It's a Hard-Knock Life

Gotcha singing it now don't I...well if not, I've got that song going over and over again in my head, enough for everyone. It has been a hard-knock life lately and I'm not even talking the economy. Health wise, I've been doing terribly...since Thanksgiving I've been suffering from weird aches and pains. Granted I am the type to over work, over indulge and over do everything, it's not surprising that my bod doesn't want to keep up. I guess one cannot function on 5 hours of sleep a night for 3 months running...who knew? I guess I'm really not nineteen anymore and I just don't recover like a teenager...but I don't think I was ever able to function well on that little of sleep before, I would just get sick instead and be forced to stay in bed! Forgive if this blog seems a bit ramble-y...but I'm still functioning on less than idea sleep and my brain has been foggy for the last month. The positive is that I haven't caught a cold or flu yet this season (or that I can remember), the negative, I'm being effected in other ways. My bones and joints have been really achy and my muscles feel tight and sore (and sadly I haven't been to the gym in a month or so). I have 2 different doc appointments set up and have spoken with a nutritionist/trainer. Her advice was to of course get more sleep, but to also try coconut water (not milk) to help give my bod some natural potassium and magnesium that it might be needing, not to mention help to hydrate it as well. So I did that and have noticed some improvement. Over all, I know the answer...I am suffering from pure sloth and gluttony!...There's a reason they're counted in the seven deadly sins. I've gone completely off my healthy eating and exercise plan...and have indulged way beyond normal human consumption. I've eaten the cookies and the stuffing and the left-overs and haven't done one damn thing in the gym to counteract the effects. Is my own fault for not taking care of myself...and I've dragged my friends down with me...particularly the poor Maestro. He held off as long as he could but all the crap I brought home, eventually got to him and he caved, and thus the vicious cycle began. Seriously, sugar and carbs are like crack (in fact that's what we call it in our household)...and thus we've consumed the empty crap and it has drained us of all nutrients and gumption, thus leaving us puddled shells of the people we once were...just reaching for the remote and another handful of crack.

Well, it stops here! We're going back to our old, healthy ways. I've rejoined the gym (actually that was 2 months ago) and we've thrown out all the crap/crack in the house. You can't eat it if it's not there! AND I'm scheduling actual sleep time where I can get my 8 hours.

Yeah, Yeah, I know...it's a bit cheesy to jump on the New Years Resolution bandwagon (which I generally don't), but hey, it's a necessary evil...Lord knows I need Resolve! I can also understand why people choose to do it at this time of year...they need to recover from the previous feasting holidays of the past couple months...wow, can they cause damage.

So the plan:

The Maestro and I have decided to go ultra-clean...that's right kids, we're giving up the chemicals! This is very hard, due to the fact that we're both addicted to diet sodas and artificial sweeteners in our coffee. Not to mention all the hidden chemicals in your everyday foods. So we're gonna make it simple! Lots of wholesome veggies (organic if available), grilled meats, organic/low-fat dairy, legumes and some low-glycemic fruits (diabetes runs in the fam.) We're avoiding all "white" foods and introducing whole grains back into the diet after two weeks. This too will be interesting, because we have to look again for the hidden sugar & chemicals. As I stated earlier, we're leaving the artificial sweeteners behind, and opting for natural, lo-cal ones...thus hello stevia...is agave also lo-cal? Time to do my research. We're also using several of our gift cards and treating ourselves to some new kitchen appliances, namely: A steamer (for veggies), a new coffee maker, some good knives, and maybe even a food processor (for fun new recipes).

We're also introducing our bodies back to an active lifestyle...so now it's back to the Shred, the yoga, the elliptical, the long walks, the nice jogs (for the Maestro, my knees can't keep up) and finally the free weights (this will be a revisit for me, but new to the Maestro, as he's been mostly a cardio man all his life...yet he has the genetic make up to build something quite extraordinary.)

I'm really excited to have a partner in this venture and I look forward to seeing what we can accomplish. Funny thing is, this happened not by vain longings, but the grand desire to be ultra healthy. We want to live long, healthy, happy lives no matter what age, and we want to do it before we're 60 and asking what happened to our youth? There's no time like the present to get in great shape and feel alive. I want to be a well-oiled machine...and be one of those hot 70 year-olds that look 20years younger than you'd guess...granted I've got a long way to 70...heck I've got a long way to 50 or even 40 for that matter, but its time to start taking care of myself so I can enjoy life at any age.

Start your engines Ladies and Gentlemen...we'er off!