Fail to Plan. Plan to Fail.

We've all heard this before and rolled our eyes at it. Maybe that's just me. I'm a chronic eye roller. It's almost become a game of its own like *insert Michelle's eye roll here*. I actually did receive that in a "professional" email once, but I digress.

This week I have been working on the fall plans for the community garden that I coordinate. Thinking about fall has been a nice mental break from the oppressive 100+ degree heat. When it comes to gardening, that old saying becomes true. Failing to plan in the garden sets you up to fail. Yes, many things about gardening are trial and error, but having a plan will help you make the most of your space and hopefully increase your harvest. Of course, life is not so unlike this. Having a plan to reach a goal reinforces the goal and makes it so much more likely that the goal will be achieved.

Gardening has taught me many life lessons and has really been an exciting experience - and it's only my first season. Gardening has allowed me to meet many people who desire to make a difference in their community and help their families live more healthy lives. To me, gardening is as much of a spiritual activity as it is a physical one. With all of that in mind, I have been encouraged to launch a new gardening page on my blog to follow along with my fall gardening notebook. Look for this in the coming weeks. Even if you aren't a gardener, be sure to stop by and see this city girl get her hands dirty. It will make for a good laugh.

Blessings!

They All Fall Eventually

Vices. Old habits. Comfort zones. They all put up a pretty good fight, and when they die (and, yes, they can die), they die hard. Some whimper out, but some go out with guns blazing, holding on to every little foothold they can hang on to - but they all fall eventually.

This week some old habits came back to rear their ugly heads. Last weekend started a downhill slide for me in my fitness and eating routines that seemed to last the whole week. I let myself get too busy to plan ahead and then too tired to put up a fight against my cravings. A week later, I'm still paying the price for my lack of planning and shall we just say laziness, but thanks to my handy-dandy food/exercise/life journal I can see how all of this "busyness" has affected me and what I need to work to correct.

Here's 5 things I've learned about myself this week by looking back at my journal:
1. As spontaneous and fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants as I like to think of myself being, my body really likes and needs routine - routine exercise, regular sleep patterns, and routine eating times.
2. Chelle + pizza + fast food = not friends anymore (no matter how hard I try) :-( Sad, but true.
3. Not drinking water makes me feel like I've been frozen in carbonite (How's that for a Star Wars reference? Yes, I'm a nerd.) Seriously, though, water is necessary for things to run right.
4. Not fueling your body properly when you are training makes you feel bad, which in turn makes you more likely to skip workouts or feel really awful when you do train. (Did I mention the training walk where I felt like I had a massive hangover and hadn't been drinking?)
5. Don't beat yourself up about what happened yesterday. Recognize what happened. Put a plan in place to overcome (sometimes that's realizing you have to set more doable goals). Renew your commitment to your goals, and resolve to do better today (better, not perfect. That's a whole other post).

I used to think that keeping a food journal was quite frankly one of the most annoying and boring things to do. However, I believe it is necessary for anyone who is trying to change their eating/exercise habits. It is a great way to look back at what is working/has worked to help you make progress toward your goals. A journal is also a great way to see what might be lacking or what needs to be eliminated. Working toward a goal is hard enough, being able to see what might be stalling your progress will help the process be less frustrating. Finally, a journal is added accountability, if you are willing to be honest with it and with yourself. It's looking yourself in the proverbial mirror and being able to say, 'I'm really doing this' or 'These were not good choices, but I'm going to change that right now!' Steps toward positive change everyday is what counts. Why not keep track of it?

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." Proverbs 16:9

Blessings!

The Weirdness

Is there a wrinkle in the fabric of the universe that is causing bizarre things to happen that someone forgot to mention? The past two weeks in our corner of the universe have just been odd. That's the only way to explain it. I guess it's just the way life works. Weird things happen. Things go back to "normal". It's just the cyclical motion of life. Maybe it's a good thing when all the weird things happen at once, so we can get them out of the way. At least it keeps life interesting. Of course, it can be those little foxes that creep in and throw us off our plans and knock us off the track toward achieving our goals. That's why it is important to have/know three things:
1. Know that God has a plan for you . We may not always understand it, but He does.
2. Have a clear, concise mental picture of what your goals are, so that in tough times you will be able to keep your eye on the prize and not be distracted.
3. Always look for joy in your journey. There will always be a little something there to make you smile.
I have to admit that I am one who has found myself way off track thanks to those pesky foxes. Sometimes it only takes the littlest thing. You think it won't matter, but suddenly it does. One day it's just drinking a soda or skipping one work out, soon it's drinking a bunch of soda and realizing you haven't worked out in a month. Sometimes you have to be spontaneous and just enjoy a special treat or an extra 30 minutes in bed, but if you don't have a clear plan to your goals, it is that much easier to hit the snooze button every morning and let your cravings over take your desire to be healthy.
So this morning when I woke up and wasn't feeling well, I thought I might just skip my working out. I thought I'd done enough this week, but something inside me said to get up. Get up and at least do 10 minutes of exercise. I was a little slower than normal, but decided to do 20 minutes instead. I won't lie. I thought about just stopping quite a few times, but then I remembered how much better I've been feeling and how much more empowered I feel when I do work out. I didn't want to give in. I even tried a new workout (that I most likely will skip in the future). A jumping workout with a stomach ache is not the wisest move, but at least I can say I did it!
Blessings!