Battle at Kruger

Ok, I just learned how to post a youtube clip to my blog. You got to check this video out... pretty freakin amazing...

21 days for new habit

How long does it take to actually form a new habit? The common response is 21 days. Studies have actually shown that if you practice a new habit for an average of 21 days, it actually becomes easier to do the new habit than it is to NOT to do the new habit. That's fantastic!!

I've always been really into working out and being healthy, but the past few months I've gotten into a slump and made plenty of excuses for not going to the gym. I actually dreaded going to the gym. Looking back, I can see how this really effected me physically and emotionally. I was in a relationship and so going to the gym took a back seat. Now I see there needs to be a balance in all things.

Making a commitment to run a half marathon (Nike's Women in San Francisco) in October, I decided the time of slacking off needed to come to an end. So a couple of weeks ago, I started going back to the gym. I really dreaded going back and it took a lot of discipline to go to the gym every day. I was surprised at how out of shape I had become. I stuck to it and grudgingly would go and "put in the time." It has now been only a couple of weeks and I cannot believe how differently I feel! I feel so much better and I feel like a weight has been lifted (no pun intended) from me emotionally. Exercising is truly theraputic. Now, amazingly enough, I look forward to going to the gym and "clearing my head" through running. I love the rush I get after I push myself to go just a little further on my runs. And even on days where you really don't feel like going, you never regret that you did once it's all over. Only 14 days and a new habit has been restored!!! This has really instilled in me just how effective and necessary exercise is for over-all well-being. I've always known the importance of exercise and now I remember why i've been so devout in my exercising in the past.

Here's a quote that I like:

"If you keep doing what you've always done, then you will keep on getting what you've always got."

Here's to new constructive habits!

Diet Coke... the deceiving drug

Hello, my name is Sara and I'm addicted to Diet Coke.



Coke adds pep to life... Just for the taste of it. Only one calorie. What an appealing slogan for those of us who count our calories and who just plain and simply get tired of drinking water and look forward to drinking something with a lot more pep and appeal.

For me, Diet Coke became the serum of life. I knew I was in trouble when I was drinking a lot more diet coke than I was water. I think my addiction started in my college days. I loved the kick it gave me. It had became a ritual in my life and a way to reward myself without feeling guilty. Back then, there was no talk about the harmful possibilities of consuming large amounts of Diet Coke. I know that my addiction now is a lot more mild than it has been in the past but the threat of relapse is always looming.

With a quick search on the internet, I found a large group of (mostly) young addicts who have congregated online and submitted their struggle with the unsuspecting drug of choice: Diet Coke and how they have become consumed with their addiction. Pretty scary. I am surprised at the real absence of talk in womens health magazines and other media of the addictiveness of Diet Coke and the health ramifications it causes. Reading some of the first-hand accounts of people's addiction to Diet Coke, makes me very uneasy about the long term effects of guzziling liters of this drink into our systems.

So here's my tribute to Diet Coke and my wish to someday be able to completely drop the habit...

Diet Coke: You have me at the sound of the soda can hissing. You are so tantilizing and refreshing. You make me happy when I'm sad. I love you when you are ice-cold, on the verge of freezing, with a twist of lemon. Nothing could be better. I've tried to quit you... but I always end up coming back. You have a fierce hold over me and I can never quite shake you. For you, there are no substitutes. I've tried to ween myself from you because I know the ramifications of my addiction to you. You are bad for me... you seep calcium from my bones... you are like a poison to my body... I hear you even cause cellulite! Asparatime makes you poisonous and I'm worried about the long-term effects. But no matter how I've tried to quit you completely, I always come back for more. Nothing is as refreshing as a cold, extra-carbonated fountain drink of you and you will always be my vice. I am encouraged that I have been able to limit your control over me to 1 drink a day and I'm hopeful that I can can continue to decrease my consumption of you. You are sly though... if I am able to cut myself off from you, the moment I let you slide back into my life, you build up your presence and I am unable to restrain my consumption of you. Oh you are quite cunning!

So those of you who share in my addiction and have succeeded in prevailing over it, please give me your suggestions.

From one addict to another.

Turning a new "technology" leaf

So I've never been much of a journal writer... and that's something I always wish I would have done better... especially since I'm old enough to have gained many life experiences that have sculpted me into who I am today. I have to admit, with all the blogging that's going on these days, I've been overwhelmed at even trying to get into the blogging world. However, I've been inspired by some friends' blogs and am attempting to start my own... mainly, so I can have some sort of an archive of my thoughts, experiences, reflections, etc. So I wish myself luck with this new endeavor.

Drama to come...