It was another rainy day here in Scottsdale, but I enjoyed it.. and it helps to know that it’ll be sunny & 70 a couple days from now 
NEDAwareness – Thoughts of the Day
I recently entered into a sport where you are judged on your physical appearance. Each of the competitors is doing everything in their power, through rather extreme diet & exercise, to look a certain way. But the truth is, even on stage, perfection is unattainable. The sport is subjective. Take the same group of women, looking exactly the same, and two different days the results could be different.
To be honest I find the subjectivity comforting; it allows me to focus on being my best, instead of thinking about what it takes to beat my competitors. As a natural athlete, there is only so far I can take my body. Depending on how long I end up competing, slowly but surely I’m bound to build muscle, but from one competition to the next the gains can only go so far.
Right now I’m not particularly comfortable with my size. I’m doing what I need to do to make the gains I need to perhaps be more competitive on the national level for my Fitness competition, but it’s not something I’ve become wholly comfortable with. I am so happy to say however, that I’m in a place where I can deal with these feelings in a healthy & positive way. I know the way I look & feel right now isn’t because I’ve been lazy or eating poorly, I workout hard, I enjoy my workouts, I eat well and enjoy my food.. and as Angela would say.. I’m Size Healthy!
On that note, if you haven’t heard about Angela’s, from Oh She Glows, Size Healthy Campaign, go check it out. I love love love it. Also, Operation Beautiful’s is dedicating this week to Eating Disorder Awareness, great stuff there too!
FITNESS
Not Vibing
What can I say, today was one of those days where my body was just not having it. I woke up feeling like a dead weight.. Does that ever happen to you? And even though yesterday was a rest day, for some reason my whole body was just hurting and did not want to cooperate with workouts. Not going to lie, it didn’t put me in the best mood during Lifting & Yoga. I worked legs with my trainer, and my back kept cramping up, then I just felt crazy stiff in Yoga. It wasn’t until near the end of the 80 min Power Yoga class that I finally started to relax and just accept within myself that it was ok that I wasn’t feeling physically good today, and that being sore, and frankly in pain with most moves, is just going to happen sometimes, and getting frustrated wasn’t going to accomplish anything.
The teacher that taught the Yoga class tonight has this funny, fantastic, way of saying things that just click with me. For example, tonight he talked about how the body always lives in the moment, but the mind tries to accelerate forward or bring back the past. But with your Yoga practice you can bring your mind and body together, where you can be present in the moment, thankful for the moment and clear in your thoughts. Love it. Exactly what I needed.
NUTRITION
I could not decide what to have for breakfast this morning, so it ended up being a mix of two of my current faves. A small Pumpkin Protein Pancake topped with 1/2 a serving of Vanilla Chai Vega Protein Yogurt (1 container Chobani plain + 1/2 scoop Vanilla Chai Vega + 1/2 scoop Cake Batter Protein Powder)..
I finished up the Vega Yogurt later in the day.
Post-workout I enjoyed Fitness Cake Batter topped with a crumbled Protein Macaroon Chipper..
I have been craving Pizza for a while and I was so close tonight to just ordering in, but.. thankfully.. I opted to swing by Trader Joe’s to pick up fixings to make my own. I went with TJ’s Whole Wheat Pizza Dough, used Organic Butternut Squash purree for sauce, sprinkled it with Sharp Cheddar & Parmesan, then topped it with diced Tomatoes and Chicken Apple Sausage. This wasn’t the best pizza I’ve ever made, but still pretty darn good, and MUCH healthier than any delivery pizza..
The pizza was so filling. Just a couple cups of Tea on tap for the rest of the evening..
FUN
Did you see April’s Dessert post?! Creative & healthy delicious
OpenSky is doing a Jigsaw Puzzle Game! Once you complete the puzzle you get a coupon code to use at any Shop..
Fun Links
I enjoy reading your NEDAwareness thoughts. I’ll be writing about this as well because it is such an important topic to talk about. Thanks for the links, Size Healthy is a great idea! It’s about living healthily & being active as well as celebrating our uniqueness. I will always have an athletic figure with hips and wider shoulders. I am grateful for it as my strong legs carried me though many 100m sprint races, never ending tennis matches and several triathlons.
Man I sooooo wish I had a TJ’s here, I’ve seen that pizza crust like 5 times this week on blogs! I almost bought that cake batter protein yesterday, but I’m trying to decide what type of protein will work best for me. pea, rice, whey, yadda yadda
I just love Angela’s campaign. Totally awesome isn’t it! Funny you mention the dead weight thing – that’s how I felt this morning. Got the workout done (kickboxing) but man it was a tough go.
I really like what you said about competition and NEDA. It seems that in your sport, the pressure would be immense. I’m so happy you set the example to NOT fall into any traps and stay strong and competitive.
Looking back, when I was a sophmore our coach was ordering new track uniforms and considering the spanks (the ones that look like underwear).The girls on the team would yell “run like you’re wearing spanks” at each other during their race. The pressure a revealing uniform puts on doesn’t seem like a lot, but one of my team members took it really seriously and went on a crash diet before the uniforms came in. everyone was worried about their “cellulite” and the talk about it was really distracting at practice.
I talked to my coach about how dangerous it was becoming to order the skimpier uniforms and he agreed and got the regular shorts. (I liked the spanks, but oh well!)
It’s amazing how one clothing item can lead insecure girls into disordered eating. I can’t imagine being in the spotlight in bathing suits! I give you so much credit, and you really do set a good example.
I hate those days where I have the best of intentions for a workout but my body is just not having it! Sometimes are bodies just rebel and there is nothing we can do about it. I’m sure your muscles just needed some extra rest.
I just love your posts- they really are integrated to all aspects of health! I’m feeling the same way right now in terms of my body- I want to put on some muscle and I’m doing everything I can but seeing that scale move is still kind of scary!
And I must say that pizza looks pretty fabulous! We just bought some chicken sausages so now I have a good idea of how to use them up!
Wow…loving your new site!! Did you do it yourself or have someone help? I really like the Size Healthy concept! Gonna check it out. How goes the IIN classes? We had our first live one this weekend…do you get to see vides from them? I hope so…cause Joshua is hilarious! You’d never know from his book, but he’s good stuff!
Great post my friend!!! The yoga part resonated with me for sure! And thanks for the backlinks to your recipes. I am gluten free, soy light, and vegan so we’re probably on diff paths, but I love reading other people’s creations!
And I teach at Mountainside Fitness and have given up alot of my gigs b/c honestly, I am sick of driving around over the dinner hour which is when most yoga classes seem to be. Morning classes are hard to snag, everyone wants to teach those
If you happen to write back, can you write to my email or I may miss it!