 27:42, water walk for 20 minutes

Wednesday: Feb. 3 n/a

Thursday: Feb 4. n/a

Friday: Feb. 5, Swim 1000m, 28:35, water walk and treading for 15 minutes. Pilates strength workout for 15 minutes.

Swim bag — My pretty pink bag from the triathlon

If you’ve heard of the blogger SarahFit, you know that she makes amazing fitness videos that are FREE for use. I’ve followed her blog for a while now but I happened to stumble upon one of her videos when looking for a pilates workout this week. It burns and really pushed me but I can totally feel it working. I’d recommend looking her up!

February 5, 2016 by meaganleanne

Exercise, Healthy eating, Training, Triathlon, Weight loss

Things these days + 6 month goals

Hello internet family! Long time, no update!

My husband and I are back in Michigan for him to attend a couple months of classes before we head back to Maryland for his last 2 PT clinical internships and then we’re back here for graduation! It’s amazing that his 3 years of hard work are almost over! I’m so proud of him. 🙂

St. Joseph sunset — One of the few reason I can be happy to be back in Michigan: St. Joseph and amazing sunset viewing.

Since we’re only here for a limited time, I’ve been hanging out in our apartment and catching up on some TV shows and movies (Grey’s Anatomy, The Bachelor… and Inside Out). Winter is a really difficult season for me and I tend to feel like I’m in some sort of hibernation mode. I want to sleep all day and just eat blah food. It takes a lot of mental energy to work out when I feel like this but I’ve managed to get out and do some swimming and a few other workouts at least 2-3 times per week.

With my last update, I announced that I was doing a health challenge and my main goal was to maintain/lose weight through the holiday season. I tried to be conscious of what my portions were but I didn’t restrict myself from any specific foods because, well, you know we only get them once a year! I kept to my goal and I managed to drop just a little under the weight I had been sitting at.

This year, my health goals will once again be working up to the Iron Girl Triathlon in August. I’ve already registered and started planning my goals for the race and for the next 6 months leading up to the race and they are as follows:

Continue to lose weight. I made a lot of progress last summer and I want to keep building on that so I can be a healthier -healthy weight- me. Running will also become significantly easier with less weight to pull around.
Focus on strength training. It was a component of my training last summer, but I was training to finish the race so I focused most of my time on cardio. I want stronger muscles because I noticed, during the race, how much of a difference it would make to be stronger.
Pre-train so that when I start my more serious training in May, I’m starting at just as high, if not higher level of fitness that I was when I did the event last summer.
Train with sister Hanni who I have conned into doing the race with me! (Love ya sis)
Drop race time. If I can achieve the above goals, then I am extremely confident in my ability to significantly reduce my time. I don’t want to share a number yet in case I’m being realistic, but I am really working towards this goals (with help of the above goals.) My time last year was 2:45:49.

I’m really excited about a lot of new things that are happening this year because it’s going to be a big transition for us (hubby and me) to both be completely out of college as well as continuing my pursuit of a healthier lifestyle and self. Happy 2016!

Makes a girl feel pretty to have a fresh haircut 🙂

February 2, 2016 by meaganleanne

Exercise, Healthy eating, Training, Weight loss

Confession time and a New Challenge

It’s the good food time of year! Leading up to Thanksgiving, we’re grateful for mashed potatoes, stuffing, pies, and all other fattening and delicious things. There isn’t much time to recover from Thanksgiving, because we go directly into holiday parties and family dinners that are loaded with Christmas treats. It’s hard to only eat one portion of these yummy foods and often this leads to a calorie overload=weight gain.

At this time last year, I was under a whole new level of stress. I’d been having significant issues with anxiety for a few years, and I was in a class that sent my anxious feelings into overdrive as well as dealing with some news that about to change my life all over again. I was feeling pretty miserable and I don’t know if it was from the stress of everything or if being stressed was causing me to overeat… but I managed to gain 20 pounds in 2 months. 2 MONTHS.

I’m embarrassed to admit it. I really don’t know how it happened. At a friend’s wedding in mid-October I was the same weight I’d been for a few years (i.e. overweight) and then by new years I was a miserable 20 pounds heavier. This past April I’d had enough and knew that I needed a goal to help me move on from my unhealthy life and become a new person. I found the Iron Girl Triathlon and jumped into training headfirst and spent the next few months losing those 20 pounds.

I’ve maintained my weight generally since the triathlon in August and I’m currently working on ways to get in some good exercise despite still dealing with significant back pain. I’m determined not to be seduced by sugary treats and fatty dinners this season and do the impossible: lose weight before Christmas.

I’ve got a few health goals that I’m working towards for next year and I can’t afford to be set back by weight gain and a sedentary lifestyle. SO I’ve joined the Holiday Sweat challenge! One of the blogs that I follow is Run to the Finish by Amanda Brooks and each year she has hosted a community fitness challenge to help us fight the forces against us at this time of year. You can get an explanation of the challenge here if you would like more info/to participate.

The challenge technically started on Sunday but you should still be able to sign up and join all the groups. After you sign up on the website, you can join the Facebook group and then follow and be followed by your community members on Twitter/Instagram. It’s a great way to meet other people from all over the world who are trying to better their lives as well as be inspired to meet your daily/weekly goals. Join the party!

November 9, 2015 by meaganleanne

Exercise, Healthy eating, Running, Training, Weight loss

Too Young for Back Troubles

14 months ago, I herniated a disk in my lower back. One week before my wedding.

2 months of PT, 2 MRI’s, numerous doctors visits and loads of medical bills later, I still had a herniated disk. Every single medical professional that I have seen has told me that I’m too young to have this problem. Yay me!

Surgery was suggested but not a reality at this point so I went on an expedition to lose weight and do the best that I could to alleviate the pain in my back and legs.

I spent 3 months preparing for the IronGirl triathlon and I did lose weight (about 1/3 of my goal) as well as finding a new passion for exercising and living healthfully.

Things were going well until one morning, two weeks ago, I happened to lean forward in just the wrong way and aggravate an already temperamental herniated disk. I spent the next few agonizing days in bed feeling discouraged as well as frustrated that I couldn’t just go for a run and have that, “My body accomplished something great today!” sensation.

I’ve had a lot of time to think about my situation and I’ve come to realize that good health is a blessing that not everyone has and is too often taken for granted.

Yesterday I was reading a blog post by Run to the Finish about training secrets and one of her points really emphasized this thought.

Realize that you don’t “have to” run. You are a lucky person that “gets to” run. You have people in your life that make it possible for you to have the time to run, you have a body that allows you to run, and crazy people like me who encourage it. This is your choice.

So although I’m out of action for at least a few more weeks, I’m learning the valuable lesson of patience as well as not jumping back in too soon. I’m also reminded to be thankful for all that I do have and to never take being healthy for granted.

September 10, 2015 by meaganleanne

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