Viva, vitalicious

One of the coolest things I've found are Vitalicious brownies and muffin tops. For 1 pt, I can have some yummy chocolate.
Totally worth it. I'm such a chocoholic and this is a great fix. :-)

Let there be lentils

I tried a new food today: lentils. I made them using an Alton Brown recipe (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/lentil-salad-recipe/index.html). It was very yummy. I'm glad I got some food courage :-)

Bye-bye blue jeans

My baggy jeans are too loose. Ha-ha! These are the jeans that I always keep around and will wear when the pounds get a little high. Today I was cooking my dinner and it hit me how loose they were. I can pull them off without unzipping them. These jeans have been the warning sign before. Now they're they're a good sign.

Birds of the air

While I was walking today, I did not bring a MP3 player with me. I wanted to hear all of the sounds of spring. Besides the roofers working down the street, the loudest sound was the chirping of birds. It made me think of Matthew 6:26: "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" This is a scripture I often go back to when I find myself worrying about the day to day.

Hey Rach ... Take a walk

I went for a walk around my neighborhood today. I almost didn't do it. Why? I'm very good at making excuses. Here are some of the ones I was pondering.

First ... and this is a confession here ... I have an addiction at the moment: Solitaire on my iTouch. You wouldn't think it could be so addicting, but for me it is. Every time I lose, I want to keep going until I win. My winning percentage is 40%, so you see there are lots of times I don't win. But, if I play a couple more times, I usually win. So, before I convinced myself to go for a walk, I was playing solitaire. It wasn't a good enough reason to not go, so I was able to get past that excuse.

My second excuse was that I had figured out my points for all of my meals. I knew I was going to hit my daily amount of 23 or go over by 1 or 2. I didn't need the extra 3 points that walking would bring.


I did end up going for my walk though. I live in a great neighborhood and day was so beautiful. I ended up convincing myself to go because I knew it would do my soul good as well as my body. It was great feeling the sunshine, hearing the birds and smelling the blossoms. It was a great way to shake the proverbial cobwebs from my head. I'm glad I did it. For me, once I get into a habit ("rut" could work here too), it's tough to change it. I want to get back to going to the gym this week. The gym is 15 minutes away from my home. It does take some will power to go over there for a class ... no matter how much I might enjoy Zumba. So walking today was a good compromise. It was very good to walk for 2 miles and feel my body work in that way. I'm glad I got over my laziness. That in itself, is a great achievement. :-)

So smooth ...

I started my day with a smoothie. It was yummy with a capital "Y." Making one meal a smoothie is the one thing that has absolutely clicked from Weight Watchers. Here's how I made it:

Ingredients:
1 banana
1 1/2 strawberries
1 cup 1% milk
1 container of 1 pt Weight Watchers strawberry yogurt
1/2 cup water
1 packet Weight Watchers chocolate smoothie mix
2 tsp. flaxseed oil
1 1 pt. Weight Watcher bar - cookies and cream
2 tablespoons of dry sugar free chocolate pudding mix
Points: 11.5

Blend it all together in a handy blender and drink. The 11.5 points is a lot, but I think it's worth it. It's got 2 fruits/veggies, 3 dairy servings, healthy oils and 2 liquids. There are only two things that aren't healthy: the WW bar and the pudding. Plus, this kind of smoothie has a LONG staying power. It often lasts at least 4 hours, if not more. Plus, it is delicious. Yummy!

Why Hera?

What's the Hera thing?
Back in my college days, my friends and I were chatting one night. We were a bit geeky so we chose the names of Greek gods and goddesses for ourselves. I chose Hera. Now how did this sadly sober moment of geekdom continue more than a decade later? Well, I still have an email address with "Hera" in it. So, that has kept in my mind all of these years. Plus, it's the only name I can think of when I need a handle for forums, etc. And, today when I decided to create a blog, herasrealm was available. I do think of "Hera" as a more lively version of myself. And, since I am putting myself out there into the blogosphere, I might as well bring "Hera" with me.

What is this blog about?

Hello all, I'm starting a blog to chronicle my journey towards physical and spiritual fitness. The more I think about things, the more I believe these two go together. I'm trying to eat healthier and exercise. It's been a struggle for me for years ... more because I go back to my less healthy ways. I can exercise, eat healthier and lose weight, but before I reached a point where I stop. The months later, when my clothes stop fitting, I'm prompted to go back to Weight Watchers and the gym. But, the past is the past. And, I am going to do it this time. Perhaps a little public motivation will help too.

Now for the spiritual ... I'm a Christian. Why do I need spiritual fitness? I need to work at putting Christ at the center of my life. Many times I have wanted to do this and I get started, but at some point I stop. I don't want to do that anymore. I want to share my journey ... with all the pits and falls ... towards a wonderful and beautiful relationship with Christ everyday.

Won't you join me on this crazy journey of mine?