cycling

things that made me happy in 2015

Posted on by Kelly Daily

  

  • Dan, my amazing husband
  • Madison, Frieda, and Harriet, our wonderful pets
  • My fantastic family, my parents, siblings, in-laws, and extended relatives – they’re all extraordinary
  • My excellent friends
  • A challenging and rewarding job
  • Buying our incredible house!! : )
  • Getting to travel for through my job – to places I’ve never been, like San Francisco, and to places I’ve been to but got to discover new parts of, like Washington, D.C., and New York City
  • Podcasts
  • Books  (I met my reading challenge of reading 30 books this year! I’m setting the same goal for next year)
  • Lots of coffee
  • Rehabbing my knee
  • Trips to Columbus, Madison, OH, and Bowling Green
  • Hosting family and friends on trips to Cleveland
  • Indians, Cavs, and Columbus Crew games

  

  • Being diagnosed with celiac disease and starting to feel better
  • Fun nights playing Mario 3D World and Mario Kart
  • Meeting Matthew Dellavedova
  • Easter dinner at my grandma’s house
  • Many walks in the park
  • Trips to the movies with Dan and my dad
  • Getting new glasses and a new haircut
  • Attending showers for friends’ babies and weddings, and celebrating those terrific life changes with them
  • Learning to like running
  • Sitting on our deck
  • Visiting the Cleveland Zoo
  • Board game parties at my sister-in-law Cate’s apartment
  • Suppers at my parents’ house
  • Biking all over
  • Finally getting to visit the National Air Force Museum in Dayton, OH, with Dan
  • Cooking in our new kitchen
  • Watching football games and English soccer games
  • Decorating our house for the holidays
  • Back to the Future themed Halloween costumes with Back to the Future movie marathon leading up to it
  • Hosting Thanksgiving dinner for our families in our new home
  • A wonderful Christmas weekend with our families and time together approaching the new year : )

  

And of course, hundreds of little moments that bring a smile to your face every day – blaring Adele in the car and singing at the top of my lungs, naps under the electric blanket with my cat laying on my side, laughing with my husband over something silly, brunch after church, playing with my dog. My main focus in 2016 is to flourish – to focus on becoming healthier, growing in my faith, spending time with my family, and just plain enjoying and celebrating life.

What were your favorite moments of 2015? Any goals or hopes for 2016?

fit by 27: week eight

Posted on by Kelly Daily

The week of 8/3-8/9 was week eight of Fit By 27.  My  progress is going well with #Workitout100 and with running.

WORKOUTS THIS WEEK:

  • Monday, 8/3: Couch to 5K (working on number 8 on my fitness bucket list).
  • Tuesday, 8/4: Tone It Up Bikini Arms 2014 and Pink Flamingo workouts.
  • Wednesday, 8/5: Walked over 12,000 steps (according to my Fitbit). Active rest day!
  • Thursday, 8/6:  Very busy day at school, plus a session of Couch to 5K that evening, meant my total step count for the day was 20,000!!!
  • Friday, 8/7: Walked over 10,000 steps again today, so that paired with so much walking and a run the night before, and I decided to rest with an active rest day. My feet – and knees! – needed a break, even though I was planning on adding in another workout that day.
  • Saturday, 8/8: Set up my bike on the trainer and biked for 20 minutes, plus did 25 squats and 10 push ups.
  • Sunday, 8/9: Couch to 5K

NUTRITION THIS WEEK:
My mission is to eat for health!

I think I did pretty well with my food choices this week! I did have some treats, but they were balanced decently with healthier food choices and workouts.

 

WEIGHT AND MEASUREMENTS THIS WEEK:

I am down about 3.5 more pounds for a total of 8 pounds down.
If you’d like to follow my Fit By 27 journey more closely, follow me on Instagram under the username @kcd_fit and MyFitnessPal  under the username KellyMT.

 

*First image created with the Rhonna Designs app.

fit by 27: week seven

Posted on by Kelly Daily



The week of 7/26-8/1 was week seven  of Fit By 27. I restarted #Workitout100 again.  This is probably the fifth or sixth time I’ve begun this challenge since learning about it. I will keep restarting it until I finally complete it. I am determined to finish it eventually…and even more so that this will be the round it does!

 

 


WORKOUTS THIS WEEK:

  • Sunday, 7/26:  Couch to 5K (working on number 8 on my fitness bucket list).
  • Monday, 7/27: 30 one legged squats on my “bad” knee for therapy, 10 lunges on each leg, 40 sit ups, 20 plie squat with side leg lifts, and a 2 minute plank.
  • Tuesday, 7/28: Couch to 5K
  • Wednesday, 7/29: Day 2 of the Blogilates for Beginners calendar
  • Thursday, 7/30: Couch to 5K
  • Friday, 7/31: Walked over 10,000 steps this day, plus the previous few days (according to my Fitbit). Decided since I at least made it over 10,000 steps I could count this day as an “active rest day” and still part of Workitout100, as long as I got back to a dedicated workout the next day.
  • Saturday, 8/1: Set up my bike on the trainer and biked for 30 minutes, plus did 50 squats.
  • Sunday, 8/2: Walk with Dan.

 


NUTRITION THIS WEEK:
My mission is to eat for health!

Last Sunday, I sat down and looked over both the 21 Day Fix nutrition plan, which I love for its color-coded containers that make portion control simple, and the Tone It Up nutrition plan, which outlines which food groups to eat for at each meal throughout the day to optimize your energy and health. I figured out the best way for me (with my work schedule and dietary needs) to fit my 21 Day Fix container allotments into the TIU meal structures. Once I did that, planning my meals out for the week suddenly and finally became much less overwhelming to me. And, I stuck to my meal planning pretty well! Totally stuck to it through Wednesday, and then switched a couple meals out on Thursday and Friday. Saturday was a much more relaxed day with a treat or two, but I was back to following my Fix + TIU plan on Sunday.

 



WEIGHT AND MEASUREMENTS THIS WEEK:

I am down about 2, 2.5 pounds.



If you’d like to follow my Fit By 27 journey more closely, follow me on Instagram under the username @kcd_fit.


*First image created with the Rhonna Designs app.

fit by 27: weeks five and six

Posted on by Kelly Daily

 

The week of 7/12-7/18 was week four and 7/19-25 was week five of Fit By 27.


 


WORKOUTS THIS WEEK:

  • Sunday, 7/12:  Tone It Up Bikini Arms 2014
  • Monday, 7/13: session of Couch to 5K (working on number 8 on my fitness bucket list).
  • Tuesday, 7/14: Went to a Pilates class at my gym! Working on number 1 on my fitness bucket list of attending all the group fitness classes at my gym.
  • Wednesday, 7/15: session of Couch to 5K
  • Thursday, 7/16: Walk with the dog.
  • Friday, 7/17: 13. 4 mile bike ride with Dan in the metroparks near our house, bringing my total miles to  miles so far for my goal of biking 100 miles outside by the end of my fall break (number 9 on my fitness bucket list).
  • Saturday, 7/18 and Sunday, 7/19: No workout
  • Monday, 7/20: Walk with the dog.
  • Tuesday, 7/21: I hit balls at the driving range!
  • Wednesday, 7/22: No workout
  • Thursday, 7/23 and Friday, 7/24: Was putting my classroom together, and walked over 10,000 steps (according to my Fitbit)
  • Saturday, 7/25: No workout
  • Sunday, 7/26: session of Couch to 5K

 

 

NUTRITION THIS WEEK:
My mission is to eat for health!

I was really struggling with food the last week. I indulged in oversized portions of “treat” foods and then felt terribly guilty about it. It sent me in a spiral of crying on my floor and trying to figure out how to move forward. In high school, after I had my 1st knee surgery and was restricted from sports, I became borderline anorexic. I felt overwhelmed with everything and just didn’t eat. I got to my lowest weight ever then. I probably would have kept going except I started swimming again and my perfectionist desire to be the best swimmer ever took precedent and went back to eating “normal” (well, normal for a swimmer).

In college I would get stressed out and eat junk foods even though I knew they would make me sick (what I thought was IBS, but turns out was celiac) b/c the whole binge eating and sick process made me feel better emotionally. Then I tried Weight Watchers and while it worked for losing the freshmen 15 I became OCD and super hard on myself about meeting points exactly. I remembered what happened in high school and I panicked and didn’t want to try to lose weight anymore out of fear I would develop an eating disorder, despite the fact my eating was already pretty disordered. I put the weight I lost back on, plus more.

I continuously struggle between wanting to hold myself accountable and wanting to be kind to myself. I know I can easily go down an unhealthy perfectionist path of OCD, guilt, and restriction, but instead I’m stuck on the unhealthy path of eating whatever I want because it’s easier to not try to be balanced and healthy than to try and fail. Of course this is all complicated by what I now know is celiac disease and the effects it has had on my body. I don’t know the answer. I know I deserve to lose weight, so I can be at a healthy BMI and not risk diabetes. I know my body deserves love while it heals from celiac damage and knee surgery, and it also deserves to be challenged and grow strong. I know my mental health deserves to be a priority and protected. I know I will keep doing my best to give myself those things. I decided to give myself a mantra: “I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.”

 

 

WEIGHT AND MEASUREMENTS THIS WEEK:
No progress.

 

If you’d like to follow my Fit By 27 journey more closely, follow me on Instagram under the username @kcd_fit.

 

*First image created with the Rhonna Designs app.

fit by 27: week four

Posted on by Kelly Daily

The week of 7/5-7/11 was week four of Fit By 27.

I began my #Workitout100 challenge (number 10 on my fitness bucket list for age 26) with Sunday, 6/5 as my day one.


WORKOUTS THIS WEEK:

  • Sunday, 7/5: 13.2 mile bike ride with Dan in the metroparks near our new house.
  • Monday, 7/6: Day 1 of Week 2 of Couch to 5K (working on number 8 on my fitness bucket list). I ran outside for the first time in forever. I felt really self-conscious, especially because my shorts kept riding up, but I did it!
  • Tuesday, 7/7: Walked Madison and did some physical therapy for my knee.
  • Wednesday, 7/8: Began working on number 1 on my fitness bucket list by attending a group fitness class at my gym for the first time. It was beginner’s yoga and it was great!
  • Thursday, 7/9: Day 2 of Week 2 of Couch to 5K. It wasn’t raining when I began, but it was by the end. I felt like such a badass! ; ) And this time I ran with spandex under my running shorts, and so even though they rode up, it didn’t bother me.
  • Friday, 7/10: 9 mile bike ride with Dan in the metroparks near our house, bringing my total miles to 34.2 miles so far for my goal of biking 100 miles outside by the end of my fall break (number 9 on my fitness bucket list).
  • Saturday, 7/11: Walk plus physical therapy for my knee.

 

 

NUTRITION THIS WEEK:

My mission is to eat for health!

I did a tops job of staying hydrated. Other than that…I have no good news to report. I sucked at eating for health this week, and I have no “acceptable” or “reasonable” excuse. I just did. Oh well, all I can do is forgive myself and move forward with greater determination and dedication.

 

 

WEIGHT AND MEASUREMENTS THIS WEEK:

Probably no surprise given my nutrition was totally off, but no news to report here either. I actually did not weigh or measure myself or anything this week. Some people may disagree with this, but I knew the numbers would not see improvement, and for me, to see no progress when I know exactly why I wouldn’t be seeing progress and I am already feeling disappointed in myself, that is not helpful. If anything, it leads to a spiral of negative self-talk and I just don’t have the time or patience for that anymore.


So, week four went really well on the exercise front, which is HUGE for me as I haven’t really had any sort of a regular workout routine other than physical therapy in the past several months. Looking forward to week five and beginning another challenge group that will have me using the 21 Day Fix nutrition plan, which I love! If you’d like to follow my Fit By 27 journey more closely, follow me on Instagram under the username @kcd_fit.

 

*First image created with the Rhonna Designs app.

fit by 27: week one

Posted on by Kelly Daily

 

This past week (6/14-6/20) was my first official week of Fit By 27, since my first week of age 26 was spent chaperoning trip to D.C. and finishing the school year.

I began my #Workitout100 challenge (number 10 on my fitness bucket list for age 26) with Sunday, 6/14 as my day one!

 

 

WORKOUTS THIS WEEK:

  • Sunday, 6/14: Went to the gym. Biked for about 20 minutes or so, then I did Couch to 5K Week 1 Day 3 (working on number 8 on my fitness bucket list).
  • Monday, 6/15: Completed the video for day one of Blogilates for Beginners calendar, at home (number 2 on my fitness bucket list).
  • Tuesday, 6/16: A long walk with Madison, plus Bikini Arms 2014 Tone It Up workout, at home.
  • Wednesday, 6/17: Love Your Body with Kettlebells Tone It Up workout, at home.
  • Thursday, 6/18: Went to the gym. Went on the elliptical for 5 minutes to warm up, then did Couch to 5k Week 2 Day 1.
  • Friday, 6/19: Went to the gym.  Went on the elliptical for 15 minutes, went on the stationary bike for 15 minutes,  and went on the rowing machine for 15 minutes.
  • Saturday, 6/20: Went to the zoo with Dan in the morning and then went for a long walk with Madison in the park in the afternoon.  Walked for a total of 6.5 miles that day (all measured by my awesome Fitbit!). Plus, we spent the evening packing because we are moving next week!!!! SO EXCITED!  : )

 

 

NUTRITION THIS WEEK:

My mission is to eat for health, which to me means:

  1. Gluten-free, because, well duh.
  2. Eating fruits AND veggies every day, because I am a terrible adult and sometimes I forget to eat vegetables.
  3. Drink plenty of water to avoid negative effects of dehydration, like confusing thirst for hunger and generally being cranky.
  4. Keep a daily food and hydration diary so I can make sure I am actually meeting #2 and #3.
  5. Following the 80/20 rule of eating lean, clean, and green 80% of the time and relaxed 20% of the time, because while it is important to eat decent food for energy and health, sometimes chocolate is necessary.

I did not see as much progress on the nutrition front this week. I did a better job staying hydrated and with keeping a food diary, but I need to do better about things like ice cream (because it should be a treat once every week or two, not every other day) and I need to eat more  vegetables (instead of the ice cream). I’m focusing mainly on workouts for now until we are moved into our new house and letting any issues with Mission Eat for Health slide since we aren’t really doing a massive grocery haul until we are moved into the new place.

 

 

WEIGHT AND MEASUREMENTS THIS WEEK:

No progress. I am not disappointed because even though I was working out every day, my eating choices were a bit too indulgent for any weight loss or inches to drop. Bright side – no gain. In any case, the phrase “abs are made in the kitchen” is certainly true.

 

Overall, week one went decently! Looking forward to week two! If you’d like to follow my Fit By 27 journey more closely, follow me on Instagram under the username @kcd_fit and MyFitnessPal  under the username KellyMT.

 

 

fit by 27

Posted on by Kelly Daily

 

What ages have been defining years in your life?

Age 25 was a defining year for me. I tore the ACL in my left knee, ten years after I tore and had surgery on the right one. I was diagnosed with celiac disease. If those two life events weren’t enough, I was also completing my first full year as a classroom teacher in an innovative school model.  With the support of my husband, family, and amazing co-workers, I finally started putting my health before work (since I basically didn’t have a choice at this point), and with their support, learned to not let myself feel guilty for it. With these emotional breakthroughs, plus the fact that I finally have a more complete picture of my health and what my body needs to thrive, and I am ready to make 26 yet another defining year for me.

By the time I turn 27, I will be consistently eating for health in a balanced and healthy manner, I will no longer fit the medical definition of obese, and I will crave and love exercising again like I did when I was a teenager.

To help me stay focused on health as a fun journey and one that is centered around more than just weigh loss, but positive habits, I created a Fitness Bucket List for age 26. Here are all the activities I want to complete by June 7, 2016:

  1. Try every fitness class at my gym.
  2. Complete Blogilates for Beginners calendar.
  3. Complete a monthly calendar for Blogilates.
  4. Go at least one month in which Dan and I only eat out one meal a week.
  5. Make at least 5 recipes from the Oh She Glows cookbook.
  6. Make at least 5 recipes from the Skinnytaste cookbook.
  7. Make at least 10 new recipes from the Tone It Up nutrition plan.
  8. Run in a 5K race.
  9. Bike 100 miles outside on my road bike (versus a stationary bike at the gym) by the end of fall break 2015.
  10. Complete the Workitout 100 challenge.
  11. Complete a Whole30 challenge.
  12. Complete the 21 Day Fix workout plan as written.
  13. Go to the gym and workout before work every day for a week.
  14. Do yoga every day for a month.
  15. Follow a Tone It Up weekly workout schedule exactly as written for at least one whole week.

I will be posting overall weekly updates on my Fit By 27 journey, as well as some individual posts about different items on my fitness bucket list. I’m very excited to finally prioritize my health and go after what I want. I know I have created fitness challenges and projects for  myself in the past, and haven’t had a ton of sustaining success. I really believe I will achieve my goals, improve my attitude, and revise my lifestyle for keeps this year not because I have finally realized life is always busy and there is no perfect time to make big changes, but because I have finally matured enough to be able to handle that fact and just do it anyway. Here’s to 26 and getting fit!

Have you ever done any of the activities on my bucket list? Are you on a similar fitness journey yourself?


*image created using Rhonna Designs app

The 24 Best Things That Happened While I Was 24

Posted on by Kelly Daily

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1. Dan and I got married.
2. We had a great minimoon!
3. And a fantastic picnic reception.
4. We also moved into our first home together.
5. I had a wonderful time getting ready for the wedding with an awesome kick ass bachelorette party planned by my sister and best friends.
6. I had a ton of fun attending others’ weddings, including a best friend’s.

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7. I was hired to be a tutor full-time at my alma mater.
8. I survived a difficult season of coaching and got to see four of my swimmers compete at Districts, not to mention watch so many others improve so much.
9. Helped quite a few students keep focused, pass classes, and graduate.
10. Finally attended my first BGSU homecoming weekend as an alumni.
11. Dan and I went to many Indians games.
12. And we did Dinner on the Diamond.

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13. We went to a Cavs and a Bluejackets game, too.
14. We hosted Thanksgiving for my family and his family together.
15. So many long walks with Madison in the park.
16. Joining and going to a near-by gym, as well as joining Tone It Up!
17. Buying and using my road bike.
18. Fun parties at my sister-in-law’s apartment…including Halloween when Dan & I were beekeepers and Madison was a bee!

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19. I made a new close friend in my co-teacher at work.
20. Hosting friends and family for weekends in Cleveland.
21. Going to An Evening With Scott Hamilton and Friends with my parents and spending Memorial Day weekend with Dan’s family.
22. Celebrating my grandma’s 90th birthday.
23. Celebrating the end of the school year with an early summer weekend in BG.
24. And sooooo much more! Reading as much as possible, morning coffee and relaxation, cooking dinners with Dan, hilarious times with my students and swimmers, my parents adopting another dog, visits to Columbus, holiday celebrations, basically any time spent with family and friends!

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It’s been a great 24th year, and I can’t wait for what the next year holds! Here’s to 25!