Health + Fitness

By kilax, January 27, 2012 11:45 am

Warning: this post is about body image. Please don’t read it if you find these discussions triggering.

Also, I am NOT fishing for compliments here – just sharing my thoughts and hoping to hear yours.

I like to think that I have a great relationship with my body. In fact, I sometimes think it’s too great – too lax. All of these years that I have been up and down in weight (and I mean, drastically up and down) I have been really easy on myself. I didn’t worry about my weight too much. I wasn’t too embarrassed. I was annoyed when clothes were tight, but I still went out in my swimming suit. I even posed for pictures!

Lately I have been trying to eat healthy and keep working out. I want to get to a healthy weight and stay there. This is a lot different than my “whatever” attitude of before! I hope it sticks. 

Anyway, Brian had new shirts designed for his Business (Essential Fitness Now) and gave us all one during our Wednesday strength class. We all posed for pictures, and I was really looking forward to seeing them. I have lost a bit of weight and was feeling slim and thought I might look nice. 

GRC friend, Bobbi, GRC friend and me

I was so shocked when I saw the picture and all I thought was “My legs are so big compared to everyone else’s!” and “I look like I have a belly roll!”

What. The. Hell. Where did these thoughts come from? I have NEVER compared myself to other people in this unhealthy way before. Sure, I have said “I look nothing like my sister – she is taller and slimmer than me,” but I never had thoughts like this that made me feel bad. My best friend is a lot slimmer than me, and I have a ton of pictures of us together, but I have never thought anything of it. It just is what it is. 

I was SHOCKED that I had these thoughts, and really ashamed of myself. And ashamed that they were upsetting me. That is so so lame. 

I thought about it more, and it kind of feels like making excuses, but I have such a different body type than the people in the picture. I am larger and more muscular. I will never bee teeny tiny. And I don’t want to be!

But why did I have these thoughts? Why now? This is really kind of bugging me.

Do you struggle with comparing your image to other people’s?

And what is even more stupid is that these ladies are so cool and supportive and not competitive or judgmental about weight at all. It’s such a great environment to be in. Before class, they were even telling me how nice I look. So what is my deal?! I hate that those thoughts were in my head. 

Friday Questions

By kilax, January 27, 2012 5:45 am

Do you have close relationships with any of your neighbors? Do you know any of their names?

In MWF Seeking BFF there is a statistic quoted that 28% of Americans know none of their neighbors by name. Honestly, I am surprised the percentage is not higher. We were close to a family in our neighborhood, but they moved to Albuquerque a few years ago. I was pretty bummed. We did a lot together. The husband and I would even run and race together!

 We haven’t developed relationships with anyone else, to date. More often than not, I am knocking on their door to ask them to turn their music down, not to give them a plate of cookies.

We have actually had many neighbor issues, but I try not to write about that stuff here. It just makes me even angrier.

I had to fill out some security forms at work and I was supposed to write down the name of a neighbor who knows me well. I had no one to write down. So they had me list the name of our neighbors who moved. That made me feel kind of lame.

I am wondering if anyone else is in the same situation as me?

Blogging, Life, Work + Design

By kilax, January 26, 2012 5:34 am

• I started writing a blog post this weekend and was looking through some older posts of mine to reference.  I ended up finding this post from December 2010 saying “I see blogs posts of people attending wonderful holiday parties with their close friends, and I sometimes I think ‘I wish I had a wonderful holiday party to attend with close friends.’ “Geez, if that doesn’t support the social comparison theory I mentioned in this post, I don’t know what does. My, how things change in a year. 
• Related, I wanted to point out this study which says that seeing happy pictures of other people on Facebook makes you sad. Two interesting quotes from the article:

Facebook photos generally depict smiling, cheerful people having good times, conveying a sense of happiness. Of course everyone likes to smile for the camera, so that good cheer may be inflated or false. As others view the photos, they may believe this conveyed sense of  intense happiness is real, making them think that their friends are much happier than they are.

The study, which was published in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking, also found that people who spent less time socializing with friends in cyberspace and more time socializing with them in real life were less likely to report they were  unhappy.

• I stopped writing the blog post I mentioned in the first bullet, because as I was searching my archives, I realized that I was almost completely rewriting a post from the past. Has that happened to anyone else? You start writing something, think “Gee, this seems familiar…” to have it turn out that you have almost written the same thing earlier?
• I mentioned the other day that I have a really good memory for things that people have said to me. That’s true. But I seem to have no capacity for retaining actual useful information (things I learned in school, trivia, facts, blog posts I have already written, you get the idea). Are you better at remembering factual data, or people-related information?  (<– for lack of a better definition)
• Kelly was kind enough the other day to explain Pinterest to me. I was really not getting it. You all talk about how cool it is, and you could waste days on there, and I am the QUEEN of wasting time on the internet, but I just couldn’t figure it out. I guess I will give it another try. Who else is digging Pinterest? 
• I find it ironic that an announcement about my work position was made back in December and there has been no update about it. Ironic because I am so pushy, anxious and an instant gratification sort of gal – so making an announcement to someone before I know anything about it would be totally something I would do. A taste of my own medicine, I suppose.
• Thanks to everyone who is filling out the blog survey! There is a lot of great feedback on there. I kind of wish I could see who is saying what. I would like to know who wrote that the read my blog “Because I think Kim is super hot.” Ha ha. Do you guys want me to do a post talking about the results?

The winner of the RelaxReflect Giveaway is #18, Leah. Leah, please email me your mailing address (kilax@ilaxstudio.com) along with your choice of skull cap (material, style and color) and I will get the order in for you!

Thanks for participating!

Life, News, Work + Design

By kilax, January 25, 2012 4:38 am

Or both?

I feel like I am getting buried at work, and the more I do to dig a hole out for myself, the more I get piled on. It doesn’t seem to matter if I come in early, work on the weekends, or stay late – I can’t get caught up.

I feel stressed. I’ve been talking to my favorite coworker about it, my close friends, and of course, Steven. There is nothing I can do but go through tasks one by one. So I do. And I try not to spaz. In the long run, this all won’t matter. It’s just hard not to get worked up about it when I am in the moment. 

When I finally got a chance to look at google reader yesterday, I saw this article titled “When Stress is Good For You.” How appropriate! The article goes over what physically happens in our bodies when we are stressed.

The body has a standard reaction when it faces a task where performance really matters to goals or well-being: The sympathetic nervous system and the hypothalamus, pituitary and adrenal glands pump stress hormones, adrenaline and cortisol, into the bloodstream. Heartbeat and breathing speed up, and muscles tense.

How you react to that determines whether stress is harmful or helpful:

• If your blood vessels constrict, your blood pressure will rise, and may feel dizzy as your heart beats irratically (HARMFUL).
• If your blood vessels dilate, blood flow to the brain increases and you feel a surge of energy, similar to getting pumped when you work out (HELPFUL).

You know, I never thought of the physiological aspects of stress. I always just thought of my mental panic. I didn’t think that stress could actually be good for me. This article suggests that you can have some control over whether you feel harmful or helpful stress, by practicing thinking positively, deep breathing, meditating, and regulating your mental and physical states. You know, all those things you know you are supposed to do but forget about in the heat of the moment. 

The article even mentioned that:

Many workplace wellness programs have also begun coaching people to hit “the optimal performance zone”—with enough stress “to be stimulating, to focus you, to challenge you” without taking a physical toll.

Well, that sure sounds nice!

I keep bringing this up over and over (work stress), but it is my way of dealing with it. I hope I have a reason to quit talking about it soon.

Do you most often feel helpful or harmful stress?

Do you perform well when you stressed?

Recipes + Food

By kilax, January 24, 2012 4:27 am

Do you make many slow cooker recipes?

Truth – I did not even know what a slow cooker was, but apparently, I sent Steven a recipe a long time ago that required one. I didn’t believe we had one until he pulled it out of “junk” (sigh) cabinet.

Oh! It’s a Crock Pot! I am familiar with that word. But I am pretty sure we haven’t used this one since I’ve lived in this house (5 years this May). It was time to remedy that on Sunday! We made this Moroccan Slow Cooker Stew, and I was super impressed with how easy it was to just throw everything in the slow cooker, and let it sit for six hours. 

And I loved the way it made the house smell!

Ha ha. I didn’t realize the Crock Pot would get so messy, as it sat all afternoon. I guess that makes sense. 

The mess and wait were worth it. This stew is awesome. We made some rice to go with it, and it was the perfect combination. The recipe called for cumin, cinnamon and crushed red pepper as the spices, and it just went so well together. We will definitely be making it again!

This slow cooker is pretty nifty… do you guys have any slow cooker recipes to share with me?

It makes me laugh that this thing cooks all day… and I eat it in 5 minutes. Yeah. I still struggle with not eating too fast. 

Blogging

By kilax, January 23, 2012 10:04 pm

I really liked that Stephany (Stephany WRITES) did a “blog survey” a few weeks ago. It was a simple form, asking people what they thought of her blog – what kind of posts to keep, get rid of, etc. Then she did a follow-up thanking everyone for their input, and discussing the results. 

It made me think that I have been blogging for many years and don’t ask for much feedback. So, I decided to give it a try! Of course, I must tell you… I am not sure how much the feedback will influence what I write about. I am just so random and stream of consciousness about what I write. But! I would love to read what you think of ilaxSTUDIO.

So please fill out the form below! And please speak (well, type) freely! It’s anonymous!

Feel free to ask “WTF is up with your fill-in-the-blank posts?!”

Thanks to Stephany for the idea and some of the questions!

If you cannot access the form through my blog, click here to access it. 

Running + Training

By kilax, January 23, 2012 4:26 am

Awhile ago I stumbled across the RelaxReflect Clothing Company when RunToTheFinish wrote about them. I think their idea is so cool (text is from their about page) - 

RelaxReflect’s Mission is to be the world’s most recognizable graphic clothing brand to combine cool design with functional purpose. Featuring retro, edgy and innovative reflective graphics that illuminate when exposed to light, our customers can relax in the notion that they are always seen in the coolest clothes on the planet. RelaxReflect™ is also about clothes that feel and look great while utilizing attractive designs that inspire our customers to choose to be seen and those who value individualism and uniqueness in their daily lives.

All of their clothing has reflective graphics on it, so you can be outside in the dark (for me, working out) and worry a little less about not being visible. 

I contacted RelaxReflect the same day I read that blog post and inquired about doing a review of one of their products. They responded right away, and we had a fun conversation about their inspiration for the company and how they got started.  I ordered the Badass reflective running leggings as a Christmas gift to myself, but they also recently sent me a reflective skull cap to review!

Here is what it looks like not lit up (UA Hood mine, not part of hat):

I really like the hat. It comes in a few different materials (and colors!), and this one is Brush Dryflex – it wicks wonderfully and still keeps my head warm!

Relax Reflect Skull Cap Review:

Pros:

• snug
• comfortable
• pony tail slot
• cute design
• reflective!

I ordered one of the skull caps for Erin for her birthday, and asked her to take some pictures so I can show you that the hat does fit people with normal sized heads (and actually, Erin said her head is very small, so it will fit a medium sized head person perfectly!).

I’ve been really excited about RelaxReflect, because running in the dark makes me nervous, but I feel better about it when I run with my reflective leggings and skull cap (and headlamp) and know that it looks cooler than wearing a vest. Ha ha.

So! To share my love for the company, I am sponsoring my own giveaway (they sent me the skull cap, but I am buying one for one of you!).

One reader will receive a Skull Cap of their own. There are four styles to choose from – All American, Criss Cross, Honeycomb and Stars Stars. See them here for women and here for men. 

RelaxReflect Giveaway Rules

1. One reader will receive a RelaxReflect Skull Cap. 
2. Required to enter the giveaway: visit the RelaxReflect website and leave me a comment telling me which product is your favorite! 
3. This giveaway is open until 5:00 PM CST on Wednesday January 25. I will use random.org to select the winner. I will announce the winner on Thursday January 26. 
4. This giveaway is open to all readers.

Running + Training

By kilax, January 22, 2012 11:24 am

Day 820 | January 16, 2012: 7 m run (6×3 fartlek) + strength

Two mile warm-up,  followed by 6 x 3:00 minutes fast (7:45-8:00 pace) with 2:00 minute recoveries, and a mile+ cool down. Same workout as last week, with one extra interval. The snow was melted off the streets and conditions were good for speedwork. Except for the wind. Yuck. The first two intervals felt comfortable, the next three were hard because of the hills, and the last one… I just wanted to be done. Sigh. Still a lot of work to do here! I took the recovery super slow because I felt wiped out.

3:00 times: 7:54, 7:58, 8:00, 7:57, 7:55, 7:53

Distance: 7.0 | Start Temp: 35° | End Temp: 40° | Time: 1:07:57 | Avg Pace: 9:43

I went to Brian’s studio for a strength session a few hours after my run. Remind me NOT to go to his studio. Ha – when I do that, he has all of his torture devices handy – he can’t bring all of that stuff when he comes to my house!

We did a lot with steps, resistance bands, and weights. And more ab focused work. Plank ups, walking across the floor. Ugh. A lot of cardio (jumping over things) too. I got very out of breath a few times!

It’s all good for me. But damn. Brian knows how to make me work!

Day 821 | January 17, 2012: cross

Cardio kickboxing! This is only my third time attending class, and I have never gone twice in a row (or even twice in three weeks), but it keeps getting easier. At first, I thought I was getting better, but I really just think it feels easier because I’ve lost weight. WHATEVER! I’ll take it. I really needed to punch and kick Tuesday night – I didn’t have the best day at work. Class. Felt. Good!!!

Day 822 | January 18, 2012: 5 m run (easy) + strength

I ran my five miles before work. It was kind of cold (8°F) so it was my first time wearing my UA hood to cover most of my face. I was happy there was not much wind!

Also, I mentioned last year that my bluetooth running headset did not work well in the cold. It’s so much better this year – I think because I put my phone in my bra! Somehow, that seems to help… maybe because I am keeping my phone warm? Who knows!

Distance: 5.0 | Start Temp: 8° | End Temp: 7° | Time: 48:48 | Avg Pace: 9:45

At my strength class in the evening we did kettlebells – my favorite! Brian taught us a new move where we were passing it around our legs (think basketball style) – I am surprised I only hit my leg once doing that.

Day 823 | January 19, 2012: rest

Day 824 | January 20, 2012: 6 m run (easy)

I was pleasantly surprised by how warm it was when I woke up (0°F)! The forecast had actually predicted the weather to be a bit cooler, so it was nice not to freeze during my easy 6 miler (I wore two layers).

Distance: 6.0 | Start Temp: 0° | End Temp: 2° | Time: 1:01:28 | Avg Pace: 10:15

Day 825 | January 21, 2012: 14 m run (easy)

14 easy miles… This was a nice, fun run, listening to some podcasts, stopping in the house at mile 10 to go to the bathroom and realizing I needed to charge my phone to keep listening to podcasts… ho hum. 

I am annoyed at how slow the snow makes me though. I wore my Yak Trax for the first time this season for this run. They really helped, but running through the snow still slows me down. By the end of my run, a lot of snow had melted off the streets, so that was nice!

Distance: 14.0 | Start Temp: 7° | End Temp: 19° | Time: 2:28:00 | Avg Pace: 10:34

Day 826 | January 22, 2012: 6 m run (easy) + strength

I’m not sure what my problem is, but I was not feeling this run. I was bored with the new podcasts I downloaded, the wind was making me crazy and I just wasn’t in to it. Ugh. I felt better when I turned on music for the last .4 miles. I’ll remember that for next time. 

Distance: 6.0 | Start Temp: 23° | End Temp: 26° | Time: 1:02:25 | Avg Pace: 10:24

Updated to add: Steven and I did Circuit 1 and 2 of Level 1 of Shred It with Weights (the Jillian Michaels Kettlebell DVD) in the evening.

Week Summary: 38.0 miles

I saw an interesting article on Monday and wanted to share it – Workouts Have Their Limits, Recognized Or Not. The article is about recreational athletes overdoing it and not giving their body any rest. A good reminder to take a true rest day! I know I am a lot better at that now that Britt is coaching me!

Memes

By kilax, January 21, 2012 12:33 pm

Kandi tagged me for the 11 Random Meme. Sounds like something fun to do before I get to work this afternoon (barf). Meme rules:

1. You must post 11 random things about yourself
2. Answer the questions set for you in their post
3. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer <– I don’t tag people. Feel free to participate on your blog or in the comments. 
4. Go to their blog and tell them you’ve tagged them
5. No stuff in the tagging section about you are tagged if you are reading this. You legitimately have to tag 11 people!

(Hint, a lot of this info can be found on my 100 Things page. I tried to pick some random things that give you an idea of who I am!)

Friday Questions

By kilax, January 20, 2012 5:21 am

Where do you like to search for new recipes? Are you able to read a recipe and tell if you will like it or not?

We have a ton of favorite recipes but are always on the lookout for new ones. Surprisingly, we do not peruse any of the cookbooks we have (two shelves full!):

We mostly tend to run across recipes online or get recommendations from friends. Steven can usually read a recipe and tell if he will like it or not. I am somewhat decent at it. Somewhat.

What I am wondering is how the heck I got so many cookbooks. I doubt I bought more than 10% of those. People really like to give cookbooks as gifts (and I did ask for some of them). But they just sit there. On our shelf. Looking nice (I hope). Hey, that’s what books do, right?