31 things challenge: Meal Planning

I find when I make my meals ahead of time, i'm much more mindful of what I eat. I make an effort to use food that we have in the house. This is how it always happens...I resist cooking or preparing food. I look in the freezer to see if I have any Amy's burritos hanging around.


Then when I find out that I've used my backup meals, I go to the pantry...what can I make. So this week, I'll be using the following:

JBSW Spring to Summer Salad:
1 tbps Trader Joe's Hummus

all of this is 5 servings:
cooked Trader Joe's Israeli Couscous
1 Roma tomato
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tbsp green onion
garlic salt
lemon juice
salad greens
SIDE of: baked tofu (LOVE baking tofu, baking the tofu gives the tofu the consistency of it being fried, but it's much healthier.)

I imagine that I'll be using this combination this week. YUM! I just put the salad ingredients in a tupperware, bring it to work and bring it out in servings for lunch. It's light and easy. You could easily substitute another grain for the couscous...and use a different protein instead of the tofu.

31 day challenge: I chopped my hair off

I've written about my hair and desire to go natural. I could go into all of the reasons that I wanted to go natural...but I've written about it a lot. I'll give you a brief summary/overview. I would refer to my hair as not as good as Kenley's. I loved getting relaxers. And then there was a point where I realized that when we have children, I want them to be comfortable in their own skin and even their hair. I wanted to be able to work with natural hair and be comfortable with my own. I went through figuring out what it meant for me to continue getting relaxers...for me, I was done putting the chemicals in my hair. I'm trying to work on eating whole/clean food...food that is somewhat connected to its natural form...I don't get it right every day or even every meal. But I want to be good to this body and my hair and love it in its natural state.

I realized that cutting my hair was a very visible way of saying that I choose not to use chemicals in my hair...well, not some of the bad chemicals that straighten hair. My goal now is to welcome my new hair. I love love love it. It has this cute little curl. I want to learn how to really do my hair and be good to it. And to be good to my body. The way that I want to love my hair, I want to love my body. It's what I have right now and every step of the way is a beautiful part of my journey.

I'm enjoying the 31 day challenge. I realized that my body loves getting 7 hours of sleep. I hit a point where I was trying to get less than 7 hours of sleep and when I would do that, I would hit snooze. :) Now doesn't that make you laugh. So I'm going to go to bed earlier, probably incorporate less tv into my life, and do lots of other things. I'm tracking my food and working on my pushups...those are hard!

My hair!!

Tomorrow is my hair day...I'm doing the BC aka the big chop. I thought I could do a long transition, but I realized that it's been three months since I'd had a relaxer and i'm not putting the time into my hair styling right now...and I want to take care of my hair.

I have had really great friends who have asked how I'm feeling...they want pictures, etc. This morning I was driving to work and thought that today is the last day that I'll have my hair how it is....for who knows how long. Tomorrow at this time i'll be counting down the hours until I get my hair cut...and when I get it, imma rock it cause it's gonna be fierce. :)

gym therapy

I had a day that was full of sorts. I feel like I experienced a lot of emotions in one day and I'm pretty tired. One of my dear friends texted me this morning and wrote that I was an inspiration. It was really surprising and humbling. Then later, my friend expanded and told me that when they met with their life coach, they had homework...write down people in your life who you admire and my name was one of 'em.

In the midst of that I was sorting through a lot of other peripheral things in life. And I was tired. I told Crocker that I wanted to go home and skip the gym. She encouraged me to go to the gym. I almost didn't make the turn...but I'm glad I did. I had a lot of fun working out with friends and screaming about Body Attack. Now, I need to go to bed soon...that whole 7 hours of sleep is hard...and not hitting snooze. This morning I thought I had the not hitting snooze thing...I ended up turning my alarms off and kept sleeping, but fortunately Dolly won't let me sleep in that much. :)

home alone

i've been humming that one song from home alone...

donnne don donnnne don dooooon donn.

i've been home alone with thursday. liz was my roommate last night....and now i'm chilling from the weekend...and tired and realized that dang. i miss kenley. he needs to get back.

thank you mother earth

So today when I was gardening I was struck by the fact that I was massaging the ground. I was working through the soil and incorporating soil and dirt...and digging and planting. It was the weirdest feeling to work with the earth...I felt really connected to the earth in my own journey. We have to put work into our lives, we have to kill weeds, we have to plant, we have to water, we have to care for it...I also understood my friends who love love their gardens, they plan their vacations around the garden. I wanted to spend all of my time with my little plants and see how much they will have grown...

I feel like I'm able to catch the slightest glimpse of how God must adore creation. There's no way to completely understand it of course...but I was just so happy outside and really wanted to be happy with the journey that I'm on...our journey is ongoing and we have to be fully present....what have you done today to be fully present to yourself?

PS I'm getting my haircut on Thursday :)

Health lessons from my dog...

Meet our dog, Dolly. She's between 4-9 years old. Has a heart of gold and is as sweet as can be. We've had her about 7 months!

Since K is out of town and he's the normal dog walker, I've taken on the responsibilities of walking our sweet girl. Sometimes I notice that she is so distracted by every noise and every smell. I've heard that dogs have a sense of smell that is 1000 x stronger than humans. I don't know where I heard that and if it's true. I do know that they do have a stronger sense of smell than I do. On one of our recent walks I noticed that she would literally stop and smell everything possible. She has this beautiful sense of wonder that has me enamored with her. I think we have a lot to learn from most of creation, but for this post...i'll focus on Dolly.

Things that she does that I find are good habits:
- She drinks a lot of water
- She tries to be patient when she eats and she sometimes eats slowly
- She is happy when she's outside and exercising
- She receives what the day has for her
- She explores her surroundings
- She embraces her curiosity
- She loves
- She gets a lot of sleep

I could've just looked at her habits and picked 31 things. :)

31 days til(l) Summer Challenge: Why I'm a vegetarian

So one of the things that people could choose on the challenge was to eat vegetarian for a day. One of my friends asked me why I was a vegetarian. I haven't answered it in awhile. It seems like the reasons vary from day to day sometimes.

I've been a vegetarian since I was 15...so almost 15 years. I would give up meat once a year during Lent...and after one season I didn't incorporate chicken back into my diet. I had a friend who was a vegetarian and I at least had a reference for meat-less eating. So after chicken, I noticed how I felt when I ate red meat. I was always lethargic and felt really heavy. I became that vegetarian. I ate everything that wasn't meat...tons of pasta and junk food. Oopsies. I think when I was in college I began to understand and expand what I could eat as a vegetarian. I incorporated more proteins and tried to eat more balanced meals. There were days that I would just eat vegetarian chili from the ZT Johnson cafeteria...and times i'd eat subway and other times i'd eat cheese pizza. I didn't have a strong grasp of whole eating at that point.

I went to grad school and packed on the pounds. I had a love-hate relationship with Betty Crocker and the neighborhood Coldstone...oopsies poopsies. Moved to Omaha and tipped the scale around 230.



I was still a 'vegetarian.' I started on Weight Watchers. I began thinking more about the impact that my food had on my health and on the rest of the world. By this time I had traveled to a number of our fields..and it's the story we hear often...Americans are obese while the rest of the world is starving. So, those are two aspects of why I'm a vegetarian, health and others. I don't get it right all of the time. I try to choose healthy, whole foods that are hopefully grown somewhat locally, but again, don't get it right all of the time.

I've also incorporating some seafood into my diet. That's the trickiest part. I also love love love animals. I wear leather though...so I'm not a card-carrying Peta member. K and I went to Miami for our honeymoon and I gotta tell ya, I had to have some seafood when I was there...hello Ocean :) So since then I have seafood a few times a week.

If you're doing the challenge, try going veggie for a day...I can give you some really fun websites and recipes, there are so many options. I try to eat whole foods, well-rounded and balanced meals....good grains, veggies, fruits, dairy...I get it all in.

Like I've said though...it's not about what you put in your body...it's what is happening on the inside with your emotions. Deal with 'em, don't starve 'em or gorge them with food....deal with them and be friends with them. They're your emotions, they want to be paid attention to, that's it. They don't want to control you.

31 things!

I realized that I wrote out a list of 31 things as examples or starting points for people, but I never did my own 31 things. This morning I got to work to check my blogs and saw that there were three beautiful updates from dear friends. I am humbled and inspired by these women's journeys and their openness to share their journey!

So, here I go!

Work up to 25 full pushups
Track food daily
Try a new recipe weekly
Blog/tweet update daily
Share my goals with friends
Meditate/journal at least weekly
Take before/current/after pictures
Get 7 hours of sleep
Incorporate more weight-training into my schedule
Learn one old Turbo Kick round
Eat at home more often than out
Walk Dolly each day
Celebrate successes not weight based
Run local stairs with friends weekly
Increase outdoor running mileage to 5 miles / run ** I can currently comfortably run 3 miles outside, would like to just get back to running around 5
Finish reading In Defense of Food and Women Food and God
Try P90x weekly
Call/email/text my family daily (stole that from Monica's)
Stop hitting snooze (hopefully getting 7 hours of sleep will help, this is also stolen from Monica)
Go to the Farmer's Market on Saturdays
Stay committed to health even when on vacation/out of town
Park 'n' walk when I go to stores (stole from Crocker, this will be hard when it's hot!)
Turn my computer/cell phone off an hour before bed
Set health intentions for the summer and year
Say when i'm full and stop eating (that's so hard!)
Don't compare myself to others, enjoy my journey for myself
Make weekly menu and meals on Sundays
Finish unpacking our house
Clean/garden weekly
Encourage and read group members' blogs/tweets/updates each day
Check in with group members to see how they are doing and to update how I'm doing

YEEEEEEEEES! I got to 31! I can't wait to do this with others!!!

31 days til Summer Challenge Sign up

You can sign up today to participate in the 31 days till summer challenge! Leave a comment...or email me...sign up to be coached...follow me on twitter...you got all kindssssssssss of ways to sign up. Let's do this together!

jara . sturdivant (at) gmail (dot) com
twitter: @jara_b
coach: http://teambeachbody.com/jarabeara

Do you want a challenge?

I've never been shy about asking for help! Like I've said before...most of my journey to health has been with an amazing group of friends and family. I'm inviting you to consider participating in a challenge with me...I totally just made it up. It's super easy.

This Friday is 31 days until the first day of summer. Or something like that. Who cares...summer starts June 21 at 7:23. When that time arrives...I want to have done something good for my body and my health. Do you?

Join me (and make some new friends while you’re at it) on the next 31 days of finding your own way in your health journey.
How? Just pick 31 things that you want to do in the next 31 days. And do them. And share your results. That’s it.
When? May 21 - June 21, the first day of summer

If you are participating, let me know by showing a little love...follow me on twitter (twitter.com/jara_b) or by signing up to be coached (there are free options). You don't have to be in Omaha to participate!

Work up to running # miles
Try a new fitness class
Track food daily
Write and reflect in journal, weekly
Find a workout buddy
Bring a friend to the gym
Meditate daily/weekly
Eat vegetarian once a week
Add # minutes to my workout schedule
Get a manicure
Try a new fruit weekly
Try a new vegetable weekly
Walk 3 miles a day (10,000 steps)
Cut out soda for a week
Run the local stairs on Sundays
Measure food / watch food portions
Start a blog/twitter account and share your story
Take before/current/after pictures
Try fruit for dessert
Exercise with my family weekly
See if my gym offers personal training
Walk/bike to work
Make my annual doctor’s appointment
Do weight-bearing exercises during commercial breaks
Get 8 hours of sleep
Make an exercise plan for summer
Bring my lunch to work
Celebrate my victories
Read the nutritional labels on food
Try alternating workouts in the morning and evenings
Get a fitness assessment at my local gym
Set up a followup fitness assessment
Set my fitness goals, share it with a friend or friends
Take the stairs instead of the elevator
Try a new recipe weekly and share with friends
Share this challenge with friends and/family

31 days till Summer challenge

Summer arrives Monday, June 21 at 7:23 am...there are 31 days until that day. I decided that I would start a challenge for myself...and anyone who wants to join...anywhere :) This challenge is what you want it to be. Choose 31 things from this list that are the essence of your true self...that sounds sooo weird. But, there are a number of things in this list that if you choose to do will help you find your own way to health. If you want to join me in this, let me know.

I can be your official coach click http://teambeachbody.com/jarabeara, then "Join Team Beachbody." The next step will allow you to choose free or Club.

Let's do this!

my hair...my hair....

So, I'm sort of obsessed with touching my hair right now. I haven't cut it yet, but I'm watching it grow into its natural state, a little bit at a time. There are days when I second guess my decision to cut my hair. I rationalize and convince myself that I could do one more relaxer and then tackle my hair the next couple of months.

I rationalize and convince myself of a lot of things...tomorrow i'll write in my journal...tomorrow I'll run a little bit farther. Again, another example of how I don't like to stay in the present. So, today, i'm loving my hair each a little bit more each day. I can't help it, it's a part of me, a part of me that I've never seen before. It's like I'm giving myself a shot at being itself. Gotta love myself today. You, too. Okay?

food ain't the enemy...

Food has never been the enemy...eating peanut butter is not inherently bad...but eating peanut butter instead of dealing with the reason WHY you are eating it...that's the real issue worth figuring out.

It doesn't matter about calorie counting, point tracking, food measuring, calorie burn...it doesn't matter about calories in and calories out...that stuff won't matter, we won't be any happier 20 pounds lighter if we don't really try and listen to what our bodies are telling us. There was a reason that I was almost 230 pounds. I didn't acknowledge that I was quite an emotional eater. Food became the enemy...along with my emotions. I didn't want to pay attention to my emotions so I ignored them with food. And then I gained weight and blamed what I was eating.

Ofcourse I shouldn't have been eating boxes of cookies...but I needed to look and listen to what drove me to eat a box of cookies...over and over again.

If you look at tv, listen to the radio, overhear conversations, you will hear remnants of sentences and phrases that point back to our toxic cyclical relationship with food/emotions.

Things I know are true...food is not bad in itself...food is for fuel/nutrients. There are certain foods that are better for you, that deliver better health benefits. There are certain foods that don't really support your help your body in being the best body it can be. Eating a certain food should not make you feel guilty...it is not a crime to eat a donut...but if you're eating it and you're not hungry, pay attention to your emotions.

I don't have any formulas for figuring this out. I know that I'm figuring this out every day, every hour...and I don't anticipate that I'll ever stop figuring it out.

thankful not to be alone

I'm so thankful for the people who have surrounded me throughout my journey with health. I have people who ask me how it's going, inspire me with their own journeys, ask me for help, offer me help. And I am thankful.

This week I decided to do something that I never thought that I could do. I became a Beachbody coach. I know, I was super hesitant. I didn't want to be one of those people...you know, the pushers. I've had bad experiences with different products people mention at the gym. And I'm not really a super duper pusher of products. I commit to living simply and following how God is leading in my life. I know that the idea and theme of health continues to pop up in everything...conversations, dreams, books and thoughts.

The things I know are true...that health is important for all of us. Access to tools for health makes me want to work really hard. Health is an issue of justice...there are so many cycles of poverty and health that are soooo connected. I've always said that I want to work on serving communities in finding whole health in the midst of bad cycles and patterns that are learned culturally.

So, I'm a coach. What does that mean? It means that I am more than willing to help, or continue to help those who I'm currently helping, people find their way to their health. I will not prescribe any specific ways of eating or ways of working out. I want to encourage people to listen to what their bodies are telling them....and then offer help when asked. If you need a little bit of extra encouragement, some accountability...I would love to help. Beachbody does have some good products if you're interested...you know 'em P90x, Turbojam and more. These are good products that I think can help people who need that type of instruction...who want to work out in the comfort of their home and not a gym. But again, i'm not pushing. Send me an email to jara.sturdivant@gmail.com or visit my site and we can talk.

I haven't done my journey to health alone and I don't think anyone else should either. It's more fun when we do it together.

before and after...but what's the in between

I was thinking about the concept of before and after...I'm going to take a picture of myself tomorrow as my before...and then I was thinking about what it means for my 'after' picture...We put ourselves into two categories...'before' and 'after.'

The 'i've let myself go' category and the 'i've made it category.' Those are pretty terrible categories...why can't we celebrate the this is where I am right now...the 'in between' photo. Before and after photos really make it hard for me to be present to where I am right now...I can look at myself as a person full of flaws...but in reality where I am is where I am. And that is a celebration...every single day should be a celebration of being alive no matter what thighs, stomachs, legs look like.

In the in between...that's where it's okay to be...cause that's where we are.

deep breath...

deep breath. Lexington is where I come up for air and catch my breath. I don't like running around life feeling like i'm holding my breath and/or waiting for the other shoe to drop...so it's nice to get a time to rest for a bit in the cocoon I call my parents' home.

I celebrate mother's day with the best mom in the world, my mom.

My mom inspires me...and gets me. I feel at home in my mom's presence. I owe she and my dad so much for how they've raised and supported me. There aren't words to ever explain how much I adore them and respect them...today...I choose LOVE.

running is my favorite

Last week I reflected with a circle that I don't smile that often anymore....well I'm not what I consider a perpetual smiler. Kenley smiles almost all of the time...well it seems like it. Calvin, Kenley, Marcia and I think Jason P are perpetual smilers...there was something new who I added to the group, but I forgot who I said it was. Anyway, I realized that I wasn't smiling very often...but in the past week I've caught myself smiling at random moments. Last week I was smiling while walking to meet a friend. And then today...I saw a hill on my run in KY. I'd already run about 2.5 miles and needed to get my last .5 in.

So, it's me and this hill.

I felt my insides smile...I was at the top of this hill, needed to run down it and back up and still finish my run. My smile from the inside came out in the form of a real smile...my Itouch happened to start playing a song with the lyrics...watch my feet...watch my feet. And I was off. And SMILING!

I made it down and up the hill...and on my last push at the end of the run I had two running mates. I imagined some of my dearest friends Nick and Noemi...both gym friends who always push and inspire me. Nick was running beside me and Noemi was running in front of me. I finished faster than I started...and was drenched in sweat and smiling. This is going to be a good day. We're celebrating our NE wedding in KY and going ot see friends and family.

So thankful!

Doing what you gotta do....

After subbing for a few classes and also teaching my own...a late night with our dog on Tuesday night, I had a friend sub my Wednesday morning class...then Thursday we left for our first part of our trip...and I needed to work out, get my blood moving...exercise always helps me work my stress out.

K told me that our hotel wasn't near any gym, park or running route. I even looked at mapmyrun and the closest runs were back in STL...we're outside of STL in Illinois. So, my best bet was to suck it up and do what I had to do...use the empty parking lot next to the hotel. Fortunately and sadly this parking lot was home to a Circuit City, Bally Fitness and other stores that also have closed...so I had a full parking lot to just to run. 1.5 miles later....I was drenched in sweat. I would sprint up the hills...recover/jog back...do plyos, pushups and lunges...and I kicked my own you know what. It felt good to make up an impromptu routine and enjoy the outdoors...it was quite, the sun wasn't completely up and I felt strong. RAR!

my 445 post

now this is an important number. sike.

just wanted to write that. k and i arrived in a city outside of stl. we're heading to lex for our wedding reception for our peeps in the bluegrass.

i'm searching right now for running routes or gyms nearby that i can workout in...but i think that i'll have to be creative and run in the parking lots next to the hotel...i'm sort of imagining running up and down the stalls...doing some sprints...we'll see.

What do you hear? (part three)

I am so excited to cut my hair...it's a weird moment in my life. I've had shoulder length hair all of my life...hair that is easy to comb/negotiate/manipulate...hair that makes me feel good...hair that sometimes makes me mad.

So this week I bought something special for myself...a Sari Bari scarf. It's not a head scarf, but when I saw a particular scarf it stood out to me. I am continually inspired by the freedom that the women of Sari Bari choose...and the ways that God continues to show God's grace.

I have freedom tattooed on my arm...it's a daily reminder of the freedom that God gives us. Freedom is what I'm hearing today.

What do you hear?

my city

If you didn't already know this...but Tennessee is my state. Franklin, Tn is what I would consider my hometown. We moved there when I was in the second grade...went to Liberty Elementary, Freedom Middle, Franklin High and then finally Centennial High. I don't talk about Franklin very much, but Franklin is the city that raised me. Nashville was the friendly aunt who also raised me when Franklin was tired of me.

Nashville/Franklin is the city that got me through breakups, college decisions, soccer matches, band practice, acne, trips to SATCO, times at church and youth group, drivers permits, licenses, too many gerbils, Joseph Ellington Conrad Sturdivant - our first dog, my first job at TCBY...Old Navy and Banana Republic, my Y membership....there are too many memories to even try and write, but middle Tennessee raised me and it makes me sad to see and hear all of the devastation that is happening there. I haven't been back there since a wedding a year and a halfish ago and I just want to be there, but I can't. I will do my part for my city and pray and offer my support. Oh Nashville.

presence and boundaries

today i had this epiphany...i have pretty tight boundaries on certain areas of my life. i've always felt like i needed to apologize for that way of how i've lived. but today i realized that my whole desire in having boundaries is to be loyal in the presence of others and in situations. i know that i will bring my cellphone out in meals...i try not to. i'm known to sometimes need to call/text someone in the middle of a meal b/c my companions and i are stumped on an issue or definition or something. i try not to do it that often.

so i was teaching at the gym today and realized that for the past hour or so i hadn't thought about anything else except being present to the class. i wanted to make sure that they were doing the exercises correctly. there are times when i won't be paying attention and boom...class is all crazy and confused. presence is important.

i think being presence is essential in good health, whole health. we sometimes allow distractions to dictate how we respond to situations and that's not fair to us or to others. so this week i choose to be present with you, my friends, my family, my feelings and even the weather :)

weeding

This weekend I decided I would try to get rid of a majority of our dandelions. They are everywhere...no really, they are. I'm amazed at how many connections there are between weeds and our lives.

Natural connections...sometimes weeds/sins/temptations/issues seem harmless...maybe even quite beautiful and manageable. Then, there's a moment of realization, if I don't get this out of control, my issues will spread everywhere...and then more issues will happen.

So, I was in the yard and our soon garden pulling dandelions with all of my might and allowing God's grace to reach into the deep places of my soul. Happy May!