Oh No You Just Didn't!!

Photo Credit: Four Four Two dot com Love it!!!

One thing that used to totally bug me when I had extra weight was people saying to me mostly woman, "You would be so pretty if you were thinner." Seriously did you just say that? I mean really you have control over how your body looks, for the most part, but my face is not going to change except maybe get a little thinner. And seriously I'm still the same person on the inside.

Oh and then there are those shallow males that wanted nothing to do with me until I dropped the weight. I mean really, you wouldn't even give me the time of day before and now you think I'm going to go out with you, I'm thinking not! Both of the men I married, married me when I had extra weight on a true sign they loved me for who I was and found me attractive just the way I was.

These days when I discuss my eating habits and working out with others I get a new reaction, "But you are so thin." Well how do you think I look the way I do? I am not sitting on the couch eating chocolate bon bons watching One Life to Live. Why do people assume because you are thin you don't have to work at it? Sometimes I wish I could eat whatever I want or not have to exercise, but I look in the mirror and see defined muscles and run to work out.

The biggest thing I have learned through the years is that I am who I am and beautiful just the way I am. I work out because I like the way I look and the way I feel. If you have a problem with the way I look, then don't look I'm not doing it for you.

For some reason I just feel like venting today.

Salads

Photo Credit: Taste of Home Southwest Chicken Salad

Love salads, but they can be unhealthy if you are not careful. Most of the time I do not even use dressing, I have so much flavor contained in my salad, I don't need it.

My salad will always contain the following: chicken (not fried), cheese (a must), black olives, cucumbers, tomatoes and pickles if I am at Subway. While the cheese is not the healthiest decision it is one item I will not do without. Every one has certain foods they just don't want to let go of, but what matters is that you eat them in moderation and/or not often. I also love the southwest chicken salad from Sonic, but since relocating I have noticed it is not on the menu here, stinks.
Tat
Salad dressings pack a lot of calories and some fat along with those calories. I like Chick Fa La's chicken wraps and get the fat free dressing to dip it in. The fat free dressing does have a thinner texture as well a different taste. However, I have found that after eating it for a time you get used to it. If dressing is your vice I suggest not putting it on your salad, but in a bowl on the side and dipping into it. By doing this you will be able to reduce some of the fat and calorie intake.

Another item I tend to stay away from are the deli meats. I have noticed that my body does not like these and stick to rotisserie style meats which are usually chicken and turkey. Yes, I do stray sometimes, but not often it is not worth it for all the work I have to do to look and feel the way I want.

Salads are also a great way to curb a hungry appetite. We have all been to that point where we are just so hungry and want everything and anything. First start with a small salad, not to much just enough to fill that void and curb the hunger monster. Once you have done this you can than make a clearer and healthier decision about what you want to eat.

OK, one more thing, as I was searching for an image I came across a number of sites geared towards healthy salads. I just want to say sorry, but I do not think that bacon is a healthy choice. Some of the salads which were deemed healthy were over 500 CALORIES!!!! Ekk!!! So, I found the image at one of my favorite places to go for recipes, Taste of Home and this one is under 200 calories. Like I said at the beginning salads can be unhealthy, be alert my beautiful friends.

So, what ingrediant on your salad can you not do without?
Have you found healthier items to substitute for unhealthier ones?

Exercising

Photo Credit: Online Nutrition Newspaper

I just got done checking the fitness and health group I belong to on Linkedin. I can not believe how many individuals are claiming to know how YOU can lose 10 lbs in a week. Or get that flat belly, and on and on, if these individuals who claim to know these secrets indeed worked out they would know they are fibbing, fibbing, fibbing.

We are all different, what works for me will not necessarily work for you. Oh really lose 10 lbs in a week sure because the first 10 lbs you lose is water weight. After that is when you need to work to get the extra weight off and keep it off. Do not fall for anything that promises you it can do something for you. I love Tae Bo, The Firm and Cathe Friedrich, but would never say you should do them because they work for  me and I enjoy them. That's me I am not you, you may loath throwing a punch or doing the step while working your abs.

When it comes to exercising it is all very personal, you need to find something you enjoy doing.  The important thing is to have both a cardiovascular work out along with a toning work out if you truly want to have a fit body. If not I at least recommend a cardo, cardo is anything that gets and keeps the heart rate up. No, running after kids and up and down the stairs does not count. If you like walking consider a power walk work out, I used do this and would walk along with my walk man to the beat of the music. Music should be up beat and lively to inspire this. Okay I think I have talked enough about this and got my point across to all my beautiful friends.

If you have any questions on this topic feel free to ask I will answer to the best of my ability.

Healthy Eating

Photo Credit: Body Incredible dot com

I have a lot to say on this topic, but what I want to convey today is, listening to your body. Our body speaks to us if only we would take the time to listen.

 I started realizing this during my early twenties while tail gating at a Bears game. At this point I had changed my eating habits and knew certain foods needed to be eaten in moderation. Like potato chips, don't take the whole bag just a hand full if you crave them. I grabbed my handful of chips and began to indulge when a little while later I noticed the rings on my fingers were tighter than usual. It was that day I found out that salt made me retain water and chips became a very infrequent guest in my mouth.

After that I started paying more attention to how my body looked and felt after eating. I discovered that no matter how much I love pork, it does not love me, my lower abs bulge and I feel weighed down, like there's a rock in my stomach. I found this to be also true with beef, so I switched to ground turkey. I love cheese, but found that cheese causes me to be constipated however, I have also learned vegetables aid in avoiding the problem.

Another area were we can listen to our bodies is when it tells us we do not need to eat. Food is fuel for our bodies, but as a society we tend to eat because it tastes good. We need to listen to our bodies and eat when our body tells us to and stop when it tells us to.

Some individuals may have health conditions which may require them to eat more. My friend's son has a condition where he is missing the nerve in his body that tells him his body is full. This causes him to eat on an ongoing basis, it is so bad that my friend said she caught him eating flour one day. They keep the cabinets and fridge locked so he does not have easy access to food.

My first husband died from complications of diabetes. I did not keep a lot of junk food in the house, if I did get something for the kids, I had to hide it. What I did do was make sure there were healthy foods always available for the children, my self and my husband. Keep the junk to a limit, currently the boys are allowed one bag of chips a month. However, they have to pour some in a bowl they are not allowed to sit down with the whole bag which causes you to eat more.

It took me a year to stop drooling at the check out counter as my two favorite treats taunted me. I am not going to say it is easy because that would be a lye, it was, hard watching everyone else eat whatever they wanted to. But, I stuck to my guns, I was going to take off the extra weight and get healthy. So, get rid of the foods that taunt you and stock your shelves with healthy choices, hugs my beautiful friends.

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Scales

Photo Credit: Drone Tone dot com

So, yesterday I was talking to my Mary Kay consultant and because she is into fitness we started talking about various topics geared towards fitness. During our conversation we came upon the topic of scales, to weigh or not to weigh? That was the question, I quickly confessed I am a scale hopper, I weigh my self every single day.

I hear it all the time, you don't need to weigh your self just go by how your clothes fit. Sorry, if I did that I would be popping out of them before I knew it. My consultant said something that I had never thought of before yet it is true. The scale should be used as a way of making sure you are at the weight you feel best at not a number you want to get to. Wow!! What a revelation, yes I use the scale to make sure I am on track, at the weight were I feel the most comfortable not some unrealistic number I could probably never achieve.

Both my consultant and I know at what weight we feel good, healthy and full of energy.  So, we use the scale to make sure we are within that range and if not know that either less calories have to be taken in or more cardo is in order. If you know the weight you feel the healthiest and are not there, make that your goal. If you are not sure, set a realistic goal for your self and see how you feel. You can always adjust the numbers as you go along.

I recently found Bex Life on YouTube and absolutely love her "You Have 4 Minutes" series. I found this video and will be following along with Bex later today. What I want you to do is turn off the sound the first time you watch and guess how much she weighs. Then watch it again as Bex shares about her weight. The point of doing this is to give you a realistic view of numbers and how we over rate them.

Hello World!!

This is my first blog here and because I have so much to say and share on this topic it has been hard to determine what to write. So, I thought something encouraging should be first, after all we all need encouragement.

 Let me start by saying at one point and time in our lives we all have or are dreaming having that swim suit model body. We work so hard to get there, but we look in the mirror and it is just not there. For years I wondered why I worked so hard and could not achieve the look I wanted. One day it hit me, I am not built like them, no matter how much weight I lost or how much I worked out fact was I am not built like them. I am built like me and all I can do is do what I can to look and feel my best.

Our society has given woman the feeling that if we do not look a certain way we are not good enough or pretty enough. I am hear to tell you that is a load of poppy cock, we are all beautifully and wonderfully made just as we are. Working out and eating healthy is what we do so we can live more fulfilling lives with the people with love and care about. It is what works for me and what works for you, how I feel and how you feel, not what does the rest of the world think about me.

So, join me as I share what I have learned and what I do when I don't feel like doing it any more, hugs my beautiful friends.