Review, Reflect, Revise, Reset

The summer of 2010, I was in a pretty good place with my health and exercise. I had been working out consistently at Curves for over a year, lost 10 pounds and a few inches, and generally eating well. I also added yoga to my workout regimen. I even got on the twitter #temt train and wrote a few posts for this blog (here, here, and here).

Then September hit. A bit of a backslide as school started up. (Scroll the blog archive for many references to that phenomenon). Added to the "regular" (whatever that is!) stress was the urgency to complete my dissertation and defend by the end of the semester. By the beginning of November, it was "do or die:" if I did not finish all 5 chapters by Thanksgiving, I would not be able to defend until the winter semester, which meant paying for a second credit ($500!) that I did not need. So basically everything except work and the dissertation went to you-know-where-in-a-handbasket--including diet and exercise. Writing binges do not play well with good eating habits, in my experience. I tried to squeeze in 1 or 2 workouts or a yoga class each week; some weeks were more successful than others.

I started easing back into the exercise routine, but on December 31, I broke my toe, and couldn't workout for a couple of weeks. Then I was sick, etc., etc., etc.... Second semester I ended up working a lot of hours, which made it hard to get the exercise in, I would often get home after the gym closed. :(

Now that it's summer, I've a new resolve to get/stay in shape and eat better.Still not getting all my Curves workouts in, but I am committed to getting in as much as I can. I also thought about my eating habits, and I've started to minimize meat. I'm also participating in the Awesome Green Smoothie Challenge with Santosha Yoga. Today's recipe:

Irish Banana Split:
1/2 cup strawberries
2 bananas
1 cup pineapple
2 cups packed spinach
1 pint water

It was totally rawsome!

I had one for breakfast (about 1/2 liter), and the other for dinner. Amazingly filling. Just a funny side note, when I see "Irish" with a recipe, especially a beverage, my first connection is Bailey's (yum), and I couldn't figure out what it had to do with a green smoothie. Then, duh! the other ingredients are found in a banana split and the spinach makes it green. Silly me. ;)

I'm committing to trying this for 1 week, and if it goes well, then into the next. How about you?