Fit with Ruthie

Deep down inside I wish I could eat like everyone else. Deep down inside I dream of a hamburger and fries with lots of ketchup and a large coke. Deep down inside I would love to go to Olive Garden and order breadsticks and Alfredo. But the sucky part of all this.... I am not like everyone else. Could I choose to eat like everyone else? sure... but what would it get me? ...well.. I would be another figure in the American Dietary Landscape. I would be on medication for stomach aches and taking pills to sleep at night because I am so tired. I would be miserable.   Reality is I have issues with food. I always have. I loved how Cokes use to make me feel. I loved the highs I would get off of slurpies and candy. I loved the salty and crunchy of chips and crackers. I loved the stress relief a bag of chips and a coke could bring. I loved the energy it would give me. But I HATED how I felt afterward. .....yeah. ... that part sucks. so I sit here today not thinking I have found the answer to...

Reality for me these days is this: Certified level 2 Personal trainer Running Coach with USATF Certified Group Exercise Instructor: Kickboxing, Bootcamp, Step, Cardio Aerobics etc Certified Zumba Instructor level 1, 2, and Zumbatomic. I dont get through my day without thinking about how I use to be. Some days I have to pinch myself to know all this is real. You see, I remember vividly the days of struggle and the days when I looked upon people working in the fitness industry as fanatics and something impossible to reach. Yet....here I am.... How is the world did this 44 year old homeschooling mom become this? There are 3 keys to my success. #1. Prayer #2. Inspiration #3. Starting Over You see I am NEVER perfect. I "fall off the bandwagon many times a year" the secret is that when I do fall I chase that durn wagon down as fast as I can and jump back on. Starting Over is a process for me. Here is how it usually goes: 1. I start feeling like crap and know I want t...

I stumbled upon this website last night...   And I think I have found my next challenge. I will be using some of these moves during my kickboxing class next semester and want/need to get a head start on getting prepared for teaching that class. I have about 6 or 8 weeks before I begin teaching it so hopefully by then I will be in shape enough that teaching wont exhaust me :)  In the video and on the site they suggest doing the following, in order and you can take breaks or modify as needed. My goal is to be able to do this whole list by New Years Day and it will be how I ring in my new year (after a 13 min warm up :) Backward Lunge Kick Up 25 reps on each leg Walk Over Push Up 50 reps Mountain Climber 50 reps Sumo Squats Knee Up 50 reps One Leg Bridge Leg Lift 25 reps on each leg Side to Side Squat & Leg Lift 50 reps One Arm Tricep Push Up 25 reps on each arm Star Crunch 50 reps Diagonal Touch Down 25 reps on each side Side Plank Lift 25 reps on each side O...

I know I know . The New Year is over a month away, but I have already started to think about what goals I have planned for 2013. This past year wasnt at all what I expected. I expected to run atleast 13 half marathons, I expected to run atleast 1 full marathon, I expected to do lots of things... but 2012 had its own plans and sad to say 10 months of the 12 were filled with very limited running. The worst thing that can happen to a runner is to force them NOT TO RUN. How can someone who is a RUNNER.. NOT RUN? You see... being a running isnt just about the calories burned or the inches lost .. its not about time and its not about a tshirt... A TRUE running runs for what it teaches them about life and how it changes them on the inside. . A True runner runs to clear the mind and soul. How can a runner, not run. Well, a runner who is unable to run still looks at life thru the eyes of a runner. Every HARD workout I do, Every sweat drop that hits the floor in zumba or while do...

I am sick. I never get sick. but here i am sick. coughing and coughing and coughing. Since changing my diet to gluten free and eating healthy i hardly ever get sick. Its something I dont take for granted becuase I use to get sick allllll the time. But Saturday the wind blew here nonstop and with it all the dust and things from west texas began to bother me. I taught class yesterday, although I didnt feel well and was happy that I actually felt GREAT until about halfway thru the workout. Then I crashed and wondered if I would make it thru class. .......I did. today I have done nothing but take hot showers take meds and sleep. hoping tomorrow I wake up feeling normal.

OH MY GOODNESS I am LOVING teaching Zumba! Never in my life would I have thought I would be a zumba instructor! I have had some wonderful classes and really enjoy some of the new songs and choreography. Its just so fun to be in a room full of people dancing the hour away while at the same time pushing myself to work harder, jump higher, and move more concentrated to focus on specific body parts. I am more fit now than ever... because of the amazing workout zumba is. I might teach it a bit differently than most instructors. I lean toward movements that are fitness focused, I try to make some of the songs silly and fun, and I love using Christian based music in my classes. I have been working on my fuel the last week and half and its made a HUGE difference in my energy level during class. Prior to changing my diet I was experiencing drops in my blood sugar and at one point I had to get a peppermint out of my bag cause I was CRASHING in the middle of class. How we eat and fuel our bod...

When was the last time you had the energy of a 5 or 6 year old? Do you remember what being 6 felt like? I do.... .I would wake up full of energy jumping out of bed and rushing to the kitchen to try and see my dad before he rushed off to work. I remember being so active during the day that my mom would have to fuss at me to come inside for lunch or supper. I was always up a tree or on the roof. (Dont tell mom)....I remember riding my bike with my sister and going to play tennis for fun for hours. I remember 2 hour softball practices I would ride my bike too and from. (atleast 1.5 miles each way) ... I remember I hated school and couldnt wait for recess where I could go run and get all hot and sweaty.. Could you climb a tree today if you had too? Could you POP out of bed? How bout a 3 mile bike ride followed by 1 hour tennis session? Softball anyone? OR.. how bout a hour recess.. no sitting down playing patty cake... you have to recess for a whole hour...PLAY .. upside down on the monk...

Twice in the past 2 weeks I have had people act shocked when they find out how old I am. I LOVE it! I know, I shouldnt be so self absorbed... but I do LOVE IT when someone says "nuh uh... your how old??" ..The reason I love it is because I use to feel and look older than I was. When I was in  my 30s I felt OLD. I thought.. there is NO WAY I am going thru life feeling THIS old.  I made a decision to do something different. I made the decision to change.. and it sucked. Changing habits you had for 40 years isnt easy. Being open and honest with myself wasnt much fun either.. I gave in on the denial and faced who and what I had become.  I hated it. So turning 44 yesterday was a joyfilled experience. Here is what my birthday consisted of: At the studio at 7 am to practice Zumba for an hour n half Home to do breakfast and rest up a bit Track practice at 11am in the 80 degree plus weather (coaching) Grad a naked smoothie at the store and the kids and I head over to hel...

I am finding myself to be at a loss. This blog has served me well over the past 5 or 6 years but I am finding it difficult to post here. I think in large part the need for me to come here and vent, or rant, or find motivation or accountability is gone. I am now surrounded by compelling reasons to eat correctly. Celiacs does that to a person. Forcing my "choices" to become "sickness or health" has a way of making reality sink in as to what i put in my mouth. I am also living a life that is enclosed in fitness. Coaching, being a personal trainer, the joy of Zumba instructing.... Fitness is no longer some foreign thing i am striving to make myself do. Fitness is my life.  I LOVE my life. But what does that life have to do with this blog? Is it time to move on? Is it time to let go of this place and leave it behind. Yes and No. I have decided I need to change gears, switch focus and change this blog into something of a motivational, educational, and inspirationa...

I remember the days when I had to post here EVERYDAY to motivate myself to get my workouts in... and to eat right.... Those days are gone and I can say I have made a HUGE life changes to health and fitness.... With that said.... Its still challenging. I still have my moments of 'poor little me' when it comes to eating. Most days I HATE being gluten intolerant and milk intolerant. I hate it because it makes me so different. I have been different all my life. I am a bit more creative, a bit more outspoken, a bit more ...... than most people. .... Independent from a young age.  What having food allergies does to a person is leaves them in the outskirts of society.  In a society where food plays such a HUGE role it makes some days just "poor little me" days. Reality is Milk and Gluten makes me sick. It makes me feel awful. Reality is most people dont understand and after years of trying to eat G and M free I still have people who know me and know me well.... asking ...

Yesterday I taught 2 1 hour sessions of zumba! I loved it! Of course I had to take a 3 hour nap in between sessions to be rested enough to teach in the evening LOL.... When I teach zumba its MY workout for the day so I try to push myself hard most times I teach unless I am really really sore or havent gotten enough rest. Yesterday was such fun! The first session I taught a group of teenage girls who were participating in a summer camp, most had not ever done zumba before! Afterwards one of the girls said "I LOVED IT! It was hard.. but so much fun!" Zumba has gotten me out of my comfy zone for sure. I grew up in a environment where dancing was very much frowned upon. Sure I danced at home with my records blasting but I didnt dare dance anywhere else! This fall I have some decisions to make when it comes to instructing. I am afraid eventhough I love it so I need to cut back on how many hours I teach. Its going to be a hard decision. I am very hopeful to run a bit this m...

I AM SICK AND TIRED OF PAIN... I am discouraged, sad, and mad all at the same time. Last week for 4 days I had little to NO PAIN! I was so happy  even ran a few blocks and felt NO PAIN! Then one day we had a "staycation"... we did a lot of sitting, at the movies, going out to eat etc..... The next day (Wednesday) my pain was back worse than ever! Its so very discouraging. Mentally its so hard to be a running coach and not be able to run. I FEEL LIKE A BUM!!! I hate I can't go run 4 or 5 miles while I am coaching. hate it. I have no answers as to what to do but continue to ice, stretch, ice, sleep in my boot, ice and stretch. I refuse shots and i refuse surgery. I keep telling myself that at least I can zumba! Atleast I can be active and break a huge sweat. But you know how it is people... zumba is not running. A Runner NEEDS to run. So... here I am again... on the downward spiral that is life getting in the way .... I know I will be starting over again some da...

I posted a few days back about some hidden gluten I ingested and of course paid the price. It was so very frustrating to be 9 days gluten free and feeling so much better and to have that happen. Well... it happened again! Saturday something I thought was gluten free wasnt.  I experience stomach pains, exhaustion and major bloating since Saturday. ... It sucked. Something MUST change. ... You remember over a year ago when i found I had a cyst in my breast ( you can read that post here ).. I went mostly raw vegan for 3 weeks. I FELT AMAZING.... the cyst was healed and I swore that I would never return to my previous way of eating. I was determined to be raw vegan for the rest of my life. .. why would  I ever choose any other way of eating. Well, one of the main reasons I felt so wonderful during that time was because I was a celiac. Raw Vegan eating contains NO gluten... so for those 3 weeks I ingested no gluten! I remember the last week woke up full of energy after only ...

   Had a great 4th of July. We have a neighborhood parade that starts in front of my house... Its the 1 time a year that the fire truck parks blocking my driveway, which is great fun!.... I told the firefighters yesterday its every year I am so happy to see them and every year I say a prayer I wont see them in front of my house until next july 4th :)  Above is a photo of my breakfast :)    May daughter spent the morning putting tatoos on everyone.... I ended up with God Bless the USA... which is fine but my first choice was "Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" I would have loved to have Happiness on my bicep.. ha..  But it got messed up so I ended up with USA. Its ok. I still felt like a patriotic rebel. Yesterday morning Coach allowed me to go for a 2 mile run around campus... I was sooooooo happy. My heel hurt until about a mile into it then I was mostly pain free. I, of course, paid the price for that run later in the day but oh m...

I am a pretty up beat person... I dont cry much... I have LOTS to be thankful for.... but today (and probably tomorrow).. I will be ok with crying.... I will be ok with being a bit sad. Tomorrow is July 4th. Independence day... Its the day in my year that has become something I look forward too.... The past 4 years I have run 13.1 miles on July 4th. Its a tradition I started and thought I would never miss. .... but... here I am sad about tomorrow. Part of becoming healthy and fit means we have to find balance. I had to do this when I was just starting out.... figuring out how not to push too hard and knock myself out of the game for 4 days because of soreness. I had to figure out how to manage life and family and illness. Its a tricky thing to figure out .... you see this weight loss business is soooo much more mental than physical. I could physically loose weight but to keep it off I had to deal with whats between my two ears. And here I am again. Mournful I cannot run. I miss...

So you are driving to walmart and notice a really fit gal jogging down the street, she's got matching shorts and shirt, headphones blasting music, and some cool sunglasses on which keep her very far away from the reality that surrounds her. She is checked out. You have never spoken to her  but you know her. She's the chick from highschool who had it all. Size 2, great hair, awesome car, great personality.... the girl you wanted so bad to be. She's the girl that if you were her... all would be right with the world.  As you drive past you can't keep from looking in your rear view mirror... just to check and see if she has stopped, or is walking.... but no, she is still jogging (you roll your eyes). She looks like she could run forever, and.... she probably can.  As you look forward and drive to walmart you feel the tightness of the seatbelt on your waist, the steering wheel which is just too close to your stomach, and the aches in your back and feet..and know the hour y...

I am so freaked out at how great I feel. No wonder I struggled so much before figuring out what Gluten does to me! It makes me a completely different person. Stomach aches are to be expected.. but the exhaustion... oh my gosh! I remember (and so do my kids)... everyday having to lay on the couch cause I was so tired. I remember my husband coming home to find me on the couch most days ... but that wasnt me... that was me on gluten. I wish I had known. Things would have been so different. I missed out on a lot.... I was tired, a lot. I was exhausted and frustrated with my kids a lot back then.  ..... so happy I figured it out. ..... Even though its hard and occasionally I want to throw pity parties for myself ...... i am still thankful I am healthier than I have ever been! In other news... Yes, my heel spur is still keeping me from running. .... Its really frustrating... I miss running terribly. I miss the alone time, I miss the cool breeze, I miss looking at the stars and won...

I am a addict. Here is the definition... and where I believe a big problem lies with our society. ...  "To cause to become physiologically or psychologically dependent on a habit-forming substance: The thief was addicted to cocaine." You see... the example?  Drugs. .... So.... If I dont do drugs or alcohol or tobacco... then I am ok right? I have it all together.... It seems that way in society.  I mean.. when was the last time you have seen a sign that said "food-kick the habit" or ... "Don't do Bread". ... I mean.. its just not right.. it doesnt add up.  I have been on and off a mostly raw diet (some see as drastic i know) for weeks at a time throughout this past year.... I feel GREAT when I eat that way.... but for healthy eating to be a real, natural, happy part of my life I have to get over my addictions. I want to be around food and be happy, not tempted or have a feeling of poor little me.... currently I am eating about 50 to 75% o...

Tomorrow morning will be the start of something I hope will become big. It's something that I have been thinking about for while... It's a unique walk, jog, run, program for women and its grounded in the belief that if I can.. U CAN. How many times have you tried and failed? The method that I will be using in this training, is what I used to change my own life. It's grounded in simplicity. Want to know how it works? Tomorrow morning you wake up, and meet me at the track. You do this 3 days a week for the first 2 weeks. As we begin I will get to know each of your strengths and weaknesses. I will hold you accountable, I will help you find inspiration, determination, and confidence that U CAN! I know 5:40am is early. PLEASE give this a try just 2 weeks... only 6 days... give U CAN a chance to change your life. ------------------------------------ Join me in the morning!!!!! Its our first meetup!!!!! Our first goal is a simple one... make fitness a priority. U CAN do ...

I am NOT a runner, I am NOT a morning person, I am NOT a up beat person, I am NOT able to motivate myself, I do NOT like change, I am NOT an athlete, I can NOT live without sodas, I can NOT do a 5k, or 10k, I can NOT dance, I can NOT loose weight, I can NOT change. I wish I had a dollar for all the NOTs I hear in one week! I could be able to buy some new running shoes! ha. I have no issues with people expressing themselves.... but I wish they would limit the NOTS in their speech. NOT is nothing good...NOT holds us back... NOT tells us we shouldnt even try. What happens when we take the NOTs out??? I am a runner, I am a morning person, I am a up beat person, I am able to motivate myself, I do like change, I am an athlete, I can live without sodas, I can do a 5k, or 10k, I can dance! I can loose weight, I can change!!!!   Today I challenge you to take the NOTS out of your life... Isaiah 41:10 fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will s...

woke up this morning full of energy dispite 5 hrs of sleep :) had half day of detox symptoms yesterday but today no cravings for unhealthy food. i did have a bout of indegestion (gluten) after eating salad at jason deli .. not sure what i ate my body didnt like but it wasnt fun... thankgoodness an izzy cured me in about an hour .... zumba tonight was Great!!! love it... i am excited about new zin dvd and seeing what new routines r like :) now next goal ... to make it thru the weekend with good eats:)

In my previous post I ranted about the scale.... I decided to take back my self confidence, prove the scale is worth nothing, and rededicate myself to 22 days of eating to feel great. Today I have begun my raw diet again and will use these photos as a starting point to prove a healthy raw diet will make me look and feel GREAT! The photos below are a result of zumba only for over a month. No weight training, no running...... 149.2lbs... would you have guessed I weigh that much? ha Please read below about what I have been up too.. and why I havent run in over a month. In the first week of March I started having heel pain... long story short.. after months of running thru it... and even after going thru my zumba certification with heel pain.... I finally went to the chiropractor 3 weeks ago... I have a heel spur... I have had 5 treatments and went for 2 weeks taped... I have laid off running for over a month as running makes it hurt worse..... The great news is zumba...

The number was 20lbs higher than I expected. It left me shocked, frustrated and depressed. THIS is why I dont like the scale. Don't get me wrong.... they do have their place... but in my world I would rather do without. I am 5'4", and the scale said I was 149.2lbs! "Your Body Mass Index: The Height you entered is 5 feet, 4 inches . The Weight you entered is 149.2 pounds .Your Calculated BMI is: 25.6" I am OVERWEIGHT?  How can this be? I am currently a size 4/6,... went clothes shopping last weekend and I wear size small...  I can do an hours of high impact zumba a day, my waist is smaller than it has been in months! Overweight? I think not. The reason? Muscle weighs MORE than fat! Last time I weight 150lbs this wasn't the case.... I have put on so much muscle in my legs and butt from zumba.... the fat I use to have around my waist is disappearing and but for the baby belly skin I have my abs are hard as rocks. So say what you will scale.... I know t...

If I was allergic to peanuts, or chicken, or cinnamon, or any other various foods it would be easier. It's not easy because I am allergic to the things I loved all my life. How can we LOVE a food? What does that mean? It's such a norm in our culture but its not healthy. Should I LOVE food? Well, it depends on what that food does for me. For me food has always been where I went when I was frustrated, sad, happy, excited, and most often that not.. what I went too to find energy. Food.... has always been a drug for me. I remember as a elementary student daydreaming in class in the late afternoon, feeling exhausted and in a fog dreaming of the 7-11 down the street and the bike ride and brought the glorious Slurpee and 3 musketeers bar my way..... then knowing hours later i would reach for a box of saltines and a glass bottle of coke mom had in the fridge. Food got me thru my day.... It cured my lows and made me high! This was my life for 40plus years. Sugar, Gluten, sugar a...

 I am just home from a 2.5 miler, it was not what I expected.... but then again when is running ever what we expect? I haven't run much since my 4 half marathons in a row, so this morning when I woke up with a craving to go for a run I went for it! I loved the idea of 13 half marathons in 13 month but I came to realize that dream was a great one but just not the right time in my life. I became focused on the 13.1 for the goal sake and lost sight of the joy of running. Since becoming a Zumba Instructor I have thought a lot about how to balance running and zumba. Zumba is so fun and at the end of an hour class I am left soaked in sweat and happy! I LOVE teaching zumba... but I find JOY in running. I find a peace, a relaxation with running that I havent found anywhere else. Running balances my life. It gives me my alone time, time to focus on whats bugging me.. it helps me figure out my problems and reminds me of the blessings in my life. After my run, as I was walking just a few...