My Accountabilibuddy
Learn more at www.myaccountabilibuddy.com
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Uggggghhhhh, my love-hate relationship with the morning workout! (Those are my actual morning shoes this AM at 5:15!)
I am NOT a morning person. This cannot be stressed enough. (If you need verification of this, please ask my poor dear father who unsuccessfully tried to make me one for all 18 of the years I lived under his roof.) So you can imagine how much fun it is for me to get up early and then actually go DO something!There’s nothing the morning version of me would like more than to just hit that blessed snooze button 1 more time!
But that “Morning Tamara” is an idiot. Here’s the awesome thing about morning workouts:
- It’s the ONE time a day when I have no meetings, distractions or other lame excuses that will prevent me from doing a workout I planned.
- I feel like a friggin’ rockstar after I’m done…as though I’ve joined that super-special club of morning fit people.
- I get to start my calorie burning early and actually jump-start my metabolism for the day!
Those of you who have worked with me know that I believe getting on (and sticking to) a plan that works for your schedule is one of the MOST important things you can do to have success with your health and fitness goals. For me, being a morning workout girl is the only way that’s ever going to happen. If I save it for the end of the day, it probably won’t happen.
Maybe you’ve tried to start a morning workout routine but failed. Don’t let that stop you from starting again…you can do it if you decide!
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I’m putting a theory out there and I’m calling it “Bowl-o-Food.” It goes something like this:
Since dinners consisting of a bowl full of fresh and colorful ingredients are easier/cheaper to make in bulk and easily served in a variety of ways, following a “Bowl-of-Food” diet is a great way to have fun and STAY CONSISTENT with your healthy-eating goals!
It sounds scientific, I know.
Basically, I find that when I “invent” a dinner consisting of fresh vegetables, whole grains (brown rice, quinoa or whole wheat pasta), beans and some great herbs and spices (You could definitely add some steamed shrimp, grilled mahi mahi or roasted chicken breast too!), I feel JUST as fulfilled and “comforted” as I would if I had some of my favorite comfort foods. The awesome thing is, a typical “Bowl-o-food” meal takes almost NO time to make, costs next to nothing and makes me feel like I’m fueling my body properly! Once I changed my mind that “dinner” didn’t need to be “PORTION A with SIDE DISHES B AND C,” I started to get creative and having a whole lot of fun mixing and matching my meals. You really can’t mess it up if you’re using ingredients that you love! Just chop, heat and stir!
And you don’t have to keep it in a bowl…
- Monday, spread your “Bowl-o-Food” onto a tostada
- Tuesday, serve it on a bed of crisp romaine lettuce
- Wednesday, put it in a pita with a sprinkle of low-fat cheese
- You get the idea!
Here’s my favorite “Bowl-o-Food” recipe for you to try:
- 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
- 1 cup water
- 3/4 cup your favorite fresh salsa
- 1 can black beans rinsed
- chopped fresh cilantro, to taste
- Bring water and quinoa to a boil in a medium-sized pot. Reduce to low and simmer with lid for 20 min.
- Meanwhile, mix salsa and blackbeans and heat gently either on stovetop or in microwave just long enough to get warm.
- Fluff quinoa with fork and pour salsa/blackbean mixture into pot. Stir in cilantro and VOILA!
Get creative and add your favorite ingredients like some leftover roasted chicken breast, cumin, fresh jalapenos or even a little pineapple! HOW EASY IS THAT?!!
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I’m feeling a bit sheepish, to be honest. All this fanfare about launching My Accountabilibuddy…and for what? I got all excited and shipped it out the door and then COMPLETELY. FREAKED. OUT. The goal I had was to get it out into the world, but I hadn’t thought about what came next.
I’ve spent the last few months going through some very special “phases”:
- Phase 1: I said to myself, “I’m just going to take a little break…after all, I’ve worked so hard to get this all off the ground. I deserve it!”…Riiiight.
- Phase 2: I got going and actually wrote some things down in my journal! I came up with some ideas for what I needed to do to get my name out there and some ways to make my services more valuable. It made me feel productive to be doing something and I was able to tell friends and family that I was “working on it.” Too bad those ideas never quite made it out of my journal.
- Phase 3: I admitted to myself that I was in “avoidance mode.” Conversation with self: “No matter you do, it probably won’t be the perfect thing you envisioned. And anyway, everyone will probably think this whole idea is stupid.”
That, sadly, is where I landed and I’ve been feeling pretty darned crappy about it. I have beautiful, supportive people in my life who ask me about My Accountabilibuddy all the time (And one, in particular, who regularly calls me out on my slacking behavior), but up to this point I’ve not splashed the water on my face and said, “Enough!”
Have you ever undertaken a challenge that you fizzled on? One to get healthy or change your life in a serious way? My journey with My Accountabilibuddy is just like any other good and important thing that is HARD…sometimes you’re just going to be terrible at it and sometimes it’s ALL YOUR FAULT. And that’s okay. You’re going to lose your focus, doubt yourself, find excuses, or make a bad decision that takes you down the wrong path. The really cool thing is, whether it’s eating right or sticking with an exercise plan or even starting a business, you can always start over.
Yes, you might have lost some momentum.
Yes, you might have completely missed a great opportunity.
Yes, you might have to start back even further than where you began.
But that should never stop you from starting again if it’s truly something that will bring beauty and joy to your life.
So I stand before you today as just a regular, old, non-perfect human who has decided she will start again.
Tamara
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It’s amazing what you can get done when you just decide to.
A few months back I read this amazing book by Seth Godin called “Linchpin.” I picked it up on a whim and had absolutely no idea that it would change my life.
This book essentially called me out on all my crap. I realized that I was procrastinating on all the important things I should be doing and that I was busying myself with the unimportant. Mr. Godin challenged me to “ship” my art. That is, to harness my potential (my “genius” as he calls it) and put something of meaning and importance out into the world. This is when the real plan for “My Accountabilibuddy” was born.
I’ve proven myself right and risen to my own challenge. I feel invigorated and unbelievably excited. Who the heck knows what my little Frankenstein will become, but I’m loving this! I hope you enjoy what I’ve put together so far…it’s only the very beginning.
Today is Shipping Day.
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The superpup (not being particularly helpful) and me in the final hour before the launch! Yes…that’s the face of a girl who’s happy!
