Marie's Health Accountability & Fitness Resource Hub

08/11/2026

Wednesday was Whitewater Rafting day with Wildwater on the Nantahela River. 🚣🌊🏞️🛟
This was my second time doing this exact rafting trip. I remembered how much I loved it the first time I did it, so when the chance came to do it again, I was 💯 psyched! The photos show the last rapid of the trip, the only Class 3 rapid on this excursion. Although we ended up entering the rapid sideways (not ideal entry but that's what adventure is), if it weren't for the photos I never would've guessed that I was solo-paddling with the guide for a time on this rapid 🤣. And if you've ever met and seen me in person, you probably would not believe it either. "Just keep paddling, just keep paddling... 😅"
If you ever get a chance to go while you're in Western NC, definitely call Wildwater for a trip on the Nantahela and, if possible, request Ryan Nadeau as your guide! (Bios of each guide are posted in a display in the building at Wildwater. He failed to mention some of his qualifications because he's got humility but once we finished our trip, the qualifications on his bio were definitely proven to us.)

08/11/2026

Thankfully - I had been here before so I knew what to expect.
Stairs we climbed, some once or twice on hikes up/down steep hillsides, others show staircases we used multiple times to navigate camp. Sometimes if I was doing the stairs by myself, I would challenge myself to jog the steps if I was going up them.

08/11/2026

AT 1st Falls and 2nd falls.

08/11/2026

Hiking BACK to camp from the two waterfalls we explored.

08/11/2026

No, I did NOT drop off the face of the earth last week.
I simply unplugged (for the most part).
We were away at camp for a week and if you think that means I gave up on being active 🤣 then, you do NOT recall camp very well. True, we were signed up for the wayyy less structured version (no points, no teams, tons of do what you want time), but that didn't mean I was gonna be a loaf.
Monday and Saturday were 🚗 🗺️ 🧭 days.

08/11/2026

Just remember that your body has changed so the way you approach your fitness and nutrition will most likely need to change, too.

We all know this without saying it out loud, yet we don't actually try the different things for very long do we?

It's not like high school when you joined the sports team for love of the game or to spend time with friends. It's not like when you had sports practice/games 4x a week for over an hour each
It's not like when you had P.E. and were graded. (Depending on what school you went to and what grades you're talking, you might have had P.E. multiple days in a week. Mine had it 2x a wk for high schoolers with the 3rd x / middle day of the week being health and 1st Aid class.)

And, yes, you probably can't eat the same things or the same amounts you did once upon a time and expect your current day body to handle it the way your body did in the past. (Mine certainly doesn't!)

But for how long have you tried doing it differently?
How much time did you give that workout method to show you what it can do?
How much time did you give that nutrition method to really pan out for you?

Whatever your current state is when it comes to fitness and nutrition, you need to know that for many of these changes, you DO need more than 2wks-1 month to see positive changes.

One of the best things you can do before making a lifestyle change in fitness and/or nutrition is making a pact with yourself (or share it with a loved one or a friend) to give the method you've researched or had your eye on an amount of time you're going to commit to being fully invested in it.

When I've seen positive changes, most often it doesn't hit in a super tangible way until after 4 weeks if not up to 3 months. Ways that I've seen positive changes that might not be tangible to others? Oh those start showing up a lot sooner, but we often miss them because we're too obsessed with the tangible.

Remember to give yourself and your body TIME to adjust to a new normal that you are trying to introduce. Give your brain the time to recognize and trailblaze new synapses as you try to get out of the mental rut you've had. Then see what happens! 9 times out of 10, it can't be worse than where you started from! 😁👍🙌🎉

08/02/2026

08/01/2026