Here's to a holiday celebrated!
Even though I did not finish the Holiday challenge in the way that I had liked (impromptu trip to Jamaica came up .....HA!), I just wanted to share my thoughts and experience of having been a Holiday Hottie!
Now if there was any reason for doing the challenge it was to stay afloat amongst all the sickness and stress that swims at this time of year. It was a struggle for me to be in top form and with the stress of packing up most of our things (including weights, workout bench, and my computer), rearranging and staging my home and listing it for sale. Also, with my son starting school and a new phase of development with no security at school and coming "home" to instability and uncertainty, he has also shown how many changes all at once can be hard on mind, body and spirit.
Nutrition was a strong point as eating supportively has become the easiest option. Keeping it raw and simple (and seasonal) helped to keep us out of being sick for too long (can we say I just LOVE all the germs that can come home from school hehe) and to provide us with the energy we needed without being drained from eating less than supportive foods. The holiday gatherings provided me with a new option to cheat meal, the second serving of supportive foods. As most things are baked (with wheat) or sugared, I was "forced" to enjoy the bounty of the fruit and veggie plate and maybe an extra slice of turkey breast when others would be sampling all the chocolately and sweet smelling goodies from the desert table.
Physically, I went into travel mode. I even broke down my workouts to spread them out throughout the day when I was lacking in energy and mental motivation to do it all at once. As much as I wanted to, my head wasn't in the game this time around. Focused on finding a window of stability for my family and a little hole in our lives where we could all cuddle into was my priority. Gladly I can say though, that window did involve my children motivating ME to join them in doing a workout in the day. So I would drop and do a set of pushups if I thought about how I was "missing" my workout and before long I had done a workout to log. It was encouraging for me and helped me to remain in FYM mode as best I could.
Now that I am in Jamaica with family (and nutrition is more in survival mode atm), I have found I am still able to get some physical activity in. My family is perched on the edge of a mountain range and all the extra rain has turned the roads to barely drivable and the hike up is quite a workout. Also the gate on the veranda has proven to be an excellent pull up/chin up spot and that has also improved my back as we (all 4 of us) are sleeping on a HARD mattress and the boys flip like fish.
What I am most grateful for is that I have been prepped through my FYM lifestyle to go anywhere and make the most of taking care of me. It's a great feeling to know that even though I have been out of my routine and many changes have come and continue to present themselves, I am able to adapt in the moment and when I get the chance to get back to the workouts and nutrition, I will not have lost ground, but given my body the best I could and the change it needed to be stronger and fitter.....and yummy too.
Now if there was any reason for doing the challenge it was to stay afloat amongst all the sickness and stress that swims at this time of year. It was a struggle for me to be in top form and with the stress of packing up most of our things (including weights, workout bench, and my computer), rearranging and staging my home and listing it for sale. Also, with my son starting school and a new phase of development with no security at school and coming "home" to instability and uncertainty, he has also shown how many changes all at once can be hard on mind, body and spirit.
Nutrition was a strong point as eating supportively has become the easiest option. Keeping it raw and simple (and seasonal) helped to keep us out of being sick for too long (can we say I just LOVE all the germs that can come home from school hehe) and to provide us with the energy we needed without being drained from eating less than supportive foods. The holiday gatherings provided me with a new option to cheat meal, the second serving of supportive foods. As most things are baked (with wheat) or sugared, I was "forced" to enjoy the bounty of the fruit and veggie plate and maybe an extra slice of turkey breast when others would be sampling all the chocolately and sweet smelling goodies from the desert table.
Physically, I went into travel mode. I even broke down my workouts to spread them out throughout the day when I was lacking in energy and mental motivation to do it all at once. As much as I wanted to, my head wasn't in the game this time around. Focused on finding a window of stability for my family and a little hole in our lives where we could all cuddle into was my priority. Gladly I can say though, that window did involve my children motivating ME to join them in doing a workout in the day. So I would drop and do a set of pushups if I thought about how I was "missing" my workout and before long I had done a workout to log. It was encouraging for me and helped me to remain in FYM mode as best I could.
Now that I am in Jamaica with family (and nutrition is more in survival mode atm), I have found I am still able to get some physical activity in. My family is perched on the edge of a mountain range and all the extra rain has turned the roads to barely drivable and the hike up is quite a workout. Also the gate on the veranda has proven to be an excellent pull up/chin up spot and that has also improved my back as we (all 4 of us) are sleeping on a HARD mattress and the boys flip like fish.
What I am most grateful for is that I have been prepped through my FYM lifestyle to go anywhere and make the most of taking care of me. It's a great feeling to know that even though I have been out of my routine and many changes have come and continue to present themselves, I am able to adapt in the moment and when I get the chance to get back to the workouts and nutrition, I will not have lost ground, but given my body the best I could and the change it needed to be stronger and fitter.....and yummy too.
