Fitness Road Trip

change of name

noreply@blogger.com (wyndymoon) — Sat, 30 May 2009 21:03:00 +0000

I decided that I didn't like the old name of this blog. ' Dirt road to health' just wasn' t right. It didn't FEEL right.

I have been having a lot of trouble getting here and keeping updated. Part of was due to the fact that I was screwing up majorly with my eating and exercise habits, and part of it was due to the fact that my kids or hubby were always over my shoulder asking what I was doing, what I was writing, and when could they have a turn on the computer. So I've solved the last part by buying myself a laptop and now the rest of the family can have computer time whenever while I can be here updating.

As for the first part, I have seen that Lori over at ' Finding Radiance ' has given herself a 12 day challenge to eat clean and be disciplined. So I was thinking that I would try the same thing. Fruit guy is back now for the season and I have no trouble staying away from the junk foods when there is lots of fruit in the house. So I will start there. I lost 30 lbs last spring/summer when I incorperated lots of fruits and vegs into my diet.

My other biggest problem is that I have been having an extreme amount of trouble getting back into an exercise routine since my mother past away at christmas time. But I went out last weekend and bought a new pair of Mizuno running shoes and a pair of Vibram 5 fingers. Now I need to get out and start running again as I feel very GUILTY spending that much money on shoes that don't get used!

So tomorrow morning I will start day 1 of my own challenge (hubby is taking me out on a date tonight and movie popcorn is a DEFINATE must!). It will be a 7 day challenge so it is not so overwhelming at first, then I will re-evalute and make a new challenge.

Goal 1 will be to eliminate the junk and replace it with healthy fruits
Goal 2 will be to re-start running using the C25K running plan.
Goal 3 will be to get here each day to update and keep myself accountable.

See you guys tomorrow!

Baaaa!!

noreply@blogger.com (wyndymoon) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 01:06:00 +0000

I have gained 5 lbs. Serves me right though as I have been eating total crap; chips, pop, lots of creme eggs. I really need to tighten the reigns and get ahold of my eating. Plus I need to find some motivation again to get back to my exercise routine. My girls and I really want to get back to the rollerblading but, there is still too much snow on the sidewalks and sand on the roads. All that would succeed in doing is wreck my rollerblades.

I did eat better most of the day; until dinner. We had burgers. And they were so darn good that I had 3. Yes, 3 darn burgers. Then I proceded to head to the store for some mini-eggs. Oh those cadbury easter treats. The down-fall of me!

As for the exercise, it doesn't help that I am sitting on my ass for most of the day and evening trying to learn how to design websites. Andthe time gets past me until it's too late to go do something for exercise. Like right now. What am I doing? Blogging! Sitting on my arse! With a 3 burger full belly!

No luck

noreply@blogger.com (wyndymoon) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 20:34:00 +0000

Well, no luck for me for winning the Pure Bar contest. I guess I will have to try to track them down around here to give them a try.

Going to work this week on getting back to healthy eating, mostly primal if I can. Short on groceries again so that makes it tough. I will check out The Last Straw blog later to see if there are any new challenges that I can join and hopefully manage to do. I still need to take the time to do the aerobic videos she has there for not winning at last weeks challenge. He he..So for dinner tonight I will make some chicken to have with some carrots and see what I have for salad fixings. Then later this evening, get on my treadmill and at least have a nice long walk. I swear I can feel my butt expanding without any exercise!!

Great contest giveaway!

noreply@blogger.com (wyndymoon) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:32:00 +0000

Carrots N Cake, one of my favorite food blogs, has a giveaway contest going on for Pure Bars energy bars. I haven't tried them yet but, some of their flavors sure sound yummy. I am always looking for a good healthy snack and Tina at Carrots N Cake always has some super ideas for healthy snacks. Go check out her site!

Much better.

noreply@blogger.com (wyndymoon) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:06:00 +0000

I am feeling much better today. Took my son to the doctor and then we went to Denny's for lunch. It's been a long time since I was able to spend a little time with my son alone. Restaurant burgers sure aren't clean eating or primal eating for that matter but, after eating only crackers for 3 days, I needed SOMETHING! So maybe I can get back into some exercise tonight. Maybe get my hubby to go to the gym with me tomorrow. It has been quite awhile since I have been to the gym and I sure miss swimming.

Living Primal

noreply@blogger.com (wyndymoon) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 03:41:00 +0000

Along with my struggle to follow the primal way of living, I have been trying to find some good primal living blogs. Aside from 'Mark's Daily Apple' blog where I first learned about the primal blueprint eating plan, I have discovered 'Son of Grok'. This is a site chock full of primal recipes and exercise tips and ideas. It is my new favorite site to check out for primal living. Today he posted a 'McSoG' breakfast sandwich, much like our favorite breakfast sandwiches from fast food joints, only healthy and primal. I am so much going to try this sandwich for breakfast tomorrow!

Hope I like old workouts!

noreply@blogger.com (wyndymoon) — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 19:10:00 +0000

I am still sick today. Pounding headaches and upset stomach. I really hate crackers! I guess I won't be making it for the week long challenge I joined at The Last Straw. Maybe if she has another challenge next week I will be able to keep up. So in the mean time I guess I better dig out some old workout gear and get revved up to do some oldies workouts!

Poison---- did you know this?

noreply@blogger.com (wyndymoon) — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 22:02:00 +0000

This was sent to me in an e-mail. Very scary when I consider how much diet products I consume with aspartame in it. I will be rethinking some of these products.

POISON!
A MUST READ!

In October of 2001, my sister started getting very
sick.
She had stomach spasms and she was having a hard time
getting around.
Walking was a major chore..
It took everything she had just to get out of bed; she
was in so much pain.

By March 2002, she had undergone several tissue and
muscle biopsies and was on 24 various prescription medications.
The doctors could not determine what was wrong with
her.
She was in so much pain, and so sick she just knew she
was dying.

She put her house, bank accounts, life insurance,
etc.., in her oldest daughter's name, and made sure that her younger children
were to be taken care of.

She also wanted her last hooray, so she planned a trip
to Florida (basically in a wheelchair) for March 22nd.

On March 19 I called her to ask how her most recent
tests went, and she said they didn't find anything on the test, but they
believe she had MS.
I recalled an article a friend of mine e-mailed to me
and I asked my sister if she drank diet soda?
She told me that she did.
As a matter of fact, she was getting ready to crack one
open that moment.

I told her not to open it, and to stop drinking the
diet soda!
I e-mailed her article my friend, a lawyer, had sent.
My sister called me within 32 hours after our phone
conversation and told me she had stopped drinking the diet soda AND she could
walk!
The muscle spasms went away. She said she didn't feel
100% but, she sure felt a lot better.

She told me she was going to her doctor with this
article and would call me when she got home.

Well, she called me, and said her doctor was amazed!
He is going to call all of his MS patients to find out
if they consumed artificial sweeteners of any kind.
In a nutshell, she was being poisoned by the Aspartame
in the diet soda...and literally dying a slow and miserable death.

When she got to Florida March 22, all she had to take
was one pill, and that was a pill for the Aspartame poisoning!
She is well on her way to a complete recovery.
And she is walking!
No wheelchair!

This article saved her life.
If it says 'SUGAR FREE' on the label;
DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!
I have spent several days lecturing at the WORLD
ENVIRONMENTAL CONFERENCE on 'ASPARTAME,' marketed as 'Nutra Sweet,'
'Equal,' and
'Spoonful.'

In the keynote address by the EPA, it was announced
that in the United States in 2001 there is an epidemic of multiple sclerosis
and systemic lupus.
It was difficult to determine exactly what toxin was
causing this to be rampant.
I stood up and said that I was there to lecture on
exactly that subject.
I will explain why Aspartame is so dangerous:
When the temperature of this sweetener exceeds 86
degrees F, the wood alcohol in ASPARTAME converts to formaldehyde and then to
formic acid, which in turn causes metabolic acidosis... Formic acid is the
poison found in the sting of fire ants.
The methanol toxicity mimics, among other conditions,
multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus.

Many people were being diagnosed in error.
Although multiple sclerosis is not a death sentence,
Methanol toxicity is!

Systemic lupus has become almost as rampant as multiple
sclerosis, especially with Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi drinkers.

The victim usually does not know that the Aspartame is
the culprit.
He or she continues its use; irritating the lupus to
such a degree that it may become a life-threatening condition.
We have seen patients with systemic lupus become
asymptotic, once taken off diet sodas.

In cases of those diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis,
most of the symptoms disappear.. We've seen many cases where vision loss
returned and hearing loss improved markedly.

This also applies to cases of tinnitus and
fibromyalgia.
During a lecture, I said,
'If you are using ASPARTAME (Nutra Sweet, Equal,
Spoonful, etc) and you suffer from fibromyalgia symptoms, spasms, shooting,
pains, numbness in your legs,
Cramps,
Vertigo,
Dizziness,
Headaches,
Tinnitus,
Joint pain,
Unexplainable depression, anxiety attacks, slurred
speech, blurred vision, or memory loss you probably have ASPARTAME poisoning!'
People were jumping up during the lecture saying,
'I have some of these symptoms..
Is it reversible?'

Yes!
Yes!
Yes!
STOP drinking diet sodas and be alert for Aspartame on
food labels!
Many products are fortified with it!
This is a serious problem.
Dr. Espart (one of my speakers) remarked that so many
people seem to be symptomatic for MS and during his recent visit to a hospice;
a nurse stated that six of her friends, who were heavy Diet Coke addicts, had
all been diagnosed with MS. This is beyond coincidence!

Diet soda is NOT a diet product! It is a chemically
altered, multiple SODIUM (salt) and ASPARTAME containing product that actually
makes you crave carbohydrates.

It is far more likely to make you GAIN weight!

These products also contain formaldehyde, which stores
in the fat cells, particularly in the hips and thighs.
Formaldehyde is an absolute toxin and is used primarily
to preserve 'tissue specimens.'

Many products we use every day contain this chemical
but we SHOULD NOT store it IN our body!

Dr. H. J.. Roberts stated in his lectures that once
free of the 'diet products' and with no significant increase in exercise; his
patients lost an average of 19 pounds over a trial period.

Aspartame is especially dangerous for diabetics.
We found that some physicians, who believed that they
had a patient with retinopathy, in fact, had symptoms caused by Aspartame.
The Aspartame drives the blood sugar out of control.
Thus diabetics may suffer acute memory loss due to the
fact that aspartic acid and phenylalanine are NEUROTOXIC when taken without the
other amino acids necessary for a good balance.

Treating diabetes is all about BALANCE.
Especially with diabetics, the Aspartame passes the
blood/brain barrier and it then deteriorates the neurons of the brain; causing
various levels of brain damage,
Seizures,
Depression,
Manic depression,
Panic attacks,
Uncontrollable anger and rage.

Consumption of Aspartame causes these same symptoms in
non-diabetics as well.
Documentation and observation also reveal that
thousands of children diagnosed with ADD and ADHD have had complete turnarounds
in their behavior when these chemicals have been removed from their diet.

So called 'behavior modification prescription drugs'
(Ritalin and others) are no longer needed.
Truth be told, they were never NEEDED in the first
place!

Most of these children were being 'poisoned' on a daily
basis with the very foods that were 'better for them than sugar.'

It is also suspected that the Aspartame in thousands of
pallets ofdiet Coke and diet Pepsiconsumed by men and women fighting in the
Gulf War, may be partially to blame for the well-known Gulf War Syndrome.

Dr.. Roberts warns that it can cause birth defects,
i.e. mental retardation, if taken at the time of conception and during early
pregnancy.
Children are especially at risk for neurological
disorders and should NEVER be given artificial sweeteners.

There are many different case histories to relate of
children suffering grand mal seizures and other neurological disturbances
talking about a plague of neurological diseases directly caused by the use of
this deadly poison.'

Herein lies the problem:
There were Congressional Hearings when Aspartame was
included in 100 different products and strong objection was made concerning its
use. Since this initial hearing, there have been two subsequent hearings, and
still nothing has been done.
The drug and chemical lobbies have very deep pockets.

Sadly, MONSANTO'S patent on Aspartame has EXPIRED!
There are now over 5,000 products on the market that
contain this deadly chemical and there will be thousands more introduced..
Everybody wants a 'piece of the Aspartame pie.'

I assure you that MONSANTO, the creator of Aspartame,
knows how deadly it is.

And isn't it ironic that MONSANTO funds, among others,
the American Diabetes Association, the American Dietetic Association and the
Conference of the American College of Physicians?

This has been recently exposed in the New York Times.
These [organizations] cannot criticize any additives or
convey their link to MONSANTO because they take money from the food industry
and are required to endorse their products.

Senator Howard Metzenbaum wrote and presented a bill
that would require label warnings on products containing Aspartame, especially
regarding pregnant women, children and infants.

The bill would also institute independent studies on
the known dangers and the problems existing in the general population regarding
seizures, changes in brain chemistry, neurological changes and behavioral
symptoms.

The bill was killed.

It is known that the powerful drug and chemical lobbies
are responsible for this, letting loose the hounds of disease and death on an
unsuspecting and uninformed public. Well, you're informed now!

YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

sick

noreply@blogger.com (wyndymoon) — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 21:50:00 +0000

Yesterday I joined The Last Straws challenge for monday to friday to eat clean and do 10 miles of intentional exercise. Yesterday was a bust for food and exercise (guess I'll be doing one of those videos!!) and today will be a bust too. I am ill. Sick to my stomach, migraines, stuffy sinuses. All I can nibble on is crackers, which is a no, no on my eating plan. Of course no exercise either when I feel this way. Guess my kids will have to watch me doing said video! Yikes!!

A flop!

noreply@blogger.com (wyndymoon) — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 21:14:00 +0000

Well, so far my experiment in eating the primal blueprint way has been a total flop. Not because there is anything wrong with the primal way of eating, or that I don't like the food, but because I have ABSOLUTELY no self control when it comes to eating and what I am eating. When given a choice, I always go for the pizza WITH crust, or the sandwich with white bread, or the plate of spagetti. I have good intentions when I start but they last only as long as my next meal. I don't understand what is going on with me. I really want to lose the rest of this weight but I just can't keep myself motivated to do it.

Maybe it's the winter blues. Maybe with nicer weather where I can get out in the sun and workout in the fresh air. Maybe then? I feel so bored and tired everyday and in turn that brings on the boredom binges. Then I'm just to darn full all day to workout as I get cramps ect... Some of you know the drill... I refuse to gain any weight back and went so far as to through out my jeans that were one size bigger, just so I have no excuses. So no going back as I can't afford to buy clothes very often so I sure don't want to waste my money on BIGGER sizes. I work tomorrow then the rest of the week is my week off. I always do better on my weeks off as there is no cafeteria lasagna calling my name. Maybe if I start right away at Monday's dinner, I will be able to keep the primal up all week. Maybe one good week will help to keep me going. A pound or two lost would help even more. Right now I am trying my darnedest to get myself on my treadmill. Wish me luck that I can get on and keep on going.

Pork anyone?

noreply@blogger.com (wyndymoon) — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 22:33:00 +0000

Wow, today has been a totally pork filled day. Both for breakfast and lunch, thanks to my hubbies addiction today, we had bacon. For dinner we are having cola pork chops. Yum! It is a good thing I like pork alot.

Going to start on c25k week 3 tonight. Can't quite remember what the sessions are like so we will see how tough it might be for me. Can you ever lose your running stamina quick when you slack off for a few months.

busy=junk eating

noreply@blogger.com (wyndymoon) — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 02:22:00 +0000

Wow, 2 super busy days and no time to be home to make any meals so I wasn't able to stay primal. Yeah I know, I should have been able to make anything workout the primal way but, when short on time and with others, it doesn't always work out that easy. I will not fret though and let it get to me as tomorrow is a new day and a day or two of junky eating wont destroy all my work. I will be home all day tomorrow so I will be able to eat primal and plan some primal meals for my work week. Go me!

Add yoga?

noreply@blogger.com (wyndymoon) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 16:03:00 +0000

Reading about the 30 day yoga challenge at Carrots 'N' Cake has inspired me to try out yoga again. I used to do yoga almost daily years ago but, time restrictions prevented me from keeping it up. I loved it then and I felt great. So, being inspired, I did a 30 min session yesterday to give it a go. It was fun but tough and left me feeling a little sore today. I don't mind though because I feel as if I had a great challenging workout when I am a little sore. I know that I won't have time to do yoga everyday but will aim for a least 3-4 sessions a week. I will have to dig out my old yoga VHS's (LOL) and download some from yoga download, recommended by Tina at Carrots 'N' Cake. Check out her site to see how she is doing on her challenge.

Doing well on my primal eating plan. This is day 3 of so far so good. Wow, do I have a headache though. A weening off the junk headache I know as I have had them before. Last night I did have 1 coffee cake muffin for a snack as my youngest daughter baked them herself (her very first time reading and following a recipe alone) and I had to try one to support her. They were fantastic.

Opinions?

noreply@blogger.com (wyndymoon) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 15:56:00 +0000

Do you readers out there like to see listed what we eat for our meals and do for our exercises? I started another page where I do just that. Look under ' Find out how I'm eating and moving '. I think it might help to keep me acountable to myself about what I am eating and how regular and how much I am exercising. I would really like to run some 5k's this summer and fall but, I am so out of shape again from lack of exercise and healthy eating these last 4 or 5 months that, I needed to start my c25k workouts from the start again. Week 2 almost killed me. The running segments only went from 60 sec runs/90sec walks to 90 sec runs/2 min walks but, it was SO tough. I am thinking I will keep up with week 2 for an extra couple workouts until it is no longer so tough.

Started eating primal again yesterday and so far so good. I even avoided a frustrated, furious binge this morning and made myself a delicious primal worthy breakfast. I am really, really struggling with my water intake though. I just can't seem to get myself to drink it. I know it helps with weight loss through research and personal experience but, I just can't seem to drink it!

sabatoge

noreply@blogger.com (wyndymoon) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 01:08:00 +0000

I just don't understand why I do it. Sabotage myself in my eating. I start off with eating really well and healthy for a few days or a week, maybe lose a lb, and then wham! back into the junk. Pop, chips, lost of unhealthy, sabotaging carbs. I really don't get it. Then I am depressed that I have done that and what happens? Binge eating; to soothe my frustration.

I started out really well on the primal eating plan. One whole good week of it. Didn't lose any weight but I wasn't bothered by that as I figure it would come in time. Then bang! Frustration over everything and not caring and now have had 2 whole days of wild, junky, binge eating. I am wondering if being consistent with my exercise helps me to keep on track with my eating. It seems that the days I am consistent, I eat really well. Then, when, for whatever reason I slack off of the exercise, I seem to binge after a day or two.

Hummm.... something to think about.

Now back and new start

noreply@blogger.com (wyndymoon) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 15:50:00 +0000

After a very stressful fall and the recent loss of my mom, I am back and starting fresh. Thankfully over the last few months with all the stress, I only gained back 5 lbs. However, those five pounds are holding on for dear life. I will exercise and diet to lose the 5 only to have them back 2 days later for who knows what reason. So I have decided to give the 'Primal Blueprint' eating plan a try from Mark's Daily Apple. Years ago I ate similar to this and lost a lot of weight. Wish that I had stuck with that lifestyle and I wouldn't be needing to start over.

As for my exercise, I have restarted the C25K running program. It sure feels good to run again. I really missed it. Today I start on week 2.

Getting in my water.

noreply@blogger.com (wyndymoon) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 22:21:00 +0000

Finally I am starting to be able to stomach enough water in a day. If you drink enough all the time it is nothing to keep drinking it. But once you stop or slow down, it is hard to get back into drinking enough. I think my starting up with my running again has helped since I am so much thirstier and water is the only thing that quenches it for me.

Managed to get on the treadmill again today and did week 1 of C25K with another half hour of walking after. I like to try to burn at least 500 cals or more per workout because any less just doesn't seem to help with my weight loss efforts.

Weighed in today at 164 lbs.

Pumpkin snack

noreply@blogger.com (wyndymoon) — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 19:54:00 +0000

Wow, I had a delicious lunch. I had forgotten how good spaghetti squash is until I cooked myself some for lunch. Yum!!! I had mine topped with leftover shredded beef roast with a little of the juice and some shredded cheddar cheese. Yum!

Decided I would try a pumpkin recipe for snacks. Having trouble deciding between the Pumpkin oatmeal bites here or these Pumpkin-Ginger muffins here. I love both sites and their healthy food ideas are fantastic!

Okay....the snacks are done and the winner is: the pumpkin oatmeal bites. I had all the ingredients on hand to make this one so the other one will be next time. The verdict: I really like them. Weird consistency (reminds me of a soft oatmeal bar) but tasty. The kids liked them too but hubby hates them. Oh well, I made them for myself anyways! LOL.

Got on my tready today and started with the C25K program again from week one. Decided it would be a good way to start back into my running. This time around though, I noticed that I run at a faster speed than when it did the program in the spring. That's a bonus, plus, it shows I haven't lost as much of my health as I thought.

Kick butt day!

noreply@blogger.com (wyndymoon) — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 15:55:00 +0000

Finally a day off of work! Seems I have forever been working or working around the house which leaves NO energy for workouts. Yeah, I know, the more exercise you get in, the more energy you have, blah, blah! But LAZY always visits by that time so there you go. So I have decided that today will be my start of Kick my own butt month. Back on my tready and away we go.

What to do?

noreply@blogger.com (wyndymoon) — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 19:57:00 +0000

One month of no exercise! What has happened to me? Since the beginning of April, 5-6 times a week I would run or rollerblade or at the very least walk. Usually for an hour a day. Now it has been a month. I am totally ashamed of myself. Briefly I was done to 162 (for about 2 days) and then gained 5 back. I was hoping it was water retention but NOPE, it's still here. At least I am grateful that I am still at 167 and haven't gained more this month with my crap eating and LAZY ass. I am going to try to be my own Jillian Michaels and kick my own ass this month, starting today. I should take advantage of the fact the weather is still okay and get outside for exercise since soon enough it will be me and my treadmill.

So far...

noreply@blogger.com (wyndymoon) — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 20:58:00 +0000

So far, so good on the eating front today. Had a muffin at morning break. About an hour after lunch I started to feel really shaky so I had a couple of werthers candies. That seemed to help and got me through the rest of the work day. Lunch was roast pork, mashed potatoes, carrot/turnip mix and gravy, so I don't get why I was so shaky. I felt so LESS tired after eating lunch so, what gives? Hopefully I can get my butt up tonight and start exercising again. I really hate that I have no ambition for exercise lately. We will see.....

humm....

noreply@blogger.com (wyndymoon) — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 02:02:00 +0000

I ate better today, back on track, until after dinner when I dug into the ice-cream. Didn't have much though as I shared the last cup full with my daughter. Totally had the urge to have a major binge tonight but all the good binge stuff is gone so that saved me. Still have no desire to exercise though but being the day after a long weekend (it was thanksgiving here in Canada yesterday), and such a physically demanding work day, I am not surprised. So if I can keep on keepin on tomorrow with the eating well, I just might be starting to climb up out of the deep. Now just to get my workout mojo back.....

Deep in the hole

noreply@blogger.com (wyndymoon) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 01:33:00 +0000

I have fallen into one of the deep pot holes in the road. For the last week it has been nothing but junk foods (chips, dip, pogos, pop), and overeating. This in turn caused extreme fatigue which of course made me stay on my big butt on the couch. Consequences? A whole week of NO, absolutely NONE, exercise. What happened to my love of running? Down deep in the hole! My cravings for exercise? Deeper in the hole! My need for healthy eating and energy? At the very bottom! Can I get out? Have I really hit the bottom? Tomorrow I guess will tell...

Title?

noreply@blogger.com (wyndymoon) — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 06:28:00 +0000

What is the reason for the name of my blog? I named it dirt road to health because my journey to lose weight, get fit and improve my health is like traveling a dirt road. It is a very rough ride with many bumps and holes and slip-slides along the way. My journey has needed to be traveled slowly to try to avoid the biggest bumps and pot holes that threaten my success in getting where I need (and want) to be.