hey all (posted by neenie)

It's only 4 sleeps away from my trip and I'm getting excited. Melissa and I fly to Paris on Thursday, spend 3 nights there and then we'll likely travel down to the South of France and then head over to Spain for a while. We had discussed heading to Germany and Czech and Switzerland, but after some careful consideration we think we might be venturing to pack too much into three weeks. So we're leaning more towards just staying in two countries mainly and leave from Amsterdam.

In terms of diet, I think I've stabilized around 135 and my eating habits have been fairly good, I'd say. The occasional treat, but I'm trying to make healthier choices. In terms of fitness level, it has gone way down. I think moving kinda threw me off enough to get out of my cycle of treating my body very well. I ride my bike to work and I often walk to work and haven't taken transit anywhere in the city in a couple of weeks. But I never really stop to consider this a good daily dose of exercise. For me, I like to get my heart-rate up and I like to feel my muscles working. I've been kinda achy all over from lack of yoga and stretching and the like. I've been worried that my lack of abdominal strength is going to give my issues with toting around a 25lb backpack through Europe. I went for a run this morning and my stamina wasn't half as good as I'd like it to be. BUt you have to get back on the horse somewhere. And it's true that taking 20 to 30 minutes out of your morning to just go for a run or brisk walk and get it out of the way so you can forget about it really does a lot for your body. If you work out in the morning it wakens your metabolism and you'll continue to burn all day long. For me, my dietary choices are what will make or break any kinda of weight loss for me. But feeling physically fit and able is far more important to me than aesthetics. I would rather be 135lbs and able to run a marathon than 120 and have difficulty walking 2 km.

So my small victory today was jogging about 1.5 - 2 km. Baby steps.

I kinda think Europe will shed sound weight and pick up my fitness level with all of the walking and exploration that we'll be getting in to. Once I'm home I feel as though it's time for eating raw foods again. I really miss it. I'm also going to commit to hitting up the gym three or four times per week. I think if I design a routine and make a schedule for myself, it might be easier to work with.

I really hope that every body is taking care of themselves and feeling awesome. And... if anyone would like to do a raw vegan challenge with me starting in the middle of August, please let me know. I find that working alongside someone really motivates me to continue eating raw. It's fun to share your experience with someone else and marvel in all of the amazing changes that take place in your body. And since I've done it a bazillion times I would be more than happy and willing to coach anyone through it. I know it seems like stretch, but it's really not. Anyone up for it?

love,
neenie