Day 5: Food/Fitness Log

Day 5: ( 14.2 oz veggies) Not super impressive, but I didn't have much of an appetite in the afternoon and evening and I wasn't feeling that committed, so....here it is. 


Breakfast:  (7.4 oz. veggies) 

A meal fit for a queen! 2 c coffee w/ organic half and half, coconut sugar, cinnamon, Egg scramble (1 whole, 1/2 c whites, unsweetened almond milk, spinach, kale, purple onion, jalapeno, tomato, red pepper), 1/2 an avocado, and a 1/4 of Tuscan cantaloupe (my fave!) 
Calories = 453




















Snack: left-over chicken salad (noshing from the fridge) 
Calories = 182 

Lunch: (1 oz veggies)
1 banana, 1 c kale , 1/2 c frozen, organic, blueberries, 1/2 T fresh ground almond butter, 1/2 T coconut oil, 1/2 T hemp seed, 1/2 T chia seed, 4 walnut halves,  1 T pumpkin seeds, 1 c unsweetened almond milk. 6-7 ice cubes. 

Dinner: (5.8 oz. veggies)
3 oz yellow eye rock fish and a salad w/ 2 c mixed greens, 1 c raw veggies, a large handful of mung bean sprouts (great for estrogen issues, btw) , blueberries, raspberries, and Tessemae's Balsamic. We also had green beans, but I didn't eat mine. Appetite was super low for me last night. No picture on this one, because we were on the phone with our son while eating dinner (way more fun than taking pictures of food ;) 
Calories = 365

Friday night drink: Fo-jito!! (mock mojito) Yes, still going strong on our 30 days w/o alcohol to reset my hormones. 
This was muddled lime and mint w/ filtered water and club soda. Refreshing and YUM! 

After dinner: I had a sweet-tooth, so we had a date cinnamon roll from Marlene's. I wish I would have taken a picture (I will next time) . They are made from dates, nuts, and LOTS of cinnamon (no added sugars, but oh, so sweet. OH GAWD, they are good! I get them from the dessert cooler at the Tacoma Marlene's, opposite the salad bar. I don't know how many calories are in these, so I guesstimated about 250 ish.


Fitness: 40 minute walk with Honey + 40 minute shoulder/triceps/core lift (my intent was to run with honey, but I'm still honoring my knee, and today my knee said, no. 
Calories burned: 292

This is a snippet of my shoulder/triceps/core workout. For my lift days right now, I'm doing 3 sets of 3 muscle groups. So I did this round above, 3 times. Then I do 2-3 more triplets grouped together for 3 rounds of different exercises for those same muscle groups (hope that makes sense).

So, that was day 5!
  
Calories consumed : 1833
Minus calories burned  - 292 
Total for the day : 1541

Day 4, Hit my Goal!! 2 Pounds of Veggies!!!

Day 4 : There it is!!!!   2 pounds, .4 ounces!!!!!! Woot Woot!!! Not obsessing over hitting the exact mark every day. I'm really happy with the amount I'm consuming each day. That said, it feels good to hit the mark on day 4. ;)~





Breakfast: (6 oz veggies)
2 coffee w/ organic half and half, coconut sugar, and cinnamon,  egg scramble (1 whole, 1/2 c whites, full of spinach, kale, and chopped veggies) , and 1/2 an avocado. 
 Calories: 418

Lunch  : ( 11.1 oz. veggies)
I was soooo not feeling a salad for lunch, and with it being my house cleaning day, I wanted something with a little less effort. So this is what I had,
1/2 c chicken salad, 1c mixed raw veggies w/ 1 T hummus, and a sweet potato (w/skin) with coconut oil and cinnamon. YUM!  
Calories : 530

 Snack (1.2 oz veggies) 
A quick smoothie before my class that consisted of 1 c kale, 2 T almond butter, 2 T cacao, 1 t honey, 1/2 c unsweetened almond milk, 1 banana, 1 T hemp seed, 1/2 c blueberries, and ice cubes. 
Calories: 378

 Dinner: (14.1 oz veggies) With a busy day for both of us, tonight was yummy left-overs. Bison meatloaf, stirfry summer veggies, and a large salad w/ Annie's Goddess dressing. 
Calories: 475 

Fitness for the day was my Shred class! It's always a treat to sweat along side our amazing community, and outside on a such a beautiful day to boot!! 
Calories burned =  -491

Total calories consumed = 1801
Minus today's fitness - 491
Equals a total of 1310
(this is lower than I like to be, but the heat mixed with cleaning day made it hard to eat more. Ideally I like my range in the 1600's (post workout), but it all evens out. Sometimes I'll be under, and it's a given that there are days I'm over.

Day 3: Epiphanies, Intentions, and the "Don't Give a Shit" Hormone

Day 3 = 1 pound and 8.3 ounces of veggies
Less than day 1 and 2, but if I would have done the egg scramble with all my veggies instead of a smoothie, I would have been at  2 pounds, 1.9 ounces..... is that right?! Ouch. Even though that stings a bit, the smoothy was all whole foods and really boosted my energy and gave me something different, so no regrets there. 

Today's epiphany felt like a win to me! I noticed that in the last 3 days my plate looks different. Instead of protein, veggie, and starch or carb (like garlic bread or rice), it is protein, veggie, veggie. That's not to say, I will never consume bread or grains, but I have found a goal with-in a goal. That is to have 2 servings of veggies on my plate most meals. 

I am having the nerdiest kind of fun with all of this. In such a short time, I'm learning a lot about myself, and where I want to be. It's not about dieting, losing weight, or becoming a title (like vegetarian, vegan, or Paleo) but rather getting back to a place of gratitude for everything my body allows me to do and honoring that by giving it what it needs to fuel a high quality life. Yes, I am totally geeking out and loving it!  

I do, above all else, believe in balance. I want to be sure anyone reading this understands this is not about setting a goal and half dying to achieve it. It's not about scarfing veggies before bed to make my two pound quota. As you can see, I haven't hit that mark yet, and still consider every day to be a huge win! This is about learning and refocusing my relationship with food, fitness, and myself.

 In keeping it real, I  somehow shifted to a very careless relationship with myself over the last year. Excess crap food, drinking, and loafing around has been my main existence, with bursts of "Oops! Better reel it in!" moments of 'being good'.  I think a lot of it has been changing hormones and that has made it harder to give a shit. I actually did a   "dont give a shit vlog" 
about 3 years ago (click on the "don't give a shit vlog" link above to view).... and this last year, my "don't give a shit" got the best of me.  I share this because I know many of you reading this may experience this and not know why. Hormones are definitely something to look at, but that's a different blog. 

Here is day three's food and fitness log: 

Breakfast : (2 oz. veggies) 
I know, far cry from yesterday, but I think variety is important. So this morning's smoothie, inspired by Dr. Mark Hyman really good! Here are all the nutrient goodies in today's smoothy, 
1/2 banana, 2 c kale , 1/2 c frozen, organic, blueberries, 1/2 T fresh ground almond butter, 1/2 T coconut oil, 1/2 T hemp seed, 1/2 T chia seed, 4 walnut halves,  1 T pumpkin seeds, 1 c unsweetened almond milk. 6-7 ice cubes. SO GOOD! Oh, must not for get, 2 c coffee with organic half and half and coconut sugar.
Calories: 471

Lunch: (9.5 oz veggies) - Must eat the left-overs before they spoil!
4 oz. wild salmon, 1 c fresh, sauteed green beans, 1 c brussels sprouts, diced sweet potatoes, and purple onion .
Calories: 392


 


Snack: (5.7 oz veggies) 
veggie plate with hummus 
Calories: 105 





Dinner: (7.1 oz veggies)


3 oz bison meatloaf, stir fry summer veggies (squash from Laura's garden *Yum! Thanks Laura!* purple carrots, orange peppers, white onion, jalapeno), and a salad (mixed greens, white onion, peppers, cucumber, cherry tomato, green onion, live sprouts, and blueberries) with Tessemae's balsamic.

Oh! And my fitness for today was 1 hour yoga in my studio and a couple of short walks with my dog. 

Total calories for today were 1523.  


 

A candid look at my Why - Hormones and Stuff

As a fitness professional, it's important  to note, I have not always been healthy. Far from it. I  am a product of the baby boomer's era. Born in the 70's, it was a time when women took more to the work force and helped with a second income. Food companies accommodated this trend with quick and easy meals that could be easily assembled after an 8 hour work day for the woman who wanted to have it all. Over the years, this became the most lucrative industry in our country.  Boxed macaroni and cheese, Spaghetti O's , hamburger helper.... 

 Our food pyramid taught us  that we should be eating mostly bread, cereal, rice, and pasta. Six-eleven servings to be exact. Commercials showed us that a healthy breakfast was a bowl of cereal, white toast with butter and fruit preserves, and a glass of fruit juice.

This is how I ate well into my late 30's. I know many baby boomers who still eat this way and believe that this is a healthy diet. Many people of this era (and myself until about 10 years ago) still believe that as long as they limit the obvious sugars (ie: cake, cookies, ice cream, candy, pastries,  puddings, and other dessert foods) they are limiting thier sugar and staying healthy and away from junk food. So, I enjoyed my Honey Bunches of Oats cereal (12g sugar) , toast w/ jam (13.5 g sugar) and a glass of orange juice (22g sugar). That's a whopping 47.5g of sugar to start my day. Snacks, lunches, and dinners weren't much better, plus I loved an occasional candy bar or ice cream treat! Who doesn't? 

With the above eating habits in my 30's, I felt like shit.  Tired, depressed, no energy or drive to do anything fun, I would get a bad headache and feel emotional and moody around 3 or 4:00  almost every afternoon. I looked older than I was. I was over weight. I grunted when I got up off the couch or rolled out of bed like an old lady expending all her energy on that small task. 





In my late 30's I began to educate myself and do better. By 40, I was in the best shape and felt AMAZING!!

I have maintained this status over the years and have been really proud of myself. This last year, my habits have changed. I went out to eat on an average of 3-5 times a week (Fri/Sat dinner, and maybe a Sunday breakfast or lunch), I increased my alcohol intake from social drinking to enjoying wine with dinner after a stressful day at work in addition to weekend social events. I haven't lifted consistently for over a year. I still consume lots of fruits and veggies and have maintained my healthy eating habits on my regular meals when I don't go out, but WOW!! THE DIFFERENCE I FEEL is scary and a path I don't want to return to. With my hormones out of wack this year, I am constantly fighting myself for energy and motivation to do what I know is right. 

I still "look" healthy today. I little cushion between my skin and muscles, but over-all, I'm still here in my healthy body. But what I feel lurking in my future if I don't take the reins now and make those healthy choices,  scares the shit out of me! My bloodline shows me where I can be in my older years with genetics and lifestyle if I don't choose wisely, continue to learn and give my body what it needs to be sustainably  healthy. That is one  reason you will never see me taking weight loss product (Advocare, Shakeology, magic wraps, pills, or potions) As I deal with hormonal imbalances and inflammation, I know exactly where I could be if I don't "choose" my path wisely now. Real, mostly unprocessed, whole foods (not meal replacements). Adequate water, sleep and exercise. Supplementation given from my holistic doctor that fits my personal needs (learned through blood tests), not one size fits all, fitness industry supplements you can buy from a health club or MLM distributor.  I am a huge advocate of researching and learning through books, podcasts, and long talks with my doctor. As a result I have a ton of knowledge which makes it extra hard to continue to feed myself excuses as to why I feel the way I do.

So, that is my why. My path may not be the path for you, but my hope to inspire you to find your path, learn, and grow. In doing this publicly and being honest and candid with you, this will hold me publicly accountable to myself as well .

This is me this year.  While I still have a good base line for a healthy lifestyle, I remember what it was like not knowing anything. It's NEVER too late to learn, feel better and improve our health and quality of life. Equally true, there is never a stopping point. To stop learning and growing, is to stop living. No matter the excuse, there is ALWAYS a choice..... until there isn't...

2 Pounds of veggies is HARD!!

DAY 1 = 1pound 9.5 ounces of veggies! And that was a challenge. Here is my breakdown.

Breakfast =  6.6oz. veggies
2 c coffee w/ organic half and half, organic cinnamon, and organic coconut sugar
egg scramble (1 cage free/grain fed whole egg + 1/2 c cage free egg whites) with 1 c organic spinach,
1 c organic kale, chopped organic green onion, and 5 halved organic cherry tomatoes, 1/2 c avocado (not a veggie) , and 1/4 Tuscan cantaloupe
Calories = 401 












Snack = 0oz. veggies
1/4 c dry roasted sea salt edamame 
Calories = 130 

Lunch = 6.0 oz. veggies
Chicken salad (Kirkland canned chicken, Just Mayo, diced apple, brown mustard, chopped raw organic pecans, chopped organic green onion, organic turmeric, sea salt, pepper) in a 1/2 of a Ezekiel sprouted pita with cucumber, organic radish, organic shredded carrot, organic live sprouts, and sliced tomato + raw, organic tri-colored carrots, organic broccoli, cucumber, with hummus. 
Calories = 434



Pre-workout meal = 1.5 oz veggies
Smoothie: 2 c organic kale, 1 T  fresh ground almond butter, 2 T organic cacao, 3/4 c unsweetened almond milk, 1 banana, 1/2 t raw, local honey. Not as tasty as I had hoped.
Calories = 347

Dinner = 11.4 oz. veggies
4 oz. wild sockeye salmon, 1 c brussels sprouts and cubed organic sweet potato (yes, I counted the sweet potato - it may be considered a starch, but it's a starchy root veggie full of nutrients), and a salad with organic mixed greens, organic radish, cucumber, and organic purple onion with 1 T Tessemae's Balsamic dressing. 
Calories = 543

My Fitness for today was a 1 hour HITT bootcamp. Took it light as I am healing my knee. 
Burned Calories =  -285 

And of course, no wine with dinner. 

Side note: I'm listing all the organic, grass fed, cage free (blah blah blah) stuff not to be annoying, but to show that I am buying organic whenever possible because chemicals, and pesticides greatly effect hormonal balance.  

Day 1: Back on track

I'm 46, hormonal, and achy. I feel like shit. My hormones are lagging. I have lots of inflammation. My osteoarthritis in my knees are flared up. My muscle mass is down and fat % up. I'm not fat (though my clothes are tight). I feel okay aesthetically in my skin, but I have looked better for sure!! 

I saw my doctor last week. Thank God I have her! She is a holistic doctor, not the type to throw 10 new medications my way, give me a cortisone shot for my knee, and put me on the pill for my hormones.  Nope! She asked me about my diet. We talked about alcohol, sugar, processed foods, and supplementation. 

I admit, my habits have changed over the past year and I am paying for it now. It happens. It's part of being human, so I don't hate myself, or beat myself up over it.  But change is necessary if I am to have the life I want and feel amazing and full of energy. 

So, what am I going to do about it? I have all the knowledge I need to get back on track (perks of my profession) and I am taking anyone who wants to follow, along for the ride. 

#1. No alcohol for 30 days. After 30 days, I will continue to practice better habits. A nightly glass or two of wine with dinner sounds harmless, right?...... Contrary to all those social media memes and magazine "studies", while wine does have heart healthy  antioxidants (which you can also find in other foods) it can wreck your hormones and adrenals.  My hubbs is joining me on this one, which I love! I am truly lucky to have such a supportive love, friend and life partner! 

#2. I BOUGHT A SCALE!! I will add 2 pounds of veggies to my daily diet. I will also up my fruit/berry intake. 

#3.  Whole foods (organic when possible)! Fresh fruit, veggies, nuts, seeds, wild fish, chicken and occasional grass fed bison. *Limit processed foods. This includes when eating out as well.

 #4. Fitness every day. Whether it's 20 minutes of yoga, or and all out HIIT, weight lifting, or steady state cardio, I will do something each day.  I will tell you this one will be the hardest for me right now. Usually for me, the opposite would be true, but did you know that my above behaviors have taken away those hormones that feed your drive and motivation  to move???   Yup!! True story. 

FOOD IS WHAT WILL MAKE YOU FEEL
 STRONG, VIBRANT, AND HEALTHY, 
OR TIRED, SICK, AND ACHY. 

Gonna try to blog daily to check in and share how it's going, (struggles and triumphs).  If anyone wants to jump in with me, I'd love the comradery! Please note, I am doing this for the health and well being of my mind, body, hormones, and knees. This is not a weight loss goal. That said, I would expect to lean out in the process. 

 So, there it is and here I go.

Just a Personal Vlog and where I Am Now vs. Where I Want to Be

Just a personal check in on where I am and what are my goals....

Just a thought or two about why I teach....

I love having the rare chance to learn so much about my community!

 Getting the opportunity (through teaching) to meet so many people in my community , I otherwise may not have connected with, is one of the most rewarding things I have ever done.  Tonight, talking to a few members after class,  I felt so privileged that they wanted to share  their  stories and allow me to get to know where they've been and how far they've come.


Another incredibly rewarding part of teaching, is witnessing  families work out together. It is the most amazing bond to watch. We have a  father/daughter who come in and really connect to help push each other in class. We have a married couple and son who workout together and truly support and push one another. (Tonight mom and son partnered up and took a box push-up *traveling push-up to make a square* to a new level, to team up and really push each other through it. Coolest thing EVER!!!) We have another married couple who support and push each other (hubby just beams with pride when his wife talks about her accomplishments). We have a mom, daughter and her husband and their son (three generations) who work out together and I must say,the strength in that family is unwavering! I also can't forget to mention the community center family...the ones who work at the center and come to class together. They  add spark, humor, and a whole bunch of fun!! 

Tonight an entire "fitness family" came in together (like a reunion)!! Their bond has formed in several different gyms for years and the energy in the room when they are all together is just a huge lightening storm!! I loved it!!

Needless to say, tonight was a great class for the instructor. Not much different from any other night I teach, but this is why I keep coming back!

I LOVE MY COMMUNITY! 
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Vlog -Own your crap and be at peace with it. 6/10/13

INSTRUCTOR'S LOG:Give the class you hate another chance....YOU MIGHT FIND YOU LOVE IT!

Do you love group fitness? Have you ever taken a class you just hated?! Did you go back?

 I love step!!! Really!! LOVE STEP!! LOVE Choreography!! LOVE lots of combos strung together!! I will never teach it, but I love to take it.

Step seems to be dying in my area. It's really hard to find evening classes to go to.  Last Fall I tried a new step class. I HATED IT!! The instructor called everything by different names, break downs were frustrating and not nearly long enough for me to get. As an instructor myself, I HATED standing next to my step looking like a lost pup in the woods!! I swore I'd NEVER go back!! (Note all the caps here. I was passionate about hating this class)

I have only taken a handful of step classes since (from other instructors). I still LOVE step, but as an instructor with a full time day job and family, plus classes of my own to teach, I rarely have time to take a class.

Tonight was Hot yoga night. I love hot yoga, but tonight I was hyper and needed to play! STEP!!! I searched for a class at all the clubs! I would have paid at a club I don't belong to just to take a step class. The only class on any surrounding area schedule was.....you guessed it... The one I swore I'd NEVER go back to. Crap!!! What to do?? I swallowed my pride and went....knowing I'd HATE it and would probably stand there again  trying to figure the moves.....

I LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Looking back, I'm pretty sure I hated the class because I was having an off night. Yes, it is a tough class. But this time it clicked..I got it, and had a blast.

As an instructor, I urge you to go back to those classes you hated.  Sometimes the ones you hate the most, turn out too be the most challenging and most rewarding.

Now I know not every class is for every person. I'm not a personal fan of Zumba, or Cycle, but I have been several times just to be sure. You just never know the fun you might be missing out in if you don't give it more than one chance. =]  

Image vs. Happiness

Have you seen the new show Chicago Fire?  Even coming out of a fire covered in soot, these people are beyond McDreamy gorgeous, right?!  Perfect bodies, great hair, beautiful smiles,  type A personalities, with that "it" factor that just draws you in. Images.... Are they real? Well in this case, of course not! 

But what about in the real world? Your friends, co-workers, or other people you know?  Do you ever find yourself comparing their lives to yours? Do you find them to be, better looking, smarter, having a better job or more money? Maybe they have more friends, do super cool things every weekend, or just seem to have it all together.

The number one thing that makes us feel unhappy or inadequate is the image we hold of others.  Even with people we know, we tend to glamorize their lives, never really looking at the whole picture. Social media has perpetuated these images, making life all around us seem better than our own.

What does this have to do with being fit or healthy? Everything!! 

If we can't appreciate and value where we are in our own lives, we can't appreciate the learning process and journey our lives have to offer. After all, the reason we buy into all the "diet industry" has to offer is because we cannot accept where we are in our own lives now. We crave the instant gratification of having that dream body . We look at others who have that body and wish we were more like them. 

True happiness doesn't work that way though.  Even if  the Good Witch of the North herself came with her  magic wand and granted us the body or life we wanted, the same dysfunctions of our old life would still be standing in our way of true happiness.  It is looking with-in and learning to accept and love ourselves that will create that inner peace of not needing to be like anyone else but you. And when we can truly be grateful for our own life without longing for someone elses, true health and happiness will come our way.

So when you look in the mirror and you see all of you own imperfections, look with love. Whether you see them in others or not, we all have them. We are all imperfect creatures.  Our imperfections make us human, and give us common ground. While our imperfections or dysfunctions may be different, they give us our wisdom, humbleness, and uniqueness, and set the stage for all we are to learn and pass on in life. 

"As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people the permission to do the same." 

~Marianne Williamson

People will always have an opinion....Keep doin' YOU!!

 When you see me on the weight floor, I'm pretty focused. If you try to get my attention, I usually smile, tip my hat and continue on with my lifting.

Not today. Today I came in to sub a class and figured while I was there, I'd hit some chest and back. Just as I was making my way the pull up bar, I ran into an old lifting comrade of mine from a year or so ago, that always motivated me to push harder. I had  to stop and say hi!! I'm glad I did! We chatted it up for about 40 minutes! What a great conversation!! 

Isn't it funny how we remember things that were said to, or about us for a life time?  Most of us, by nature want to please. We want to be accepted, liked, respected, valued, and validated.

 I'll never forget....my son was 5 years old (he is now 19) and it was close to Christmas. We had just finished Christmas shopping and decided to go to Baskin Robins (in the mall) for a scoop of our favorite holiday flavor, peppermint candy!! We took our packages and ice cream to a mall table just outside the shop and enjoyed our treat, while talking about how much the people would love the gifts we had picked out. A man walking toward us stopped and interrupted this innocent mommy/son moment to inform me, that  I wouldn't be nearly this heavy if I didn't eat crap like ice cream. JERK!! I wanted to cry. Was that what people saw when they looked at me? A fat cow eating ice cream and getting fatter? He didn't see a mom having a holiday treat with her kid, he saw a fat cow eating ice cream.

" We don't see things as they are. 

We see them as we are."

~Anais Nin

It wasn't until years  later that I would understand what Anais meant.

Later in life, when I made the choice to get healthy (By the way,I still eat ice cream!)  I began lifting weights and body building. I love it!! I love the way I look! The way my chest ripples, the way my triceps cut into my delts!! I love the way I feel! So healthy and willing to feed my body the nutrients it needs to give me what it's giving me! I love feeling strong! My husband calls me Pops (short for Popeye), and I work hard to keep that title. Well, last year our best friends (husband and wife team) came to our house to play cards. The husband pulled my husband aside and told him I was starting to look a bit masculine. Kind of like Jillian Michaels. When my husband told me this, I didn't cry.... I grinned from ear to ear! Not because I want to look masculine, and I don't think I do. But, because what our friend perceived as masculine, I perceived as having reached a goal I had worked so hard to reach......and it was noticed.

Back at the gym this morning, my friend had told me she had given up body building because of how she felt other's were perceiving her. Her husband had expressed concern about her arms getting too big. I told her my hubbs had said that about my arms as well, and laughed. Then she told me, after dressing up and putting on some pretty high heals to go out, she overheard someone say, "yeah, Billy will probably get about as tall as that woman" and pointed in her direction. The guy next to him then replied, "That might be a guy (dressed as woman)."  From that point on my friend decided to just exercise lightly, and stop body building. That decision wasn't based soley on the those comments, life kind of got busy as well, but it had an effect on how she saw herself.

 She is now back in the gym, and misses how she felt and looked.

 Now, I can tell you first  hand that my friend got WAAAAAY more positive attention from her bodybuilding than negative! She is incredibly good looking and does not, at all resemble a guy. And most people in the gym marveled at her beauty and physique. But, what does she remember? What made her want to quit? The same thing that sticks in most of our heads.... the negative.

 I'll never forget the man in the mall. Most of us will hold onto moments like that for a life time, but the guy in the mall, probably doesn't at all remember meeting me that day. 

Why focus on what others think? What difference will it make? Everyone will always have an opinion, no matter what we do. But if we understand that their opinion ( good or bad ) is a reflection of them, and not us, we will be free to live and not worry about the judgement that others are trying to place on us. 

The second moral to this story?.... Choose your words carefully  when speaking to or about others. We are all swimming up stream with our own life struggles. Why make it harder on someone by degrading what they do, or why they  do it. 

My body is grateful for another day of rest and my soul was thankful for a moment with an ol' gym friend and thought provoking conversation. 

Thanks friend!!

My August Chalenge to you. Prioritize for health and happiness

"I want to be in shape, but I just don't have the time to workout." Eating healthy is too time consuming; who has time to cook?" "It's too expensive to have a gym membership." Fresh, whole foods cost too much. Plus, they go bad!"  I would love to eat healthy, but my family won't eat that kind of food."

I hear it all, and have said a few myself!

We set our lives up to be what they are. We make decisions every day that dictate our priorities and cause us to say these things when talking about our own health, happiness, and well being. 

We have made the decisions that having that nice car (payment) is more important than a gym membership, or buying those (cigarettes, beer, cookies, soda) is more important than using that money for whole foods, or over scheduling  little Billy with 4 different sports  in one season is more important than Mom's sanity and maybe a yoga class, or (in my case) taking on 5 classes a week in addition to my full time job, is more important than family time and time for myself. We all fall victim to our own choices and then hide behind them using excuses as our cover. 

But, how often do we step back and re-evaluate our priorities? 

How often do we lose our site of our priorities as we get sucked into the vortex of being too busy to remember what they were?  

Every so often, We need a mental day. A day to step back from our life and look at the big picture. Am I spending enough time with my family? Am I happy with where my health is? How is my stress level these days? What am I neglecting?  What can I give up or delegate to free up time or money for what is more important? 

My August challenge for you is to pick a day this month to take for yourself.   Use this day with no kids, no spouse, no work (you have the whole month to set this up, so plan for sitters, a day off from work, or what ever conflicts may come your way.) Take this day to re-evaluate your priorities. What do you want from life that you are not getting? What is standing in your way? What can you do without, get rid of, or delegate to free up the time or money needed for this?  

I do this on the regular! At least 2-3 times a year, I find I've lost sight of my priorities and I take a day to strategize. I usually find it's time to reduce my teaching schedule, or stop going out to dinner so many times in a week to free up money for a vacation with my hubbs, or spend less time on Facebook to free up more time to be in the kitchen prepping healthy foods. 

Sure! Giving up some responsibilities or making changes may disappoint others, but really? Is it all worth it if you're not healthy? If you're not happy? If you're not feeling fulfilled? What's the point? And honestly, the healthier and happier you are, the happier the people around you are. You know what they say... "If Mama ain't happy............."  

Make the time to get your life the way you want it to be. Life is too short to feel unhealthy, unhappy, or over stressed. Take the time to reconnect with what's really important to you.

MY GOLDEN 5

So I finally finished The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Rubin. This was a fun read for me. I am naturally drawn to psychology, new ideas, and self improvement, so this book was right up my alley. I had people ask me when I was reading it if I was looking for happiness. I have been wonderfully blessed with the happiness gene. In the worst of times, I have always been able to see my way through and turn it into a positive learning experience. Where others would crack and fall apart, I've always been able to pep talk myself out of a bad situation and strategize ways to turn things around. I am by nature happy. I am also by nature a happiness seeker. I love new ways of thinking, new ideas, and learning about myself and others. This book had some fun ideas.

You may ask, why is this in a fitness blog? Well, that's easy! Being fit and healthy is not all about food and exercise. As a matter of fact, I would even go as far to say, if you don't look at improving your relationship with self, than the obvious components if being healthy will always be a struggle to maintain. Believe it or not, being healthy and fit does become second nature when you get this component in check. This is where your attitude and relationship with food changes.

I have created 5 golden rules for myself on areas I need to improve upon. These were areas of my life that give me the most trouble. You will notice that while I am naturally happy, I am also naturally high stress. A funny little personality glitch. Gotta love yin and yang. The thing about personalities is, you are who you are, but you can improve on how you handle certain traits that cause you the most issue.

Here are my issues at hand that I want to work on now.

My 5 Golden Rules


1. Loved ones Always come before loved things.

I seem to be very ADD these days. It takes every ounce of concentration to involve myself in a project. I have a developed a really bad behavior pattern over the years of getting visibly frustrated or exasperated when interrupted while planning or choreographing a class, blogging, emailing, or reading important info. This is certainly not because I love my jobs or hobbies more than my family, but I'm pretty sure it feels that way as I huff and moan when someone interrupts me. I don't ever want my family to question if what I am doing is more important to me than they are, so this is my number one rule.




2. Stress has as much power as you give it.

I hate those moments when things don't go (or aren't going) as planned, or as I had hoped they would. So much of my stress is caused by high expectations of myself or others that are not met. I have gotten much more flexible in my old age, but I still feel the need to chill a bit and let go of the idea that everything has to be perfect or under my control. Why is taking the pressure off of yourself the hardest thing to do?

3. Eat the biggest frog first.

Procrastination was never in my nature, but for some reason, it seems to be now. Maybe all of the added responsibilities and expectations I have put on myself has made me a bit passive aggressive with what I get done in a day. As a result, I seem to be constantly playing catch up. I guess the first step is to figure out what is important to keep and what can I simplify. Then I can give myself a swift kick in the butt to getter done!

4. Relax! Chasing your tail is a waist of time....You don't have one!

Notice a theme? This seems to nicely pair with rules 2 and 3. Putting too high of expectations on myself typically has me chasing my own tail. Letting go of these expectations is the hardest thing for me to do. I want to give everything I do 100%... 100% of the time and then get frustrated when I see areas slipping. (I wonder if the "new math" has a solution for this!) At the end of the day what I desire isn't a perfect fitness class, but a fun one with laughter and lots of sweat. Not a perfect house, but one with lots of love and laughter, that is welcoming to friends. Not a perfect body, but one that is strong and healthy and does not come with a tail to chase.



5. Live in this moment, it's the only one you have.

Now that I am done reading The Happiness Project by: Gretchen Rubin, my plan is to pick up, The Power of Now by: Eckhart Tolle. I have the book and read half of it 2 years ago and put it down because the more I read, the more unattainable it all seemed. I think I am now in a place to pick it up again and re-read it, knowing that perfection does not have to be the goal. Living in the moment seems like such a peaceful, balanced way to be. Unlike always chasing my tail to catch up from what I've missed, or get ahead of where I am now.


So those are my 5 for now. I probably could have condensed 2-5 into one, but this has always been my issue, so I broke it up into several parts.

I challenge you to create your own list. The more you concentrate on learning about yourself the richer your relationships with others can be. You may also find a deeper relationship with self that allows to naturally draw towards the healthier things in life.

What is Your Golden 5 for Self Improvement?

My Happiness Project

I have been sipping on this book all summer and now into the fall. At only 296 pages, I am on 196 now. An ADD reader, and someone who teeters between planning fitness classes, reading fitness and yoga magazines, blogging, chillin' on Facebook or perusing You Tube for new tunes, I pick up a book once in a while and get through a chapter before I move on to the next.

Despite my slow pace, I am really enjoying this book by Gretchen Rubin. In brief, after much research on physiology, and human behavior on what makes people happy, Gretchen started her own happiness project using monthly resolutions to work on improving her own personal happiness. She has tackled decluttering, relationships, exploring new adventures, making time for friends, spending money on happiness, boosting energy, healthy habits, and much more. I have been inspired to begin my own Happiness project! Why not, right? Part of being healthy and fit is exploring the world around you, learning, improving, and growing!



What?! Did you think it was all diet and exercise?

No matter what you do in the gym and at the dinner table, you will not be successful if you are not looking at why you didn't take care of yourself before. Most of us let ourselves go because we put everyone else ahead of our own needs. In fact, we tend to do this to the point of believing that everyone else is more important. When we do this long enough, we subconsciously create a poor relationship with ourselves and there lies the problem. I love this book, because it nurtures a way to make yourself a project. By doing this, you learn more about yourself and create a more positive relationship with you (which by the way, allows you to be that much stronger for the people in your lives)!

In future posts I will be sharing some of my own resolutions and how they work out. I hope to gather some people interested in following and doing the same. The more you share, the more you learn about yourself and inspire others as well! Also, the more you share, the more accountable and successful you are at reaching your own goals!

You can create a blog account here to follow this blog and/or start your own!

STRONG IS BEAUTIFUL!

MY STRENGTH IS BEAUTIFUL BECAUSE:

1. I stand strong in the face of adversity
2. I am not afraid to sweat...it brings results
3. I lift heavy and have slammin' shoulders and triceps
4. My abs are made of steel....but so are my obliques and back
5. I'm not afraid of limitations, I honor them....or at least I am learning to...
6. I don't diet! I don't fall for food plan gimmicks and fads! I use common sense, basic nutritional knowledge, clean eating, and I fuel my body to give back what it gives me. I allow myself wiggle room with no guilt.
7. I love all of my imperfections!
8. I am a realist. I don't buy into magic pills or products that promise results with little to no work. I'm smart enough to know there are long term consequences to using those. You can keep your Shape Up shoes and fat burners! The only results I want are the ones I worked my ass off for.
9. I believe competition is with-in and that enables me to admire and learn from those who have succeeded before me
10. I use my success to push people closer to their goals
11. I can rap Salt n Pepa's Shoop in a Karaoke bar, but giggle every time I have to sing," They want my bod, here's the hot rod. Twelve inches to a yard and have ya soundin' like a ......" when I can't find a guy to rap it with me!.... hehehe
12. I can laugh at myself (see #11)
13. I bench 135 (and climbing)
14. I am an open book and live out loud
15. I control my destiny and make no excuses
16. I'm not everyone's cup-o-Joe.....and I'm okay with that
17. My quietness is confidence observing
18. My Christmas wish list consists of kettlebells, boxing gloves, and A LIFT KIT FOR MY JEEP!... No frills, just the bare essentials...
19. When a friend told my husband he thought I was looking too masculine....it made me laugh...then smile ;)~
20. Whether I am in a fully stocked gym or I have nothing but my body weight, I can devise a brutally effective training session!

Even though my body reflects my strength, only when you look past my physique, will you ever see my true strength.

Nature vs. Nuture.......Well..., It's a deep subject...

My most difficult relationship has been my greatest teacher. This relationship has shaped so much of who I am and what I stand for. I often wonder who I would be without this relationship. Would I be this strong? Would I have the balls to face all that I have in life? Would I look at others the way I do? Would I have this much drive and tenacity? Deep down I know the answers. Nature vs. nurture would have been disastrous in my case. In a twisted way, it was the harsh nurture that drove me to swim up stream and fight the very nature that may have dictated a very different me.

This relationship has pushed me to become who I am....who I want to be. It has made me strong and unbreakable. It has driven me to constant self evaluation, and improvement. It has taught me about control and boundaries.

I hope someday it will teach me about forgiveness and the balance of compassion and armor. In the mean time, I am grateful for all I have learned in life and how it has driven me through.

Don't discard. The most difficult relationships are your greatest teachers. Look with in and learn. You may not be able to control how another behaves, but you can control how it shapes you, and what you do with it. Will you let it fuel you into self destruction, or self improvement?