Inspiration

No journey is easy, at least none that I'm familiar with. But, when we're very, very lucky, we encounter others on our journeys who inspire us.

They inspire us to get started on a journey. They inspire us to continue a journey. They encourage and uplift. They support and listen and offer heartfelt advice. They cheer us on when the going gets tough, help us up when we fall, and celebrate with us when we succeed.

They share their knowledge and experiences freely and willingly. They don't judge. They are honest. 

They may not even be aware of the ways in which they inspire us. Sometimes they inspire us directly relating to our specific journey, other times they inspire us relating to a journey we didn't even know we were experiencing.

I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have gotten this far on my healthier lifestyle seeking journey had it not been for my many inspirations.

Therefore, I would like to take the time to mention a few of them on this post.

• the Lovelies: not a day goes by when one or more of my wonderful daughters fails to call and offer some form of inspiration. Even if it's just to boost my ego! 
• my brothers: these are three of the best men I know and they are always letting me know how much I mean to them and how proud they are of me.
• folks I see while walking: YES! They make encouraging comments- "You have lost so much weight!" "Look at you running!!!" "Girl, you look fantastic!" "I've been watching you and I've decided to start running too!" Etc. And some of us don't even know each others names.
• my wonderful friends: these wonderful people never forget to leave encouraging messages or say something that motivates me or inspires me to keep going, change something or get creative.

From the Wonderful World of Blogs (and this is risky because I'm sure I'll leave someone out) in completely random order:

• Kim at My Fields of Dreams
• Patrice at Everyday Ruralty
• Momma Brown at Growing Roots and Turning Over New Leaves
• Julie at Healthy, Weatlhy and Wise: NOT...but learning
• Debbi at Debbi Does Dinner Healthy
• Cindy at For One Another
•  Robyn at Your Daily Dose
• Joyce at From This Side of the Pond
• Diane at Southhams darling
• Carol at Facing 50 With Humour
• Desiree at Driftwood Ramblings
• Stephanie at Hookin', Knittin' and Livin'
• Betty at Bossy Betty
• Lydia at Divine Health
• Michele at Bodacious Boomer
• Betty at A Glimpse into Midlife and Better Late Than Never
• Shawn at The Becker's
• Jessica at Jessee's Spot
• Lisa at Mommie Dearest Strikes Again
• Barb at This 'n That (As I Bounce Thru Life)
• Melody at melody-mae
• Judy at Cranberry Morning
• Gail at At the Farm

Am I finished on this healthier lifestyle journey? Nope. What about the be a better person one? Nope. The whole learning about life and living? Nah. Have I lost all the weight that I need to? No. I just think it's important to let folks know how much they mean to us. How they've affected us in such positive ways. That they made a difference. That they matter.

And so I say a HUGE Thank You to all of you. You have inspired me to stick with it, to be healthy, to become a better person. To care more about others than myself. To pay attention. To get creative. To try harder, to smile more and bigger, to love unconditionally, to keep learning every day...

I look forward every single day to the journey. Thanks to all of you!

Who inspires you? Who have you inspired lately?

This is the ninth day of the A-Z April Challenge. I thought I might try a theme this year and focus on my personal journey to health and fitness, including weight loss.

Today's letter is I and my word for the day is INSPIRATION.

Spring Chick Challenge Update: Week 5

Time for the weekly update for the Spring Chick Challenge hosted by Stormy at Real Chicks Getting Fit.

Here's my update:

WALKING/TRAINING: 

• Monday: 3 miles (TRAINING); 1.5 miles (WALKING)
• Tuesday: 2.31 miles (WAKLING)
• Wednesday: 2.53 miles (TRAINING); 1 mile (WALKING)
• Thursday: 2 miles (WALKING)
• Friday: 2.85 miles (TRAINING); I mile (WALKING)
• Saturday:  2.43 miles (WALKING)
• Sunday: 2.56 miles (WALKING)

My TOTAL HOURS of exercising for the week: 6.8


WATER INTAKE: 

• Monday: 96 oz
• Tuesday: 80 oz
• Wednesday: 96 oz
• Thursday: 72 oz
• Friday: 80 oz
• Saturday: 64 oz
• Sunday: 80 oz

CALORIE INTAKE:

• Monday:1346
• Tuesday: 1457
• Wednesday:1233
• Thursday: 1432
• Friday:1128
• Saturday:1226
• Sunday: 1233

WEEK TOTAL:9056


Yes, I wanted to keep my daily calories UNDER 1500. Yes, I was successful. BUT, giving myself that upper limit is making me try to hit it and I don't like that. So, I put myself back on my timer eating schedule on Friday and that is helping me keep those daily calories closer to 1200. 


TRACKING: YES- every single day.
EATING AFTER 8:00 PM: More like no eating after 9:00 pm
ORGANIZING: Working on it.
SUPPORTING OTHERS: I can always do better on this one.
DAILY WRITING: Yeppers!
WEIGHT: I am not stepping on the scales until the end of the month. The running/walking/training program I am on is for weight loss not for running a 5k. Another 50 lbs off will make training for the 5k much easier so I won't start that until later. Right now, it's all about learning to run and weight loss. If I keep stepping on the scale and don't see immediate results, it will act as sabotage which will lead to frustration and, possibly, quitting. And I refuse to let that happen.

I will post the training details before challenge is over (I hope). I am keeping a close eye on everything by keeping a journal about the training and---oil pulling.

That's right. I'm trying this oil pulling that I've heard so much about. I had head of it before but had not tried it until I read about it at Divine Health. Just click the link and go check it out if you want. She offered a challenge to pull oil for one month and I joined in. Today is DAY 6 and, YES, I already notice a difference. These details will come later with the training deets!

NEEDS IMPROVEMENT/WEEK 5 GOALS:

1. Support and encouragement off others
2. Exercise- STILL need to add some strength training in there somewhere. 
3. The mini challenge is all water all week. That's what I drink all day every day already with the exception of a glass of green tea at the end of the day as a reward for all that water! So, I'm good here.

I'm also linking this post up with Inspire Me Monday with Ramona over at Create With Joy. 

This week I am inspired by:

• Lydia at Divine Health who provides daily encouragement to stay healthy and get fit (and the oil pulling)
• Stephanie at Hookin', Knittin' & Livin' who inspires me to keep knitting even though I'll NEVER be as good as she-incredible, go check out her creations- and also inspires me to relax and enjoy life.
• Kim at My Field of Dreams, Joyce at From This Side of the Pond, and Patrice at Everyday Ruralty who all inspire me to be a better mom/wife/friend---person.

Click on the button if you've been inspired this week and link up to share your story!