So yesterday I participated in my very first 5k which was the Color Run. It was SO much fun! I guess they really know how to live up to their catchphrase "The Happiest 5k On Earth". One of my personal goals was to do my first 5k, and being it being my first I wanted to make it count! I also was super nervous about feeling like I couldn't keep up with the general crowd. When you are just starting with running, you don't want to be setting the bar too high. Running is something that I am really learning how to properly do THIS year. What I mean by properly do, I mean how to run consistently without having to feel like I am going to puke or pass out. The previous months I have been slowly building my endurance by running a mile or two at least once a week (outside) and utilizing my warm ups at the gym by using the treadmill. I am not a fan of the treadmill due to getting bored but it has helped a lot.

Our Before Picture

I did the Color Run this year with my parents and my sister where we entered as a team. Our team name was "Brave Hearts". This was to represent the personal struggles we have endured. We made team shirts which each ribbon was a different to represent our own cause. My mother survived a heart attack last year which is why her ribbon was red. My sister's and dad's was silver to represent my sister's struggle and perseverance with Dyslexia. Mine was blue to represent my husband's battle with Testicular Cancer. I really liked having our own meanings because it gave me an extra sense of motivation.

Starting line

Pre-run selfie

When we arrived to the starting line there was music pumping and the energy was infectious. The weather was cloudy and sprinkled off and on. There was still a very good turn out. When they started the run, they allowed people to run/walk in waves so it would create less chaos. One thing I didn't really like with the run was that it began with a hill. Luckily after that there wasn't too many hills. They had various color stations where they throw color at you as you run. That was a lot of fun. When I finished I was given my color packets and medal. I don't know what my time was because they don't time you but I would have to assume it was 35 minutes. I did have to take a couple walk breaks because of some of the hills. Something I want to work out for the next 5k (which I am signed up for one in September).

Post Run

When you finish you get to do the "after party" which they play music and have color throws. Once again the energy was amazing and I seriously couldn't stop dancing. I haven't had so much fun a long time and I was incredibly proud of myself for doing it. I wasn't perfect and didn't have the best time but I DID IT. I honestly never thought I could ever finish a 5k let alone do one. I can see how it can be addicting because you get a "runner's high" once you are able to get going. Also it can addicting when you want to always strive for improvement.

So this past weekend was a success. I was able to eat healthy and active. The weekend was our weekend off and has always been struggle for me to eat healthy. We began the weekend by going to the beach with my mother and sister. My mother, sister, and I went to walk up and down the beach. The Maine ocean water wasn't too cold but the waves were big enough to knock you off your feet.

My sister and I. I am not fond of this picture but instead of feeling gross I am using this just as another motivation to make better choices

Our deformed sand turtle

On the way back we stopped at The Cabin in Bath, ME. They specialize in their pizzas and other Italian dishes. We order a seafood pizza which was a white pizza topped with cheese, calamari, shrimp, and clams. I only had two pieces. On the same day my husband, my sister, and I went to the Skowhegan State Fair. The smell of the amazing fair food was completely overwhelming but by some miracle I was able to resist it all. We rode the rides and people watched.

Before we went to the fair!

 The next day I participated in my first BodyCombat class which was held at All Out Fitness. I never attended a group fitness class and a friend, who is also an instructor there, recommended coming. I absolutely loved it. I loved working out with other empowering women and not feeling uncomfortable for not knowing the choreography. I have never really been coordinated but I was able to catch on to the basics. The next few days my arms were pretty sore. I love feeling sore after a workout. It makes me feel like I was able to push myself a little further. I went to the Les Mills website (which is the company behind the group fitness workouts such as BodyPump, BodyCombat, BodyFlow, and Grit Training) and they have an on demand service for those who can't make it to a live class (like me!). I am going to at least one class every respite but since I enjoyed it so much I decided to sign up for the on demand service. The first ten days are free and then you pay a monthly fee of $12.99. Honestly I feel like that is a really good deal and just another way to give new life to my work outs. One of my biggest fears is loosing interest in working out because I am doing the same thing over and over again at the gym.

So the best news about this weekend other then remaining active and eating healthy (well at least WAY better then any other weekend) was I lost 3 pounds!! That is a first for me because I always either gain a pound or just maintain. It seriously gives me a new form of motivation. The kids will be on their last stretch of summer vacation and I am already planning activities to do such as hikes and biking trails. I also much add that my husband has been doing an excellent job with controlling his own eating and managed to lose over ten pounds in two weeks (lucky guy!). To have your partner to help you stay motivated and make healthy choices!!

My goal for this week is to slowly add in some on demand Les Mills classes on top of my gm work outs to add some more physical fitness. I am also focusing on having less processed carbs and substitute with healthy carbs.
Love the life you live!!

~Rachel

This work rotation has proven to one of my most successful with my weight loss. In a week I have lost five pounds. I have been able to up my work outs and cut down on my evening snacking to nothing goes in my tummy past 7pm. I have been asked what are things that have been working for me and I figured it would be perfect for a post, right?

So here we go..

Five Things That Have Worked Well For My Journey

1. Cutting down on the snacking

• My BIGGEST struggle with my weight has always been the snacking. Ever since I was in high school I loved to snack but would justify it by having small meals. Being in high school I had a higher metabolism and as I got older it started to creep up. When my husband and I began our current job as Therapeutic Parents, that was when my snacking was at my absolute worst. When the kids went to bed, I would be stuffing my face with a package of Oreo's. And it didn't end with the Oreo's. Oh no, on the stressed out days it was a feast of carbs and fat. Before I really knew it I ballooned to 235 pounds. That was when I finally came to my senses and decided to make the change. I slowly cut back and like I have said before now my snacking ends after my post workout yogurt.

     2.  The Balance of Strength and Cardio

• The first few months going to the gym, I seriously had no clue what I was doing. I kept thinking, should I focus on the cardio because I have heard its the fastest way to lose the weight? Doing research didn't help either. I would read how cardio was the fastest way and then also read lifting weights was the real way to burn the fat. So I decided, screw it I am doing both. I began to do cardio one day and the lift the other. Now I make it my goal to at least run 3 miles outside and make up for the rest of my weekly cardio at the gym. And do my lifting. I personally love to lift more then cardio, but I feel like I need to do both. 

Today was a really good day. I was able to surpass my daily goal for activity and made the perfect health choices. However, weekends on the job I find to be easy to do this. I still need to relish in every small gain I make with my journey. And I feel GOOD. I have my good days and my down right low days with my journey. I am happy to say and I am gaining more good days then the latter. Today I took a client on a hike on a local trail. We were able to do 8 miles today which was a nice added bonus plus doing the gym this evening. Since my legs were feeling sore (they were already sore because I did squats on the smith machine the previous day) so today I focus on the upper body at the gym.

Our little hie we did today. The weather wasn't too hot plus the shade made it enjoyable.

My day today. Super happy with myself.

Yesterday was my wonderful mother's birthday. She is one of the most important people that is in my life. I was brought into the world a Navy Brat and so for the first six years of my life we moved around from Virginia to Florida to Maine. Since my dad was over seas off and on due to the Navy, it was just Mom and I. When I was six my dad retired the Navy and four years later my sister was born. Last year she survived a pretty close call when she had a heart attack, That was incredibly scary. What was even scarier was her heart was healthy as well as her arteries being clear. She had a heart attack due to a small tare off an artery. I am so thankful she was able to fully recover and is healthy as a horse today! It really gave me a huge wake up call to make sure my own body is healthy because you are given one chance. Tomorrow it can go away and you may never know.

My Momma and I from our wedding. Oh ad my husband, Joe, photobombing.

So for the next week I want to keep maintaining what I have been doing these past few days. Remaining active and healthy eating. Sounds easy right? Oh how I wish! I will be off the clock Thursday so until then I know it will be easy. Its always the weekends off things are put into the test. My husband has been making his own healthy changes so that always makes temptations easier to resist when you have someone to do it with! 

So today (8/7) has been my second day of practicing my Sun Salutations (Surya Namaskar). Yesterday I noticed I had a huge burst of energy. I am not sure if that was a coincidence but I was able to notice a difference. Usually no, pretty much always on days when the kids are in school I will take a nap. Well for the first time I just couldn't settle down to sleep. So instead I was able to get stuff done, which was really nice. I am curious to see today if I will feel the same. Today is Friday which means the don't have summer school so it will be the perfect way to notice if there is a difference. I really enjoy doing sun salutations because of the sequence and it allows my body to wake up because I get up at 5:30 am which is unheard of for me. I am not a morning person and probably never will be. But when you wake up with a deeper sense of motivation, anything is really possible.  I also had been doing some reading on the benefits of doing Sun Salutations. Some of the benefits include..

Today was my first run with m new Fitbit Charge HR. I finally received my Fitbit yesterday after waiting patiently for a few days. Patience was never my strong suit. The past few days we have been staying at my parents before hitting it back to work because we currently don't have a home. We live at work more then our time off plus work covers our hotel stay which has been helping us save money for a real home. I decided today that I needed to do something for physical exercise to test the Fitbit out, and running is perfect. I did 3.62 miles on my parents road. The weather was good. 75 degrees with low humidity. The only downside was the lack of shade of the road, so I am pretty sure I am going to have a sunburn on my face.

My post run selfie. So HAWT lol

I really liked the breakdown of the exercise that gives me a better sense of my run. I can see where my intervals of walking to running to walking. That is pretty cool. I have heard that one of the negatives to the Fitbit HR is that the heart rate monitor can be more inaccurate during a workout. I checked mine through out my run and it appeared to be accurate.

So yes, I feel like I am really going to like this neat gadget. I also like tracking my sleep and the challenges you can do with your friends. Might be too early to say this but I would highly recommend getting the Fitbit Charge HR if you want to get a better look at your work outs and daily life.

Oh and if you do happen to have a fitbit account feel free to add me! Just use my email rpoulin91@gmail.com or Facebook if we are friends!