One small step

"The size of your next step doesn't matter, what matters is the direction."

Several years ago when I last had a gym membership, I was told that for every one person I got to enroll, I would, in turn, receive a month for free.  I thought, "sweet deal!" because, in all honesty, I loved that gym.  What was there to NOT like? They had free monitored childcare, televisions in every direction & angle imaginable so I could watch what I wanted (one channel being the childcare room).  I had free access to all areas of the gym including the pool, jacuzzi, sauna, women's machine room as well as ALL fitness classes (I took belly dance).  And the price was about what all other gyms were charging too.

Who's NOT going to want to join me, I wondered.

As I began to invite friends and family, even people I'd small talk with, I'd mention all these great qualities & amenities; how I was losing weight & fitting into old jeans again.  I'd get great comments about how motivated it made them feel, how they were meaning to get a gym membership because they "really need it".  Great!  It was a win-win so I was ecstatic that (a) I was going to have workout buddies & (b) that I was going to get a free month in return.

But of course, as days passed, then weeks, I'd ask them, "So when are you coming by?".  Most would answer, "Oh, I'm too busy these days" or "I don't have the money right now".  Excuse after excuse after excuse.  It upset me but not because of the free month I was missing out on (really), but because these were not reasons...they were EXCUSES.  Not even well-thought out excuses. Just simple, "I've given up" excuses!  They might disagree on the meaning of said excuses but I know what half-ass "trying" looks like!  I invented half-assed "trying"!

When you tell yourself or "admit" (whatever) you don't have time, what you are really saying is that YOU ARE NOT IMPORTANT.  If you were important to yourself, if you cared about your well-being, if you cared MORE about YOU...you'd FIND the time.

Sometimes my husband likes to criticize and say that the only thing in my schedule that's a sure-thing is my workout session.  I don't like that because it's not true; I find the time for many other things but he's also right about my workout session.  There's been times that he's tried to get me to not do it or he gives me other "chores".  He wasn't very happy when right before his bedtime, when I got un-busy, I changed into my workout clothes & jumped, squatted & jacked right next to the bed.  I wasn't lying when I had told him, "That it's going to get done, it's going to get done."

I'm currently on a school break but I have ran a small business, volunteered at my daughters school, attended classes, remained the ever-present Stepford wife AND worked out.  Many others do it as well, I'm not trying to toot my own horn here.  I sat down & I actually created a schedule for myself to follow because, it's true, that unless I have that to guide me, I would have too much to do (in my eyes)!  But with a schedule, it was not impossible.

My schedule (Dec. 2010)

When all those people finally said "I'm not going to the gym", I realized that a whole lot of people really mean to, want to or need to go workout....but few rarely ever do.

You can sit there, write goals, plan workouts with friends or even print a schedule out but none of it matters unless you take the first step to reaching those goals & working out.

You don't have to hit the gym running, doing bent over rows with 20 pounders or doing 200 lunges as if you were Kim Kardashian....but go.  Take a step, any step...it doesn't have to be a big one.

It just has to be a step.

Inspiration...

"Surround yourself with those who won't compete with you,but will revel in your success and somehow see your ascent as a reflection of their own possibilities. & don't forget that success is not just cash in the bank or degrees on the wall; it's living out your purpose in life."

I almost want to apologize for not writing but, as of now, I've no subscribers. That doesn't bother me though.  As I've mentioned (perhaps in another blog), I've decided that being able to write is therapeutic for me & even if it means it's just to myself, it makes me feel good.

One of my best friends put the above quote as her status on FB & it resonates with me SO much.  That is exactly, 100% how I feel friends should be.  I really don't think I expect too much from a friendship & perhaps I shouldn't expect anything but I can't help it.  I'm the kind of person that loves & is protective of friends.  I don't really like acquaintances, much less the "frenemie".  I don't believe in "keep your friends close but your enemies closer" thing. No.  The people I have in my life, I want to have real bonds with.  Otherwise, to me, it's pointless & a waste of perfectly good energy both for me & for the other person.

When I offer my friendship, I admit, I expect some in return.  Not in favors or anything of that sort but if I can't find comfort in a friend when I'm feeling down, I question whether that's a friendship at all.  To make it clear, I also don't like "yes" friends. I like realness.  I'm a conservative but some of my best friends are way more liberal.  When it comes to decisions or plans I have, I can respect the friend that tells me their thoughts on the matter without beating around the bush.  I'm not a perfect human being & because of that, I am grateful that I have a few friends that can call me on my bull.

To me, friends should be inspiration not competition.  I've tried many times to open myself up to other women, to be there for them & to allow them to be there for me but, most of the time, I'm met with one-uppers.  These people don't really wish you well in my mind & I don't see it as "healthy competition" either.  It's really very difficult to find friends that you can really depend on.

So what does all this have to do with fitness?

Everything.

I mostly use my FB for posting about the days workout plan, my menu ideas & to inspire but I also like to hear my friends plans, ideas & to GET inspired.  I find that people that allow you to inspire them but that also inspire you are the type of people that help you thrive.  Even if you have a one upper in your life who, okay, might push you a bit to beat a record or whatever, it's not as great as having found the motivation positively.  You're doing it for the wrong reason.  Some might say, "So? It's getting done!". That may be but, eventually & gradually, they'll be something else that person did that now YOU want to do. & something else. & something else. & another thing. & pretty soon, your goals & not your own.

If you want to feel good about your outcome, your source has to be a positive one.

Today I posted a picture of my workout plan for the next 3 weeks & a friend posted about how she needed help getting organized like me so, naturally, I offered to help.  She replied & said that would be great, mentioning that I was "truly an inspirational woman".  I was so pleasantly surprised by that because she works out regularly, looks great & I didn't think I really had anything to offer her but she went on to say that our FB feedback was always motivating.  It made me feel great.  &, really, the wonderful thing is that it's true for me as well!  Her updates or pictures have on many occasions motivated ME positively.  That's the kind of friendship I cherish because we "feed" each other with snippets of inspiration rather than negative competition.  She encourages me some days, I encourage her some other days but, either way, we're always wishing one another the best.

So now I encourage you.

I encourage you to rid yourself of people who want to constantly one up you, who you feel bring even the slightest negativity into your life.  I know you may not be able to rid yourself of all of them (my husband is, at times, the negative force) but perhaps that's a good thing in it's own way.  I'm not really talking about kicking your family to curb here.  This is more concerning acquaintances you keep on FB, people you small talk with at work or school.  If they're not too close to you & aren't bringing anything positive into your life, be done with it.  Be mature about the matter but be done with it.

This is YOUR life.  Run it however you want but I think we can all agree if at least on ONE thing: positive thoughts produce positive results.

Best of luck.

Food Revolution!!

I'm not much for TV.  A few years ago, my husband & I decided to kick satellite/cable out of our lives & we've never turned back since.  I've read that this "trend" is a growing one but we didn't do it because we heard it was a good idea nor did we do it because we lacked the money; we just didn't see the point anymore.

Anyway, not long after, I discovered Hulu & have been watching the shows I want, when I want, on there.  I guess that's all another blog but I've been keeping up with Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution (ABC) & I.am.absolutely.in love with this guy.  Not IN love...no, but I definitely love his cause and his PASSION.

Moving from San Diego back to South Texas gives you a certain perspective on things.  My eldest always ate breakfast at home but the one day we were running late that I allowed her to eat breakfast at school, they served crackers, raisins and orange juice.  Here in the Rio Grande Valley, upon inspection of the menu, I noticed some familiar dishes from MY childhood such as breakfast pizza, waffle sticks and pop-tarts.  Now maybe it's just me but neither options aren't real breakfast in my book. How about an egg? whole grain toast?  But crackers?? Waffle sticks??  C'mon.

Needless to say that while I disliked San Diego's idea of breakfast, I really buckled down in making lunch for my eldest here in South Texas.  Some of those things I just was not down for being put into my child's body.  & so I started to wonder if there was a way to bring Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution HERE, to the Valley!  Well, apparently there is!

I've already requested to start an "Edinburg TX Food Revolution" & the good people at Jamie Oliver's FR have given me the page on Facebook. Visit HERE & I ask you all to join me by either "liking" or sharing the page.  Since it is new, exposure it greatly needed.  I've already partnered with Max Muscle Sports Nutrition of Edinburg TX & am in talks with my daughters new school, IDEA.

The wonderful thing about IDEA is that they are a charter school so they have more control over what is served in the school.  They have their own organic garden, serve salads every day & are truly making a difference.

I really want to get more into this but pending further dialogue with both Max Muscle and IDEA, I'll wait. 

I'm very excited though.  This is a great chance to make a change locally & I cannot wait.

It's ALIVE!!

I've been trying to think about a subject to write about for this weeks blog but I don't like to write just to write so I figured I'd play it by ear & see what came up. Something always does, after all!


Well this afternoon, I was sitting down adding some flaxseed to my organic yogurt (that sounds very uppety, I know) when my sister-in-law & I got to talking about live cultures/bacteria. She was somewhat surprised to hear what I had to say & went on to ask, "You mean, there's a bacterial war in my stomach?" Ha ha. Well, in a way, YES.


I'm going to keep this as simple as possible, not because I don't think y'all will understand (I've tried keeping "y'all" out of my blogs. Can't do it) but because it can get REALLY confusing for anyone & it's easy to get lost in the terminology.


We all have bacteria in our stomachs. Some is bad. Some is good.


You may have noticed a relatively new term flying around in the world of dairy; "probiotic". When a yogurt claims to be probiotic &/or to include live cultures/bacteria, what it's basically stating is that the yogurt you are about to eat is ALIVE. This, believe it or not, is a GOOD thing. You WANT live yogurt & I'll tell you why.


Sometimes, when we put into our bodies the not-so-great stuff, our good bacteria team gets overwhelmed by the BAD bacteria team. Bad bacteria in our stomachs can cause many health issues such as diarrhea or yeast infections. You could even become more susceptible to other bacterial infections or develop food allergies. It could even make you fat.


Washington University researchers conducted a study that showed that when people on low-fat/carb diets lost weight, the "proportion of two key microflora - Bacteriodetes and Firmicutes, which compromise 90% of the gut flora - change." The study, by the way, was done first on mice then on humans. In both cases, obese subjects had more Firmicutes than the good ol' Bacteriodetes. They believe that the Firmicutes were actually absorbing more calories and turning them into fat because as the subjects lost weight, the Firmicutes - the ones we don't want - started to diminish while the Bacteriodetes - the ones we DO want - started to "flourish".


We have over 500 types of bacteria (probiotics) in our gut. We need the good guys in there and less of the bad ones so a good way to get some of these GOOD live probiotics is to make sure that you eat yogurt that contains these live cultures. The ones I eat and feed to my children are organic & I'll say which they are but, FYI, I don't receive any type of compensation for doing so.


I buy Stonyfield Organic Yogurt and Oikos (also a SF brand). These contain 6 live cultures and the Oikos contains five, & they are:



-Lactobacillus bulgaricus
-Streptococcus thermophilus
-Lactobacillus acidophilus
-Bifidus
-Lactobacillus casei
-Lactobacillus rhamnosus


There are other yogurts that contain live cultures so do your taste-bud research & I'm sure you'll find one you'll love.


BUT WHY NOT REGULAR YOGURT?


To put it simply, they are heat treated to extend shelf life but it kills the live cultures in the process.


And what of that flaxseed?


The flaxseed is, as everything, completely up to you. I encourage you to do your research on both probiotics and flaxseed but I add it because I can't really taste the difference & it's good for me! It contains omega-3 fatty acid ALA & it's a good source of SDG's (secoisolariciresinol diglycoside).


One thing I want you to remember, though, is that we're not putting anything in our body that isn't supposed to be there. If anything, what some companies do to their product to extend shelf life or to make it look "pretty", can really damage your health little by little. Yogurt wasn't MEANT to be heat treated so if you really want to get back to the basics, I recommend going probiotic. (& organic - at least on dairy - but that's another blog.)


Trend words come & go, especially in the health & fitness business but this one is gaining momentum for a reason. Knowledge is power! ;)

Down with the Sickness

For the past few days, I've been fighting to not utter the phrase "I'm sick". However, this morning, I could deny it no longer. My throat is scratchy, I'm congested, my head throbs and my allergies, albeit mild, are not helping.


I have felt like this &, yet, today was the first day I took some medicine for my headache. I don't usually take medicine because I figure my body's attacking the virus\bacteria on it's own & I prefer to just let it take its course. I do feel I should mention that I do check with a doctor first to be sure it's not something that truly requires medication.


Being sick always brings about the question, "am I okay to work out?". It's an important question to ask yourself because there ARE times that you really just need to eat some soup, lay down and rest. Of course, many people use the sniffles as an excuse &, when you have certain goals, that's just not really an ideal thing to do.


So how DO you tell if it's time to hang the towel, if at least for a day, or if you're okay enough for exercise?


The answer to that question should only come from two people: YOU &/or your doctor.


To help YOU make a better informed decision, I've compiled a small list of things to consider:


1. If you have fever or are throwing up, I'll tell you right now that you just need to give it up (until you feel better); you should not be exercising right now. Your core body temperature does not need to be higher if you have a fever and, if you're throwing up, a lot of movement is not going to be beneficial in any way. Not to mention, you could be contagious so if you go to a gym, it's just not nice gym etiquette to be spreading your germs. Sorry! & see your doctor for goodness' sake!


2. If you've got the cold or the flu, you could be feeling stuffed up, congested (as I am at this time), have a runny nose &/or have an itchy throat. Normally, these are not good enough reasons to not workout but, again, use your best judgment. If your cough or your congestion interfere with your ability to breathe properly, consider taking a break until it clears up a bit more. Normally, however, exercise helps in loosening up blockage and, if you have a headache, getting your blood pumping will open up the blood vessels that are causing the headache.


3. Muscle aches is also something to consider before deciding if you're going to exercise or not. Presently, I feel a dull ache on my shoulders which is accompanied by the stuffy head feeling. Not fun, but it's not too bad. If you have severe muscle aches, however, I would recommend you get yourself a good rest before continuing your exercise routine. My aches are not bad, like I said, but even I'm laying off the weight training for today & focusing on aerobics.


If you've read all this, have decided (hopefully, along with your doctor) that you're okay to workout but you just aren't feeling up to it, remember those endorphins & how working out can help in getting you into that feel-good mood for the rest of the day!


Exercise is FOR your health so don't think that working out or going for a run is ALWAYS the healthy thing to do. Sometimes, you have to listen to your body (AND YOUR DOCTOR) because it's what your body needs. As for me, I'm not feeling my hottest but it's not something a good workout can't help.


;)

Self-Support

Well, today I was reminded of one reason as to why I created this blog; self-support.  I'm not really sure if that's a real word or not but it's a real action.

If you're like me and you lack support from almost everyone, one thing you DO need is the ability to remind yourself of why you do what you do.  Support needs to come from yourSELF, the drive needs to come from yourself, the will, the dedication, the motivating words, everything, needs to come from yourself.

While it's true that anyone getting ready to tackle their health and fitness lifestyle needs to, first and foremost, be doing it for themselves, I think most of us would agree that it's nice to have friends and/or family that can offer some emotional support.  We can also agree that hearing just a simple, "hey, you're doing great!" or "It's paying off" can feel really nice.  I don't have that.

I need to be able to brush away bothersome comments and remind myself that this is for me.  I enjoy this.  I want this.  I love this.  I support me!

Granted, it's not always easy.  Those pesky comments of "I don't see any results", the eye-rolling and questions like "when is this going to stop?" can really sting when they come from someone you love and, yourself, have always supported whether you agree with it 100% or not.  It's life, however.  It's not always going to be fair but in analyzing my particular situation, I realized something important:  Nobody else is going to take care of my health except for me so I need to do it.

I have two daughters and I can take them to the park, play tag with them, run and jump on slides and merry-go-rounds just having fun.  I can be in a swimming pool, show them how to do handstands under water and pretend I'm a shark.  I don't get tired.  I don't get out of breath.  Nobody else is going to replace me as their mother being "it" or the shark or any of those things.  I want those memories with my girls.  I want to be the example in their life.  I want to teach them to be kind, loving, healthy, ladylike, humble....all of those things.

Fitness and health are part of my life now.  It will be for the rest of it, too.  I'm not stopping because even if it ever stopped being about me, it would never stop being about them. 

I understand it can feel like an ongoing war always trying to remind others as to why you do what you do.  You can feel defeated and it can get depressing. But just as long as you always know why you do what you do, that's what matters.  Self-support is for yourself, from yourself.  Now that's support we can't go on without.

How the journey began...

First, let me begin by saying that I don't claim to know it all simply because I've started a blog.

No.

In fact, while I have studied to be a CPT and continually research different topics in the realm of haleness (health) and fitness, I would consider myself knowledgeable and, hopefully, helpful to all those who have questions or need guidance in this department.

Still, I have to admit that I hope to get a lot out of this blog for myself too.  In all honesty, I don't have a bad support system, but it's not good; I'd say it's more non-existent.  I am married to a Marine Corps veteran and while many would think that he would be all for my fitness craze; he's not entirely.  Nobody else around me, really, has a love for health, fitness or whole foods the way I do except for perhaps a few acquaintances.  And that's fine but it does get lonely in this little world of mine so, yes, I am eager to find more people like me.  I know y'all are out there & that I'm not alone so, please...make yourself known! Ha ha. :)

You might want to know more about me, I'm sure, and how I got on this path. Well, I've never really exercised growing up, nor did I feel I had to.  With my mom building her business, she stopped cooking and started carrying-out by the time I was 14 or so.  We were a low-income family so when we'd get food stamps, we'd go to wal-mart and stock up on oven pizza, microwavable burritos and, pretty much, anything with an abundance of trans fat.

I didn't know how to cook and fast food restaurants were our daily (yes, daily) poisons of choice.  Rest assured, my parents loved me but, like many other families, were uneducated on what these frankenfoods were doing to us.

But I was a teenager! and I *looked* healthy.

At 20 years old, I got married to my high school sweetheart while he was home on leave.  That's also when I got pregnant.  While he was away learning Marine stuff, his mom was teaching me to cook.  We are somewhat old-fashioned, by the way, so I like to take my role as traditional wife pretty seriously.  At about 3 months of pregnancy I moved to Southern California (SoCal) and had our first daughter in 2004.  Fun stuff, that labor.

Once I could, I started working out to Tae-Bo whenever I got a chance so it wasn't very consistent.  My diet didn't really change, though I was cooking home cooked meals by then (tacos, enchiladas, tortas = not that much better), but I was getting my sweat on.  Sort of.  I mean, the workouts weren't easy but they weren't that challenging so I lingered between a size 9/10.

Again with the making of the story shorter, we moved within SoCal a few times, had another baby girl, completed two deployments to Iraq and all that good stuff.

This is going somewhere....I swear.

The 2nd deployment, I moved back to Texas with the girls to be with family.  I also joined a new gym, 600+ GymSpa, here in South Texas.  Anytime Juan (my husband) was gone, I'd be out most of the day, keeping busy with running from the gym to ballet to museums and events for kids. I mean, I kept BUSY.  I got myself acquainted with some of the gym machinery and lost about 15 pounds.  Then I got hypothyroidism which really sucked cus it made it really hard to lose weight no matter how much or how little I ate.  That eventually went away but by the time my husband deployed for a third time, I had discovered *drumroll*, Beachbody.

No, I am not a coach.  I don't sell it. If you get it, I don't profit from it.  I.JUST.LOVE.IT.

Insanity was a personal challenge.  When it's telling you, "this isn't for the weak"...oh, it's a challenge.  I ACCEPT!  So I did two rounds and, wow, the results were awesome.  I had MUSCLE!  I could look down when I showered and...wait, no.  But this time I was in SoCal.  I hadn't moved back to Texas with family and so when I had nothing else to fill my time with, I filled it with research.  Research on exercise moves, muscles, foods, organics, aliens and UFO's!  I guess the last two aren't relevant but, let me just say, that researching those things when you don't have someone bigger and stronger to hug at night IS a mistake.  Also...don't watch "The Fourth Kind" alone.

Anyway, when my husband got home, I got on birth control for the first time EVER and made the even bigger mistake of getting the shot (depo; the only one where weight gain IS confirmed).  Eventually, I tried P90X and fell in love with Beachbody alllll over again.  Suffice it to say that I am on my 3rd round and my 1st round of TurboFire and I absolutely love it.

But it all began with Insanity.  It was then that I realized I had it in me to do these things and it was then that I began to study to become a certified personal/aerobic trainer.  I wanted to share what I'd learned!  I wanted to change lives and inform people!  I want to show people, especially low-income families, how they can make small changes and live healthier, better lives ON budget!   THIS is what I want.  That's why I got certified and that's why I'm here. 

I want to teach and I want to learn.