Health Resolutions

Hello fellow healthy friends!  I talked about my New Year's resolutions for all aspects of my life on my other blog but I wanted to talk about some specific fitness/health ones that I have here.  My overall resolution is just going to be consistent with eating right and exercising regularly.  In 2010 I would say I was only doing that about six out of the twelve months, which is not okay.  So just doing that will be great.  But here's what else I want to work on...

1. Get my flexibility back.

When I was dancing in high school I was, of course, very flexible.  I could do the splits on both sides (and almost in the center), my back was more flexible than it had ever been, I could kick very high, etc.  And I loved being flexible.  But once I stopped dancing, I stopped stretching for an hour or so every day, and I lost it very quickly.  I am still more flexible than the average person but I miss being able to do things like the splits.  So, I'm going to start stretching again, for at least a half hour every day.  And my goal is to be able to do the side splits, on both sides, again my March 30th, 2011.  I think this is a doable goal.  I will also be doing more yoga to help with my flexibility, and hopefully as I get more Gumby-like I can move onto some more advanced yoga poses.

2. Run a 5K.

Even though I don't like running, it is a very good form of exercise.  And, while I don't advocate doing exercise you dislike if you're just starting to get back into exercise, I'm the type of person who can deal with something I don't particularly like if I think it's benefiting me.  So, at some point in this year (probably the summer), I'm going to condition myself to run a 5K again.   I know that a 5K isn't anything amazing, but I haven't been able to run that far without stopping since I was a senior in high school, so it'll be a big deal for me.

3. Get better at hoop dancing.

Have I talked about hoop dancing on here before?  I'll have to go look through my posts and see, 'cause if I haven't I really need to.  I absolutely love dancing, but I'm not on a dance team anymore and can't go out to a club all the time, so when I discovered hoop dancing it was this fantastic way for me to fulfill my desire to dance all on my own, and pretty much anytime, as long as I could get outside, or be in a spacious room.  The only problem is that I'm not just having to control my body, I have to control the hoop, and that's what makes it beautiful, but I have not practiced enough at mastering certain moves which makes it so I'm still very limited in what I do.  I know the only way I'm going to get better is to practice, so as soon as the weather turns warm this year, I'm going to practice a lot.  Maybe I'll even post a video once I get good. :)

4. Be at my goal weight for Summer.

Here's the thing.  My goal weight is 130.  It's a weight I look really good at.  However, it's kind of hard for me to get to/maintain it.  So I've realized that I am okay with not being at 130 all year.  As long as I'm not above 145, I am still at a very healthy weight, and I still look...decent.  This past month I've been wavering between 137 and 141, due to all the holiday treats and scaling back a little on the exercise, and that's been okay.  At this time of year I'm just covered in sweaters and pants 24/7 anyway.  But I do want to make sure that I am at 130 when the summer starts, and all throughout it, because I want to be able to wear all the stuff I want without worrying about how my body looks.  In order to do this I'll make sure to really buckle down on my diet and up the exercise starting in March, so that I'll have plenty of time to hit my goal by summer.  Of course this doesn't mean I won't be exercising and eating well the rest of the year, it just means I won't be torturing myself if I don't look perfect.

5. Journal my food and exercise.

Everyone knows that if you can stand to do this, it helps a lot with keeping you on track with healthy eating and consistent exercise.  So I have gotten a journal (which I will talk about in another post) and plan to journal all my food and exercise.  I think it will help me a lot because I know that if I have to write down a missed workout or a crappy food choice, it will make it so I don't make the bad choice a lot of the time.

Oh, I also want to post on this blog more consistently.  We'll see how that goes.  And to some this might sound like a lot, but keep in mind that I won't be doing it all at once.  The hoop dancing and running probably won't happen until the summer.  I won't be working on being in tip top shape all year long.  Pretty much the only things I will be doing the entire year are #1 and #5.  Completely doable.  I think if you're making a resolution to eat healthier/exercise/lose weight that it's great but make sure you make small goals and figure out how exactly you're going to achieve them.  And if you're already rather healthy, then do like me and make it your goal to get better at new things.  Let's all get healthier and more fit in 2011!

Fit Gear Review: Shoes for Crews StayFit shoes

So I work at a fast food place, which requires me to have shoes that are non-slip.  I'd been using some Skechers that I'd bought a while back, but those were wearing out and it was time for me to buy some new shoes.  Then I discovered, while looking for the Shoes for Crews catalog, that they have new "StayFit" styles that are basically their brand of "fitness" shoes.  Here's what I think about fitness shoes.  If I can't wear them to the gym (most of the time they aren't really meant for this) and they're too ugly for me to wear just walking around, then what's the point?  I'm not going to bother with them because the benefits probably aren't that great, and I don't like wearing ugly shoes. 

But for work, I really don't care.  So I figured, why not try out some good, work-approved shoes that might also help my legs get a little more of a workout?  I've been using them for about three weeks now, and I'll tell you what I think of them in case any readers are thinking of getting a fitness shoe. 

They're very comfortable, but they are also something that the feet need to get used to.  In a normal shoe, the arch of the foot is allowed to flex back and forth when you walk.  With these shoes, your arch is completely supported, and your foot rocks back and forth in the shoe.  It really does feel like walking in sand.  The first couple of times I wore them, my feet would start hurting by the end of my shift because they weren't used to it, but now it's not a problem at all.  Another thing that I really like about them is that they provide a lot of cushion so it's easier on the joints.  This is important to me when I'm on my feet for eight hours a day. 

What I don't like about them is they do still look kind of ugly, just because of the "rocker" bottom.  I also recommend not wearing them for more than eight hours or so because the foot is meant to be flex back and forth and wearing them for everything you do is probably not good for you.  As far as how much they're actually helping with what they claim to do...

• Improve posture...  Check!  I find it more difficult to slouch in these for some reason.
• Revieve fatigue and reduce pressure on joints...  Check!  Definitely recommend if you experience joint pain and have a job in which you're required to be on your feet most of the time.
• Help tone legs...  Maybe.  Honestly, I do feel my muscles working more when I walk with these, due to having to push through more than just the floor, but I haven't seen any significant changes.  Also, it's hard to tell with me because I workout on a regular basis anyway, so it would probably be better to test this on someone who doesn't do any kind of exercise other than walking.

Also, they don't claim to improve balance, but they definitely do because you are forced to constantly balance with them.  And I am always working on improving my balance so this is a good thing.  So I say, if you can stand the ugliness of them, and you want to reduce pressure on your joints, and you don't do a lot of exercises for your legs normally, then go ahead and invest in a fitness shoe.  It can't hurt.  But don't think that it will suddenly get you legs like a super model (or even like the girls in the commercials).  It's just gonna make them work a little harder...and that's a good thing.

Thanksgiving

You know, I meant to write this post earlier this week.  In it I was going to put my tips for how to stay "on track" on Thanksgiving and not go overboard and pretty much all the same stuff that 50 other blogs have written about this week.  And then I realized that I don't really have any advice because everyone is going to handle it differently, and as long as you handle it in a way that works for you, then that's great.  My simple solution is portion control.  I always exercise portion control, so it's not hard.  I don't like feeling like I'm the stuffed turkey after I'm done with my meal.  But I don't deprive myself of anything I want.  Food is way too damn good to do that, especially when a lot of the foods served at Thanksgiving are only served that one day.  It does kind of help though that I don't like stuffing, or gravy, or deviled eggs...  So I kind of cut out a lot of the bad stuff already just because I don't like it.  But if you like to do something other than portion control, if you want to calorie count, or just completely abstain, or bring your own food, or whatever, that's all great.  What matters is that you feel in control on Thanksgiving.  A holiday shouldn't be something that gets in the way of the healthy lifestyle you want to be living.  So don't let it.

Now I just want to say a few things that I'm thankful for...
- My perfectly functional body.  I've gone over this on my blog before, but I really do love it and appreciate how well it works. 
- My job.  It's not the job I want, or even like very much, but it is a job and right now lots of people don't have that, so I have to remind myself to be grateful for it.
- My parents.  I have a good relationship with them, and they're very supportive of me and always make sure to check in and see how I'm doing.  They did an amazing job raising me and continue to be great.
- My cat.  She brings me joy. :)
- My roommates.  It's a lot of fun having roommates again; I'm not lonely anymore and it's helping me out financially.  I'm very glad they decided to move in with me.
- Men.  I love men.  They're simply wonderful and make me happy.
- The house I live in.  I have a great landlord, and it's a roomy house that is great for this stage of my life. 

What are you thankful for?  Have a very Happy Thanksgiving. 

Back.

I've been avoiding writing this post for a couple of weeks.  The last blog I wrote was the day that my roommates moved in with me.  And ever since they moved in, my exercise and eating has not been as great as I like.  I'm not blaming them because it's been my decision, but they have been a distraction, something that threw me out of my routine.  The exercise has been pretty good.  Haven't been doing any less than five days a week.  But my eating went downhill.  Not too much, just not the right stuff.  It's been a lot of cheap food lately, or when I do cook, they want me to make something tasty and not completely healthy, so I do.  And I got out of the habit of eating five meals a day which I know is something that's very helpful for me to do, and I'm trying to start that again.  So yeah, my final results for the end of Brazil Butt Lift weren't as stellar as I would have liked them to have been.  When I actually ended the program, last Sunday, I was at 135, but today I checked the scaled and I'm at 138.2.  Eeek. 

Don't get me wrong.  I'm still at a healthy weight.  I'm still being active.  And I'm still probably eating better than most Americans.  But I know I'm not doing my best, and it bothers me that I let a change in my life derail my focus on getting into better shape.  So now I'm trying to figure out exactly what I want to do to get that focus back.  I'm working on starting to eat better again.  And I'm going to go back to working out six days a week instead of five.  One of my roommates is trying to lose weight so we've been exercising together so I don't want to start a specific plan at the moment...we're just kind of trying to get a good balance of workouts in throughout the week.  Today I had a pretty good workout.  It was one from a magazine that I had never tried, a good combination of cardio and toning moves that kicked my butt.  But I was disappointed in myself because I was supposed to do the rotation three times through, and I only did it twice because me and my roommate were tired.  But had I been on my own, I know I would have powered through and did the third rotation.  I just stopped because my partner did, which was weak of me, and it's something that I won't let happen again. 

So that's where I am right now.  Still being fairly healthy but I haven't been as strict with myself as I should be, and therefore I haven't gotten exactly the results I want.  One thing that's good is I have definitely gotten stronger and my cardiovascular endurance has gone up since I started back in August.  I'm very happy about that.  I noticed I can do things like a lot of push-ups now, and I love feeling strong.  Now if I can just get my weight to where I want it to be I will be one happy camper.  I'll start being better about updating this blog several times a week again because it helps with my accountability (notice how I haven't posted when I haven't been doing that great?) and I'll let you know what kinds of workouts I'm doing and what I'm eating.  I'll also be making a post later this week about Thanksgiving.  Now I've got to go read all the blogs I've been missing out on and see if all my blog buddies have been doing better than me.  I hope so!

The Music Moves Me

Today I want to talk about the utilizing the power of music while exercising.  It's something that has always helped me immensely when I workout.  I can tell you that there is no way in hell I would be able to get through a spin class without the great music my instructor would play, and it certainly makes it easier to do things like the elliptical when I have great songs to distract me.  It can even help me push harder during weight lifting if it's the right type of song.  However, since I've started just working out to DVDs, I haven't had much chance to listen to my own music, and I kind of missed it.  Exercise DVDs aren't known for having the most amazing music, after all.  But today I had to do Rio Extreme again, and I since I'd done it twice before and could follow it pretty well, I decided to mute the DVD and play my music instead.  And let me tell you, it was SO much easier to get through this workout when I had Kanye West, Rihanna, Enrique Iglesias, etc. playing, lifting my mood, making it so I wanted to push harder.  I'll share my playlist with you in case anyone is looking for some new stuff to help you push just a little harder.  It's about 50 minutes long, so it was the perfect length for Rio Extreme.

"Into the Night" - Santana feat. Chad Kroeger (perfect for the warm-up)
"Richman" - 3OH!3
"U + Ur Hand" - Pink
"Hips Don't Lie" - Shakira feat. Wyclef Jean
"I Like It" - Enrique Iglesias feat. Pitbull
"Carry Out" - Timbaland feat. Justin Timberlake
"Hard" - Rihanna feat. Jeezy
"W.A.M.S." - Fall Out Boy
"Stronger" - Kanye West (you just gotta have this song on every workout playlist)
"Push" - Enrique Iglesias feat. Lil' Wayne
"Only Girl (In the World)" - Rihanna
"Love the Way You Lie" - Eminem feat. Rihanna

The last three have a slower beat to them, but it's good because that's the part where the intensity starts going down and it's just floor work and then the cool down.  I will definitely be doing the rest of my Rio Extreme workouts to this playlist because it really did make it a lot more enjoyable. 

Also wanted to mention a cool thing I noticed the other day.  My nails are looking great.  They're really strong, and have actually grown out to a nice long length.  The last time they looked this good was right after I gave birth.  Usually they're weak and short because I work with my hands all the time.  I totally attribute this to the Shakeology.  Pretty cool side effect. :)

And full disclosure....I ate well today but did have a Coors Light at the end of the night.  I had it because I wanted to feel good tonight and won't be going out to party on Halloween.  That's probably a good thing since I would have drank a lot more than one beer if I went out.  Speaking of, I hope you all have a great Halloween!  I've already got my pumpkin carved and will be passing out packets of baby carrots to the chitlins.  I know, I'm so festive. 

Total Health, New Workouts, and Calves

I have a few different things I want to talk about with this post.

The first one is about the blood work I got done recently.  I don't know if I mentioned that I had my blood drawn in early October.  It was the first time I'd ever had it drawn just for blood work, and I got the "full chemistry profile" which evaluated the levels of different minerals and nutrients in the bones, thyroid, looked at heart, kidney, and liver functions, levels of iron, cholesterol, and triglycerides.  I decided to get this done because I'm really about complete health.  I've been thin my whole life, aside from right after giving birth.  But I know that being thin does not automatically mean that I (or anyone else) is healthy.  I know a girl who is smaller than I am (but still at a healthy weight) who downs massive amounts of fried, fatty, and super sugary foods every day, drinks often, and smokes.  Don't ask me how she stays thin, because I don't know, but some day her body is going to fight back.  It's going to shut down on her from all the abuse she has put it through.  That's going to happen to pretty much everybody who treats their bodies like crap, thin or not.  

Personally, I like to be thin because I like to look good, but being healthy is very important as well.  Diabetes runs rampant in my family, so I am constantly trying not to have too much sugar.  This is hard since sugar is the one thing I normally crave, but I do a pretty good job with moderation.  Over the past few months I have been eating quite well, but before that, I honestly could have done a lot better.  I was using portion control to make sure I didn't gain weight, but was eating a lot of fast food, and the stuff I ate at home was cheap food, devoid of nutrients, like Ramen or mac and cheese.  Because of this, I hoped that my results wouldn't be too bad, and if anything was, I knew I could fix it with just more clean eating the way I have been.

So what were the results?  Everything looked great! :D I got the results back at my town's annual Health Fair, and it was pretty cool because there was a table of doctors who were discussing the results with each person.  The doctor looked at mine, told me everything looked great, and to just keep doing what I was doing and to stay at a healthy weight and I should be good.  This made me really happy.  My blood sugar was good, which is one of the main ones I worry about, Overall cholesterol was great, iron and calcium were where they should be...  Yeah, nothing to worry about right now.  I'm convinced if I had gotten this done in the summer, before I had started drinking Shakeology and really focusing on eating all healthy foods,* the results would have looked rather different.  But I love seeing this because now I'm even more encouraged to keep eating healthy and exercising because not only do I see the results manifested in how my body looks, but I know that my insides are doing well, too.  I would encourage everyone to go get some blood work done through their doctor or your local health clinic or whatever because it really is a good resource to show you if you need to change anything in your diet or if you're on track.

Next, I wanted to mention that I'm in the last two weeks of Brazil Butt Lift.  Woot!  It's actually going to be more like three because I'm going to do the six-day slim down after the 12 weeks is done, but for these last two weeks of the program I've started doing the deluxe workouts.  There are three new workouts:  Rio Extreme, Abs Rapido, and Upper Cuts.  I've done all three now, and have to say that if anyone is thinking about purchasing Brazil Butt Lift, I'd also encourage you to get the deluxe package because these workouts are awesome!  Rio Extreme is a high intensity interval workout that's 50 minutes long, and the entire time it has me doing about two minutes of cardio, then a strength training move, then cardio, then strength.  Without breaks.  It's hard.  I was completely spent after I got done, but I also felt great!  This is just the thing to help me burn off the last amount of fat before I'm done.  The next day I did Abs Rapido, which is a quick but effective standing abs workout that I really enjoyed, and Upper Cuts.  That's a quick upper body workout, and I was thinking, Oh, this shouldn't be too hard.  BOY, was I wrong.  At the end of those 13 minutes my arms were dead!  And I was only using 5 pound weights!  It has a lot of exercises different from what was in Sculpt, so it was a good change. 

Last I wanted to mention a new body part that I'm loving:  my calves.  Let me tell you, I've never really liked my calves.  Most women who are pear-shaped say they gain weight in their hips and thighs.  For me, it's my entire legs, including the calves.  And I think that nice, defined calves are really sexy on women, so I've always wanted mine to be more sculpted, but they were very stubborn.  Well I was looking in the mirror yesterday and noticing that my calves no longer look "fat" as I kind of thought they used to, and when I raise up on my toes, they actually have some decent definition to them.  Yay!  Finally!  This program is amazing, I'm telling ya.  Do you have any body parts that you used to dislike but have come to love since you started exercising? 

Sorry about the randomness of this post, but it's just some stuff that's been on my mind.  Have a great week, everyone! 

I Love My Body!

I found out by checking out the fabulous Mizfit's blog that today is National Love Your Body day.  And I thought, How fantastic is that?  A day in which we should all focus on loving our bodies, focus on what it is that makes each of ours great.  And there are so many things!  The human body is absolutely incredible!  From giving birth to running marathons to giving us the energy to do everything we need in these crazy times.  I could go on and on about how beautiful and amazing the human body is because I truly love it, but I'm going to stop before you doze off.

Instead, I want to talk about why I love my body.  I have always been fairly comfortable with my body.  Probably more so than the average person (female?) in today's society.  Even when I haven't thought it was perfect (and, well, I've never thought it was perfect) I have always loved it and not had a problem with others seeing it or anything like that.  In fact, when I lived in a big city a few years back I did quite a bit of nude art modeling because I think nude art is beautiful and to me it was a great use for my body.  If there is anything that I can think of that has made it so I am overall happy and comfortable with my body it is two main things:

--I look at it, a lot.  I don't mind being naked.  Studies have shown that the more you look at your body, the more comfortable you are with it, no matter the shape.

--I recognize the good things that my body can do, instead of just focusing on how it looks.

So if you're having trouble with truly loving your body, maybe try taking those two tips to heart.  It has helped me a lot, and maybe it will help you, too.

Here's what I love about my body...

--Even through pregnancy, my stomach was resilient and stayed stretch-mark free.

--It is a natural pear shape.  While I might say that I hate that my legs are so hard to get in shape, it's a much healthier place to gain weight, and I love the curves of my hips and butt.

--My stomach is super low-maintenance.

--It is strong.  I can build muscle very easily when I want to, and I love that I can do things like several push-ups, pull-ups, etc.  Strength makes me feel powerful, even when I'm small.

--I have a kick-ass immune system.  I credit a good part of this to my parents (thanks, Mom!), but I think it's also because I take care of my body by eating well and exercising.  But yeah, I generally only get sick once a year, and it lasts one day.

--It can feel insanely good. 

--It is coordinated.  Please do not ask me to play any kind of sport.  Ever.  Well, bowling's okay.  But nothing else.  HOWEVER, I can do some great stuff with my hips on the dance floor.  I discovered my love for dancing in middle school, and it is still my most favorite thing to do.  When I'm dancing, everything is okay, and I love that my body picks up on dance fairly easily.

--I'm tall.  I like this.  Being tall makes a lot of stuff easier. :)

So there you go.  And you know what?  There are things I don't like.  But I just try not to focus on them.  Because most of what I don't like are things I can't change without some kind of surgery.  So instead, I try to remember everything I love about it.  That helps a lot. 

Now I want to know, why do you love your body?  Tell me in the comments, or if you do a blog post about it, be sure to link me to that so I can read all about what makes yours unique and wonderful.

I will leave you with this...

You only get one body.  Love it.  Care for it.  Treat it as your most precious possession.