Memorial Day Weekend 2012 - Being Active

On typically nice weekends such as Memorial Day weekend, it's always nice to find ways to be physically active outdoors or in your community.  There are all sorts of free activities that you can take part in.  Here are some websites containing events locally for North Eastern IL and South Eastern WI this memorial day weekend: http://www.visitlakecounty.org/events.cfm, http://www.markcz.com/events/, http://www.wistravel.com/events_in_wisconsin/.  Beware of those unhealthy choices, such as hot dogs and ice cream.  It's ok to enjoy a little, but it is easy to binge on these holidays.  Be careful of your portion sizes, and if you have the option of having food containing less calories and are just healthier in general, don't be afraid to make the best choice!

If the big crowds are not your thing, try a day at the forest preserves in the area.  The nice thing about the area that we live in is that there are many preserves with nice trails.  If you do plan to to go a park, be sure to load up on sunscreen, bug spray, and watch out for ticks.  Last year about this time, I had the unfortunate event of finding a tick attached to me after a visit to the preserve.  It is good to wear long pants and a baseball cap.  You won't be able to completely avoid them, but you are less likely to find them on you if you do take some extra precautions.  You want to stay away from tall grasses because that is where they like to hide.  Staying on the path will help you to avoid that.  After your visit, be sure to check under your clothes when you arrive home and have someone check your hair.  If you do happen to find a tick on you, there are proper methods for removal. Check out http://firstaid.webmd.com/tc/how-to-remove-a-tick-overview.  You will want to keep an eye on the bitten area to make sure that it does not become infected or appear irregular.  This may take a couple of days.  Be sure to call your doctor if you have any doubts.  If the area is red and you can see where the tick was attached, there tends to be more concern then if you cannot see where you were bitten at all.

This weekend, I intend to do some shopping and to also hang out with my hubby and friends at an amusement park.  A lot of walking.  Great way to burn calories. Much more fun when you have more than one purpose, I think.  My exercising regime was also very lax this week, so I also plan to workout a little more this weekend to make up for my lack of working out.  I have been experiencing a headache the last two days, so I'm hoping that it will not prevent me from accomplishing things this weekend.  I'm greatly looking forward to getting some vitamin D naturally through the sun. I hope you all have a wonderful time this memorial day weekend and take advantage of the many opportunities to be active and healthy.

Another Year Older . . . And Wiser

Yes, today is my birthday.  Thirty-one years ago today, my mother spent 24 hours trying to meet me before I decided to make my appearance.  Yesterday, I spent a wonderful time with family celebrating that and look forward to today spending it with my husband, coworkers, students and friends.  I truly feel blessed by all the people in my life.

As I look back on the past year or two, I feel that I have gained much knowledge and wisdom on how to take care of my body.  While I still feel like there is more for me to learn, I feel like the changes that I have made are not temporary but lasting.  When you truly desire to lead a healthier life, you just have to come to a realization that there are some things you have to learn to live without or find ways to make substitutions that will make it easier on you.  In my past, I would lose weight, then lose track and gain it all back.  I would make excuses as to why I should or should not do something.  My biggest one over the past few years has been, I'll wait until the summer, I'll have more time to get healthy then.  Of course, summer would come and I was more busy in the summer than I was during the school year.  I finally realized this year that I needed to stop making those excuses and make a change.  I just had to start making an effort and making my health and well being a priority.  I started working out at 5am.  I know, CRAZY!!! Right?!  Well, it has been the best change I have made this whole school year.  Now there are about 2 weeks of school left and I'm about 24lbs down since September of last year.  That is an average of 3lbs a month.  Ok, so maybe it's not as quick as I would like it to be, but I am down 24lbs and I cannot tell you how many inches.  I feel great physically and mentally.  That in itself is a huge reward.  I have so much more energy than I used to and I can move in ways that I have not moved probably since high school.  Like I said, I feel like I have so much more to learn, but this has been one great year!  I cannot wait to see what the next one brings.  I'm at 189lbs this year.  Hopefully by next year I will reach my goal of at least 165lbs.  Shooting for 155lbs, but I will be happy with 165lbs if that is as far as my body will go.