Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Adam wrote about time today

If you haven't read Adam's post today on Adam Waters : RTP Blog 2.0
check it out.

Adam asked the shreddersphere, "Does this feeling of uncertainty drive you to live every day as if it were your last?" My answer is Yes.

My first major boyfriend in college committed suicide after we broke up. I think I was 22 at the time. After that, the number of people I got to know, love, and mourn their death just kind of grew. I've always had a great respect for the fragility of life and the having grieved and celebrated the lives of many close friends, lovers, family, and co-workers that have left this plane of existence has really solidified that lesson.

However, this is a shredder blog and how does this effect my shredding? Frankly, on some days it looks like NOT SHREDDING. Yeah, really it does. I don't want to live my life sad that I didn't hit my a body fat percentage or staying home because I don't want to be tempted by the food or with my mind pre-occupied on what I can or can't eat at a party instead of enjoying the celebration of my friends and loved ones. I don't want to feel like a failure, because I've gained a few pounds. Life is just too short.

BUT I don't want my last day to be MISSING OUT on going to see my friends because of my darn back. Feeling ugly at a big awards banquet, because I wanted to look nice in my dress and it fits crappy. I don't want my life to be about regret and I don't want it to be about obsession.

In short, I'm looking to add great health to a great life. To be fit and healthy so that it doesn't factor negatively on all the other wonderful, fun, things that life has to offer. I want to feel confident on a date and be able to RUN to catch a plane. I want to be able to help a friend move into a new house.

That said, I've noticed that there are shredders who REALLY ENJOY making their fitness the CENTER POINT in their life. It's their calling in life. It's not mine, BUT I see their undeniable joy and think to myself, "There has got to be a way that I can make my exercise and eating into a joyous process." That's why I try my best to celebrate what I've done and not beat myself up too much about what I didn't. I try to focus on the foods that are healthy that I really like instead of on what I can't have.

There is so much more I have to say on this topic, but I'm kind of hyper and rambling. In short, my dedication to my overall mission of living healthy shredder lifestyle is more an exercise in moderation (which has never been my forte in life) and a strive for balance. I want to live my last day being of service, loving and enjoying the company of my fellow man. Some days it means eating clean and shredding hard and some days not so much. ;)

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I have so much actual shredder stuff to report. I've altered my strength training to having my little water weight half full so and only doing ONE set of 15 reps for each upper body exercise to insure that I could get through the ENTIRE repertoire of exercises without having to stop because of any shooting back pains. AND I DID IT. Except for the dip things, which I could only do three of (but not because of a spasm) I really can only do three of those things they're tough.

Then, my eating has been all crazy so I splurged and ordered a fresh box of organic fruits and vegetables expertly selected and home delivered to me for Thursday. So I'll have delicious, fresh veggies and fruits for me to eat throughout the whole week. It was about $42 and the delivery was free. The poor selection at the market, my inability to pick out the good stuff from the bad, and not having good food choices on hand has been hindering my the joy of progressing on my mission. So, I decided to go for a FUN solution, and and just work harder to earn some extra money. It's actually not that expensive considering how much eating out and what I would spend at the grocery store on canned and frozen stuff.

Today I'm grateful I got to:
• Do strength training (I'm sore, but no super bad pains so far YAY!)
• Drink FIVE glasses of water
• Eat THREE servings of fruits and veggies

7 comments:

Mike Groom said...

Christy, I really enjoyed your post today! You are a bit like me, I like to SHRED, but I also like to splash out every now and again. It's about finding that balance in life IMHO!

You're looking very nice in your photo today :)

KaliLilla.com said...

Great post Christie! You are so right that some find exercise and "eating clean" a center point. I'm one of them! I'm not 100% perfect but I love striving to improve my body which trickles down and improves so many other aspects of my life.
But it's not the center of everyone's world and it doesn't need to be. It's great to hear the diverse contributions everyone has to offer on the Sphere! :)

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed your post today, too. I think once a person gets to a point of eating healthy and exercise and it is second nature you won't be so obsessed with it as it will just be a way of life. that is the point we strive for..for it to be natural to eat healthy and exercise...then you can focus on other areas of your life and not worry about the fitness stuff...i hope i am making sense!
time sure does go so quickly...why it only seemed like a few days ago we were just starting this blogging journey! and here we are right on 1 year of sharing our journey together(wasn't it July when you first visited my blog?)

Meredith said...

Hi Christy, I too enjoyed your blog today. That balance that you spoke about is really hard..I have never really stuck with consistent healthy eating for more than 5 weeks...so maybe it will become habit at some point...but I agree, sometimes you just have to have an ice cream cone and live a little bit. PS-congrats on getting through all of your your exercises!

Buffedstuff said...

It is all about being healthy and true to you. Never confuse yourself with someone else. I think the beauty of the entire process is really a journey of self discovery. Understanding what you enjoy and then doing it with a passion. Catch you later, until then keep celebrating you.

Michael said...

OK, wow! You should enjoy my post today to an extent. I share a quotation that was given to me today in an email that spoke loudly to me. Christy, you have had your ups and downs, but you are doing such an incredible job. Remember that you are involved in an Experiment of Christy. What works for you is what you should be doing. You should definitely enjoy exercising and how you eat, but that's the point--do what will make you enjoy it. Have the confidence that you are doing the best YOU can. I'm impressed with everything you've done to this point. You are also very special to me because we both share the back issue.

Debbie said...

Christy, just read your post. I know I'm a day late but wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed it. Life is about balance, whatever you define it as.