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Monday Musings

Monday. Literally like swimming into Monday. Was it only not so long ago that I was complaining we needed rain? Well as it goes in the south, when it shows up, it’s ready to party. The past week offered plenty but the weekend saw lots of local areas, streams and creeks flooding.

I’m just over here annoyed that it doesn’t make for the best training environment for running and cycling. But I also know it’s good to train in everything since you never know what race day will offer up in the weather department.

It always amazes me though, with a good dose of all that wet stuff, how it almost turns everything green overnight. The fact that my grass is going to be approaching my height in days is rather troubling… and means I’ll be picking up some extra cardio work shoving a push mower all over the place cutting it.

I’ve had people tease me about my preferring a push mower over a riding mower, but honestly, I just like the work that comes with it. There’s something satisfying about it and it feels good to be able to do it.

Do you have a preference?

Rainy days are always good for projects…

So I used the time inside this weekend to work on some of my furniture projects. I pretty much wrapped up a custom order I’ve been working on. Two of the final chairs are old harp back chairs and I’ve had to basically build the harp part (painstakingly) back up because age and careless handling from a previous owner’s “better idea” had left them broken and in sad condition. My customer loved them and wanted all four I had ( plus four other random ones I had) But I’ll really be glad to get past the repair stuff on these, it’s been one of my more challenging projects.

I did however, flip this cute phone bench I got last week fairly quick. It too needed veneer repair on side so it made it a good paint candidate… not only that… I just got a quick vision for what colors it needed and I couldn’t be more thrilled with how it came out…

20180907_123323 — And after… I am seriously in love with this.

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Not happy with the lighting in photos, the yellow is actually a bit deeper and warmer but matches the fabric perfectly.

In the list of things that are annoying…..

This week, once again, I was wrestling off thick, goopy price tags off some glass items I’d purchased. It is up there on my most annoying list.

I get it… person slapping price tags on glass or other surfaces doesn’t have to see it after that. They don’t have to go home with it and begin the frustrating attempt to remove it without destroying item in the process.

Ugh.

There’s got to be an easier way, right? Something kinder and gentler to the poor purchaser. I try a variety of tricks to extract them, do you have any clever ideas that make the work easier?

Oh. Let’s not forget to add to the list “easy open tops”, “just tear here” markers on packages, and “re closeable Ziploc ” tops.

Lies.

They are all lies.

It sounds good in theory, but really, have you ever tried to really successfully open those package tops without losing your sanity, much less having it actually zip and seal afterwards?

This my friend, is what scissors are for, and re closeable tops be damned.

Making the news this week…..

Just Do It.

I probably don’t need to say more than that do I? Unless you live in a cave you couldn’t have missed Nikes controversial new campaign ad with Colin Kaepernick.

The meme’s have abounded from humorous, to crazy, to thought provoking, to well, down right stupid.

Every person has become an expert on knowing him and what he stands for…or doesn’t stand for.

Every person has an opinion on Nike even if they didn’t previously.

I’ll just state the obvious here. Personal opinions are not absolute real…. facts. No matter how hard someone tries to make them be, they just aren’t.

I have sat back and processed, observed and studied lots of angles of this. I’m certainly no expert on the topic.

I just try to look at things in an objective way not driven by wild personal passions or half baked beliefs of questionable truths gleaned off internet postings of my friends, or worse yet my own desires to “make” something be true without actual, ya know, real facts or evidence.

It is crazy to me how people jump on bandwagons without actually digging into something on their own and gathering their own info but just blindly accept others thoughts or opinions on a topic.

There is a reason people are referred to as sheep. Sheep just collectively follow each other without any thought to doing something different from the others, thinking for themselves.

Maybe because I write and am often digging and researching for information that my perspective looks at it in a different way.

If you tell me the sky is blue, but I can’t for sure assess that myself, then I’m darn well gonna go look to the best resources I can find to help me come to a conclusive idea if the sky is really blue or not.

Nothing gets me more than self imposed ignorance on anything.

I was going to make this a passing topic on todays post, but really have determined it needs it’s own platform, it’s own separate post.

I’m going to let my own opinions out ( and yes, I’m just as entitled to them as the next guy) perhaps I’ve seen this whole thing in a different way than others. I have seen some interesting, sane, thoughtful posts made by others that let me know there are other thinking and reasoning people lurking out there.

I also plan to bring some “facts” in alongside my own thoughts.

And on that note… I’ll move on… for now.

Let’s talk about food….

Of course I need to share a new recipe with you. I went out to eat this week and the local restaurant had added fresh asparagus and cherry tomatoes with garlic as one of their side dishes.

It was amazing and colorful.

Of course I immediately set out to find a similar recipe to duplicate at home, which I did and whipped up last night.

Seriously these few items paired together are amazing. I baked chicken, made some rice pilaf and dinner was served.

In other news….

I got a new book this week I’m really eager to get into. It’s called “Roar” and it’s written for women athletes, addressing our physical make up and how we difer from men in our training needs, eating, and conditioning to be stronger, better athletes. It’s such a rich book full of great information I am hopeful to get some new ideas for training. Of course, once I finish there will be a book review on it as well 🙂

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That’s a wrap for this week. Have you read any good books lately? Tried any new foods?

Monday Musings

Hello Monday. Another one in the works.

Monday, the day of the week that seems to garner the most whining, complaining and lamenting. It’s the killjoy of the week, the black sheep of the family, the ugly step-child, or the stuff you stepped in on your shoe.

I’m never sure why Monday always gets such a bad rap.

Oh I know, the party’s over, right?

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Back to work, the grind, the no fun and games grind of the work week.

Of course some of you get up with your positive pants on and head into work and you be like…..

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And with all the negative Monday talk have you ever wondered if……. monday3

Yeah, something to ponder.

But then, I’m over here like….

I guess for me it’s easier to embrace it as another day of opportunities and chances to do things.

It’s another day we’ve been given this amazing gift called, life, and we are complaining about Monday.

You. Are. Alive.

One more day to spin around the sun, see things, do things, feel, touch, love, and experience life.

Yes, you might view Monday as the armpit of the week, but don’t miss out on living while you feel that way.

Speaking of living….

Yikes. I seem to be meeting myself coming and going lately. Working with my son for awhile at his business ( means being gone all day) training for my duathlon, maintaining the household/ life stuff, writing for this blog, doing research for mentioned blog ;), and attempting to work on my projects for my business leaves me feeling like I want another hour or two in my day, preferably to sit and be still for a moment.

Training is rolling along for the duathlon.

I took off Sunday morning to go run both legs of the course where the race will run. I’ve done it like. twice, since last years race. As I shared in a recent Instagram post, it’s not an “easy” 5k. I mean really, to me a 5k is a distance I’m just warming up in. But this 5k, literally out the start line, is on an incline and you head right into hills, big hills. It continues pretty much until they turn us around to head back, then there is some down hill work, but also more up and down action too.

Anyway, I wanted to be out there to get it under me again mentally as well as physically. The heat and humidity is just a part of what goes with my training so that adds to fun as well.

As I was heading into the final stretch I checked my watch to see that I had clipped a 10 minute mile… now for a lot of you that’s like…slow.

For a 50ish year old woman, I’m okish with that 😉 especially given the mile it had been. I saw my finishing time was close to what I did in the duathlon last year when I was in my peak condition and all I could think is… “I need to get my average pace down”.

I’m hard on myself. I expect a lot and I have high goals. don’t like to feel like I’m not working towards improvement in what I do.

The beauty of athletics right? The sky is the limit on reaching new goals no matter how small or big they may be.

I reminded myself that my last mile was worth cheering over and a decent time on that course was celebratory too.

20180902_085627 — Finished both run legs for the duathlon… smile time.

Of course I might’ve been smiling ’cause I knew food would be imminent. It’s not a good sign when I take off and my tummy is already growling. Food never, ever tastes better than post workout and my hunger is deep, real, and needy.

Do you ever let yourself get that hungry? Trust me, you appreciate food on a whole new level when you are that kinda needy.

Speaking of food….

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nothing like finding a random snack hanging out in my purse haha I guess it beats having candy in there or something of that nature.

In the category of things that make me go hmmmm.

Featured stories on the daily news leave me shaking my head.

daily interaction with your children will help them grow and thrive.
eating a diet with less processed food and sugars will help you lose weight.
exercise can help you feel and look better.
eating a diet high in vegetable and fruits can help prevent many cancers.
reading to your children will grow their vocabulary.
smoking can shorten your life, be aging and cause other health issues.

I mean, aren’t these “no brainer” kinda things? Common sense? Like you should just know this stuff? Maybe not but it always leaves me scratching my head when I hear stuff that just seems like you’d know to do it or not do it.

When I’m not trying to eat well and train for a duathlon….

Ok I’ve shared in other posts about my new little vintage business. https://sassyfitnesschick.com/2018/07/25/the-journey-of-opening-a-vintage-business/ Believe it or not, it’s been a month since I jumped in the deep end and got my little space at a local shop. I’m so excited that the month has gone really well! I’ve sold a lot of things, I’ve also sold stuff online and picked up some custom orders too.

This is where I start thinking I need 8 days a week with 36 hours in a day…..

especially with the upcoming holiday season on top of it all.

Goodness.

I’ve got plenty of projects going on. I scored this cute little number the other day…

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I have a thing for these old phone tables. This one is unique so I was excited to literally stumble across it one day last week at a local thrift shop. I love the fabric on seat and it appears rather new so I’m working with it… I already have a vision for what the rest will look like so stay tuned.

Ok, it’s getting late for me and I need to wrap this up… but first.. this week when I was doing a shift at the shop… I saw one of the girls selling this…. I instantly related….

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I mean… really…. I do believe this could be true 😛 Coffee is a the soothing beverage of life. It can pat me on the back and remind me I can do great things haha

I do believe it could be my spirit animal.

Do you have one? How do you feel about Mondays? Tell me something cool and interesting from your week.

Spotlight On Mushrooms

Mushrooms. Edible mushrooms are the fleshy and edible fruit bodies of several species of macrofungi. They can appear either below ground or above ground where they may be picked by hand.

I know, you already saw the title to this post and have thought about checking out and not reading past this sentence. Maybe my sass and humor might keep you around for at least the next paragraph or two 😉

Maybe you’re wondering of ALL the foods on the planet why I’d make fungus the subject of my food spotlight post. Why not something tastier and prettier to look at?

mushroom

I know… I hear you.. but miss out on telling you cool things about mushrooms you may not even know?

Like get this… do you know their DNA is more closely related to a human level than plant?

Really.

They are more closely related to humans than plants.

Ahhhh… now I’ve got you!

Bet you didn’t know that, right?

So are mushrooms vegetables?

The simple answer is no, it’s not a vegetable although it’s in the vegetable family due to it’s nutritional make up.

Ok so hold on for a little science here…..

mushrooms are fruiting bodies of macroscopic filamentous fungi. Earlier when mycology ( the study of fungi) arose it was a part of botany. This happened because fungi were considered to be primitive plants. The biggest difference in a (plant) vegetable and a mushroom is how they get their food. Plants if you remember from middle school science, possess chlorophyll and make their own food via photosynthesis.

How handy is that?

Fungi on the other hand exist on decaying material in nature.

There are also the obvious structural differences, such as a lack of roots, leaves, and seeds.

Fungi basically have their own kingdom on the basis of cellular organization.

So the bottom line?

We share similar DNA’s.. have you ever thought much about how good mushrooms are almost like meat?

I will mention hubby strongly argues this point 😛

I won’t bog us down in anymore science stuff, go look if you don’t believe me.

Have you ever wondered why mushrooms are a good source of Vitamin D? And one of the few sources that naturally contain it?

Because like us, they can absorb it from the sunlight.

Their cellular structure allows them to absorb it just like our skin does.

Eat your mushrooms for natural Vitamin D 🙂

I hate mushrooms.

Well, not anymore. I have to confess I haven’t started eating them till later in life. They started becoming more of a staple in my diet a few years ago, once I got past their ugly factor and bland appearance.

I can’t imagine now not tossing them in my basket with all the other produce.

They show up in my breakfast veggie blend, salads, stir fry, and oven roasted veggie mixes.

Heck, I even grind them up and toss them in with hamburger for spaghetti or taco meat but don’t tell my family that cause they will say I’m trying to poison them.

Seriously, ground mushrooms are great add in’s to hamburger dishes. I tell you, no one will know. 😉

What’s the nutritional low down

One medium mushroom has 4 calories… 4 measly little calories… which means you can eat a whole lot of them for not much impact.

Low in calories and fat and cholesterol-free, mushrooms contain a modest amount of fiber and over a dozen minerals and vitamins, including copper, potassium, magnesium, zinc and a number of B vitamins such as folate. Mushrooms are also high in antioxidants like selenium and glutathione, or GSH, substances believed to protect cells from damage and reduce chronic disease and inflammation.

One cup of mushrooms provides 1-2 grams of protein, have no fat or cholesterol and are very low in sodium.

So let’s eat.

If you haven’t been a mushroom fan, you might have to work through your issues 😉

Mushrooms are wonderful sautéed, especially with onions. They work great in casseroles, roasted veggie dishes and more.

Try these recipes….

https://www.plainchicken.com/2016/05/marinated-grilled-vegetables.html#more

If you haven’t tried them or have reserved opinions on them, why not attempt them mingled in with other foods?

20180829_195941 — Do I look like I’ve just harvested these out of the woods?

Don’t be fooled with the pic above, I’m no gardener. Plants come to my house to die 😛 I thought you might just appreciate all my “back yard” behind me 😉 and it made a nice drop for mushrooms….

Oh. And don’t eat those mushrooms in the woods, they can mess with your head.

Your turn… you tell me… did my post make you shudder thinking you’ll never eat fungus? Or do they find their way to your plate? Do you have ways you enjoying eating them?

Things No One Told Me About Exercise

Exercise. It’s one of those subjects that when the topic comes up, people delicately shudder and walk off as if you’ve mentioned the plaque or some other horrible ill.

There are jokes made about pain and sweat and how hard it is.

There are comments about how “they should start to do something” or their “doctor told them to” or “my friend is trying to get me to go with them” and many other similar thoughts.

We can be challenged, made to feel guilty, or completely ignore the idea.

For some, just the mere thought of having to move their bodies in purposeful exercise makes them sweat.

Honestly, I was in a similar boat a few years ago.

Then one day, like many people are, I was at a doctor appointment for my yearly check up. When he asked me what I did for exercise I told him I “used” to go for little walks but hadn’t done it in a long time. He encouraged me to do something, to at least get back into walking and to try and drop a few pounds.

I literally left his office that day, went home, took my first walk and pretty much never stopped after that.

fun and games

It wasn’t all fun and games.

I didn’t skip out and dive into my walks happy. No. I grumbled over it. I lamented being fat and “having” to exercise. ( gosh have I learned a lot since then) I hated being hot and I would’ve preferred staying in and doing something else.

I wanted to come up with reasons not to do it, but I’m kinda stubborn and when I get into something I get determined to make it work.

Yet somehow in all of the talk about the “how’s” and “why’s” for exercise, there’s a whole lotta things that never get mentioned.

Exercise IS hard.

In the beginning it feels like… death. You wonder why on earth you signed up for this fresh hell and how is it really gonna benefit you? Where are the results already?

Seriously, I’d dutifully go for my 2 mile walk and want, ya know, instant results, for my efforts.

Honestly though, I always did feel mentally better after I did it, so there’s that.

Exercise reminds you that you are really outta shape.

Admit it. Who hasn’t gone up a flight of stairs, tried to run for a short distance, or even gone for a brisk walk without breathing like a freight train and feeling like your heart is gonna come out of your chest.

Good times.

Yet I never got the memo that those were some of the awesome side effects I could encounter when I decided to pursue exercising.

I hated that feeling ’cause it did tell me I needed to work on what was inside of me as well as what was on the outside.

Let’s not forget the other awesome side effects of looking like a red ripened tomato ’cause your blood is wildly rushing and you have sweaty hair plastered to your face.

You ache and feel muscles you never knew you had.

No wonder people run away from exercise.

Don’t do what you hate.

If I had a chocolate bar for the times I’ve had people come to me asking about exercise activities to do but they start with… “Ok, well like, I reallllyyy hate running. I mean, I know YOU like it and all but for me…well..no.”

I simply tell them, well then, don’t run.

Hey I never imagined I’d turn into a runner. That stuff is hard. But somehow, in some weird way, I started doing it and before I knew it… I was running.

I won’t lie. There’s a pleasure and pain pay off to it, but it’s always fiercely rewarding so I’m kinda loathe to give it up 😉

Find something you can enjoy and look forward to and then become the biggest expert at it you can. It’s that simple and it’s the best way to stick with it.

It eventually WILL pay off.

It will. Trust me. It won’t pay off after 9 days or maybe even a month, but it will. But long before you may see physical changes, you will mentally feel better. Going for purposeful exercise can clear your head, help you problem solve, and make you feel better overall. It’s a great day to unwind from your day or start it. I prefer and have turned into a morning workout girl for a variety of reasons.

Mornings are when people typically want/need almost nothing from me so I can take that time. I also feel like it starts my day in an energetic positive way… even if I may still be rubbing sleep out of my eyes why the sun comes up behind me. I am also smart enough to know it is easier to have excuses later in the evening than morning so I just make it my first priority.

IMG_20180817_130826_381 — Shhhh is there something behind me? How I love starting my day

No matter what time you choose know you are making an investment in yourself and it will have pay offs.

You’ll actually start to look forward to it.

Really, you will. Once you’ve built it into a new habit it will become easier to incorporate it in your day and you’ll come to actually crave that time, even when you know it will be hard and it will be work.

You won’t mind that because you will come to understand that it makes you feel good and that’s a pretty nice side effect to hard work.

I honestly schedule appointments and other activities around making sure I have time for my training and some moments to get cleaned up and human looking after I’m done . This is as important as anything else in my day and I make no apologies for putting it on my agenda.

You shouldn’t either.

Some things won’t feel so hard.

Really. In the beginning when you are gasping for air like a fish out of water and your heart is pounding you may think you’ll never adapt.

You will.

Your body will begin to do all the miraculous things it can and make adaptations so the work “feels” easier but the reality is you are getting stronger. You’ll be able to walk or run longer, lift more and as you make progress you can ( and should) keep pushing on for more that feels hard again.

Years ago when I started doing a little lifting I had these cute 5 lb weights.

Yes, for real. ( I’d never let anyone get away with that now 😉 )

Anyway, I decided I’d make a big move up to 8 lbs. at the time, I felt it a little more. When that started feeling like nothing after a million times, I made a huge move to 15 lbs. ( go big or go home right?? haha)

I won’t lie. That was work. I could barely do 6-8 reps without deciding it was enough. ( girl arms)

I worked those weights a lot. I did what I could do and when I felt like I could add “just one more rep” before my arm fell off, I did it.

Obviously, I camped there for awhile gradually building in sets of high reps that kept me feeling it.

A while back, I realized the 15lb weights felt like the previous ones, like easy, no effort.

I got the small barbell, tossed on about 25 lbs and oh yeah, I’m feeling it again.

Seriously, the first time I could barely squeak out 3-5 reps before it was fail ( meaning I couldn’t curl it one more time)

I just worked that in each time… I’d push for one more rep…

Now, I’m kinda proud to say I can do 3 sets of 8 before my arms are yelling at me. Even though I use heavier weight for other moves, the 25 is for single arm work and my arms are definitely earning their muscles haha

IMG_20180417_093602_776 — Strength training isn’t just about lifting stuff, it’s about being strong for the other activities I’ve come to love.

I’m serious… keep at what you do… no matter how small it seems… and build on it. You’ll get stronger and the work in some ways, can feel easier.

It can really build your confidence

So you’re thinking, “well, I am a confident person without working out”. Yeah, I was too. But when you start exercising and putting your body through vigorous work, it changes and you get stronger and you’re doing things other people tease and make jokes about, it will build your confidence even more.

When you set goals, sometimes bigger than you foresee being able to do, go through training, sacrifice, sweat, tears, exhaustion and a whole list of fun things, you’ll get it.

Train for and run a marathon, it will give you the confidence you can do anything. Trust me.

You’ll meet amazing people doing what you do.

So, I’m a little bit.. social.

I’m mentally seeing my hubby reading this choking, reading that last line to which he would snort and say… “A little?!?”

Ok well maybe, quite a bit.

Turning into an athlete certainly has brought me into different circles, and in those circles, meeting some amazing and talented people.

A few years back when I was selected to be in Runners World, “Runners Body” edition, https://sassyfitnesschick.com/runners-world-body-edition-feature/ I was privileged to share the pages with some amazing athletes scattered all across the U.S. These were people I would’ve never encountered otherwise. After the magazine hit the market (Dec 2012) thanks to the world of social media many of us connected. Many of us to this day, are connected and cheering on each others accomplishments.

Locally, I love knowing people who perform in similar sports as I do and having that common ground to discuss our fields of interest ( this often saves the sanity of our loved ones who may or may not be weary of hearing of our times, our negative running splits, or what technique is best for releasing worked muscle groups 😛 )

Knowing these people remind me I can always strive for more, to get more from myself, and to keep setting bigger goals.

My Ironman friends… well… are you even human???

Maybe… someday… who knows.

All that to say, you can meet some interesting people when you get out there. And if you’re semi- social like I am… well it goes together like peanut butter and jelly 😉

Energetic. You’ll get more energy.

I will admit. That was a hard sell in the beginning. How… how… could I get more energy when I could barely drag my carcass off the sofa to go do something ?

This didn’t happen over night. However, the more I did, the more energy I seemed to get. It’s like exercise became the breeding ground for more energy.

Weird, I know, but it happens.

Just start, it will come.

That whole healthy thing.

Ok, I knew intellectually, before I started working out, that it had some health benefits. However, I had no experience with it. This takes a little time but when you start eating better and exercising, it has positive results on your body, inside and out.

My doctor tells me each year at my annual check up my labs are boring and normal, which I think is a good thing.

My good cholesterol level is off the charts past “normal” to which he tells me is generated from all the exercise I do.

There’s a win.

My resting heart rate is usually dancing around in the 40-50 bpm range, thanks cardio and a whole lot of endurance training.

The things I do in my daily life are easy and I have strength to do things on my own and not need “help”.

Let’s not forget how exercise also constantly is generating new cells and growth which many believe is the best anti-aging medicine.

Find some posts below I’ve written on this topic….

Exercise And Aging

Aging And The Fountain Of Youth

Have I sold you yet?

I hope, I’ve presented some valid ideas for making you want to build your own exercise plan.

I’ve written this article in a somewhat playful way to share with you things I never really knew or understood about exercise.

It IS important. It’s not just for weight loss but is good for our bodies. We’ve been made for movement. Find a post on that idea below…..

https://sassyfitnesschick.com/2018/06/28/no-exercise-required/ and it’s valuable for our total health and well being, inside and out.

Do yourself a favor and start. Start small, start somewhere but get going. You can thank me later 😉

20180625_093035 — After workout… when you can cheer for yourself for getting it done… and yes, you can 😉

Your turn…. how do you view exercise? Or how have you viewed it? Do you appreciate the benefits of it ?

Monday Musings

Oh Happy Monday beautiful people! Seems like we were just here, right? Once again it’s late evening as I write this reflecting back on the week and all that’s gone on.

On a positive, exciting note for me, I’ve had a lot of sales with my furniture business! Just when I start thinking I may grow into an old furniture lady surrounded by beautiful relics, things sell.

I had sold several pieces last week, then a woman saw a chair I had done and was selling online, went crazy over my stuff and has bought up every finished chair I had, as well as every unfinished, and even one I had to go out and find to get her an even number of 8.

She also bought an unfinished telephone bench I had, and has custom ordered a 7ft antique buffet that I haven’t gotten to yet.

Wow.

Funny thing about the chairs, I had finished several and was planning to take them into my shop. I stood there thinking ” I hope the people who love chairs show up soon”

Then the next day this lady comes into my life. She is off the chart crazy over my work and I’ll be busy finishing her order in the upcoming next week or two.

Now I’m realizing all my unfinished projects I’ve had waiting for me have dwindled down and I’m hunting for more things to do. I’m also realizing the holiday season will be here in a few months and I need to be thinking of things to keep my little shop area full of goodies for customers.

received_1740764015993170 (1) — I love this wall in my little room 🙂

If you want to read more about my journey into this process, you can find it here

The Journey Of Opening A Vintage Business

I’m still a working woman….

I mentioned last week I was helping my son out for awhile at his shop… that combined with my projects above is enough to keep me running right now. I try most days to assemble healthy foods to take with me.

Salads, as I’ve mentioned before are one of my favorite lunch meals because they are satisfying and nutritious as well as leave me feeling energetic and not lethargic from a big meal

20180814_125747 — it’s really ok to mix fruits and veggies 😉

When people ask me what I “take” to stay healthy and fit…. this… is more important than anything. Lots of colorful fruits and veggies are what I “take”. ** not shown or getting to make an appearance, my two hard boiled eggs on the sidelines. Gotta have that protein. ** 😉

On the topic of food… I tried a couple new recipes this week… maybe not so light on calories… but definitely tasty

https://www.plainchicken.com/2009/01/creamy-chicken-casserole.html

http://bestrecipesww.com/philly-cheese-steak-sloppy-joes-recipe/

( ok the recipes are being brat’s and not appearing to link properly… both the chicken casserole and philly sloppy joes were big hits )

In the ways of technical stuff….

I may have been whining… I mean…uh… sharing….. with you that my Garmin bit the dust. Well, I mean it was working , it just kinda lost it’s top. I could still hear it making various sounds I had become accustomed to but, well, it’s inside were hanging out and as you can imagine, that was a wee bit of a problem.

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turns out according to Garmin, they had some issues with the adhesive that holds the face plate on. So after a bit of communication, I had signed up to get the new Vivoactive 3. (For the record, they are really awesome to work with on issues like this)

It’s just like the Vivoactive HR I’ve worn for two years, but more refined, enhanced and well. prettier looking.

I decided I needed the white and rose gold….

IMG_20180817_130826_383 — So pretty all still packaged….waiting…

Of course one of it’s new features is that it looks more like a watch than the rectangular Vivoactive HR.

It’s got lots of other cool stuff too, but that will have to wait for my review on it in a few weeks.

For now, I am a happy camper to have it tracking me and using it for my training again.

IMG_20180817_130826_380 — it’s so pretty… out for it’s first workout 😉

I’m finding that the heart rate tracker ( which was pretty accurate before) is really even more fine tuned now as it captures more data than previously. My resting heart rate can bounce between the 40’s and 50’s beats per minute (bpm)

remember boys and girls, when we do cardio training, our heart is a muscle that gets strong too. A lower resting rate is a good indicator that your cardio work is paying off and your heart doesn’t have to work as hard.

The watch has so many awesome features. One of the best improvements is the all touch screen and it’s high level of responsiveness. It has good back light and a large, easy to read screen.

Gosh. I’m sounding like a commercial here.

Ok, let’s just say it’s impressed me and I’ve only had it a few days. I love figuring all the techie stuff out on it ( well, mostly) and I know I still have a lot to learn ( I think I’ll catch on)

Oh, and it comes in black on black to which I almost got as black is one of my signature colors, but gosh, ya know the white and rose gold just won out.

I do promise a better review and not just a tease on my Monday Musings about it.

Oh, speaking of writing.

I’m working on some fun posts and (hopefully) a relevant series for women on menopause ( OMG did I just use that word in public?!) partly, I’m educating myself as I know some day it will happen and I just like to know and understand things. The other part is I want to educate women better on this topic. In todays day of anything goes and everything is talked about, I’m constantly shocked at how this is still whispered behind a hand or met with some shocked silence. Why?

So I am wanting to do a little series on the topic examining varies things about it, how to deal with it and some self care ideas as well. I know I have a large readership of you, men, out there. You can read along too as I’m sure you have women in your life as this topic will affect them at some point too.

I did write an article called Menopause, Muscles and Middle Age, you can find here while you wait for me to get my act together on that series. https://sassyfitnesschick.com/2017/05/10/menopause-muscles-and-middle-age/

20180819_191726 — I do love the strong bold lines of this watch as well.

That’s a wrap for now. Make it a good week, smile and remember to make time for yourself.

Now tell me… do you use a sports watch? If so, what is it and what do you love most about it?

There Is No “Try”

There are many words or slang in the English language that either annoy me, bother me or trouble me.

I thought if I had to see or read a post with “Bae” in it one more time, I’d vomit. If there was ever a contest for dumbest slang words, I’d nominate that one. There are of course others that could make the list.

Then there are clever words that were kinda amusing as I watched my daughter in law use the word “clutch”

She would use it in a situation and ask my son or myself, “did I use it right?” that alone was entertaining.

( for the record, it means exactly what you need, exactly when you need it)

Slang.

Then there are normal words that trouble me when I go to write them ’cause I feel like a first grade kid again having to think them through….. “Am I spelling it right???”

Restaurant, Wednesday, February, Rhyme, Rhythm and a plethora of others make me slow down my typing skills. ( for the record, I just had to very carefully, methodically, type those out 😉 )

And they let me have a blog………

But there is one tiny little, easy to spell, almost innocuous word that can always trouble me.

Try.

It’s defined as …. “To make an effort or attempt to do something”

Now you’re probably sitting there tossing down your morning coffee rubbing sleep from your eyes wondering why I’m over here hating on such a tiny word.

Try.

Maybe because when I hear the word used it comes along with conditions.

I’ll try to be there…..

I’ll try to get the time off…..

I’ll try to call…..

I’ll try to make the meeting….

I’ll try to come by…..

I’m going to try and go to the gym….

I’m going to try and get up earlier to workout….

I’m going to try to eat better…..

Are you seeing it? when you use the word “try” you’re leaving yourself an out, a way to commit but still escape responsibility or follow through if you decide you’d rather not.

If someone tells me something and they use the word “try” in it, I’ve already dismissed them as not being serious about what’s being discussed.

They are giving themselves a way out.

They are going to “attempt” or “make an effort” to do something but there’s a strong probability it won’t happen.

Hey, I’m not pointing fingers. I’ve used it before too. Maybe that’s why I can say this, maybe I see it a bit more clearly.

Do or Don’t.

Do or don’t. Skip the “try”.

Yes, I understand it requires commitment to go in one direction or another but at least it’s decisive.

But let’s take it out to our commitment to ourselves. When we say we are going to “try” and eat better, start an exercise plan, go to the gym, get to the doctor etc. we are giving ourselves an out, a way to escape from the self inflicted torture we are setting ourselves up for.

Exercise can be work, hard work.

Losing weight involves making different choices and learning to eat better foods and perhaps leaving some behind.

Going to the doctor who is going to tell us that we are over weight and need to lose some for our health convicts us. Well, hopefully it does and you listen and take steps to change things.

The whole process promises to make us… uncomfortable.

No wonder we throw in the word try when it comes to lifestyle changes.

To try something is to accept the possibility of failure. If you set out to do something, the possibility of failure doesn’t enter your mind.

I remember after I had finished my ( I think, third, half marathon) the thought came to me that now was the time for a full.

At first, I dismissed it as craziness and endorphins from running my best half yet.

The idea persisted. But gosh, that’s a full 26.2 miles of hoofing it along on my own two feet!

That’s a pretty long way.

It didn’t take much for me to commit to it. I knew it was time. I knew I was ready.

I signed up and found the training plan I wanted to use.

It hit me one day not long into my eagerness to pursue this new adventure.

The dialog went something like this….

“What, and I mean WHAT are you thinking?? 26.2 miles!” ( this would be my logical brain speaking)

My free spirit , not sane part of my brain responded, “Yeah, I know. I get that. It’s pretty long. I can do this.”

Logical brain… “you’ve not really thought this through. You are trying something you’ve never done. It’s long. It’s hard. What if you fail? What if you can’t do it?”

That brought me up.

I was trying something I’d never, ever considered in my life. I must be insane. Who signs up for a 26.2 mile run???

What if I couldn’t do it? What if logical brain really WAS right?

You know what I did?

I stomped logical brain down, never let myself consider again that I couldn’t do it or would fail at it, trained my butt off, and ran my first marathon that year on one of the hottest November days Texas had seen.

It was brutal. But I finished with the goal to do one again the next year.

I had never been more physically wasted, tired, drained ( physically and emotionally) ever in my life.

It was exhilarating.

Taking on and training for a marathon, it gave me the confidence I could do anything, that I can try anything and that I can take on the world.

I did another marathon, and then a 50k. If you’ve followed me for awhile then you know I also have gone on to do a duathlon and am training for my second this year.

20180701_092752 — When you remove “try” you can do big things

I would have accomplished none of that if I hadn’t been determined and just set out to do it.

I never allowed the idea of failure to come into my mind again. Training and then doing it made me victorious no matter what. It really comes down to our “state” of mind, what we believe, what we focus on.

I never approached it as I’m going to “try” because that would give me an out, a way to say, “hey, this is hard, I’m old, I don’t have what it takes, but at least, I tried!”

No. I know I would’ve hated myself for caving into such things.

I would challenge you to remove that word when you approach new or challenging goals or plans in your life.

Contemplating a new exercise or a new goal? Maybe you are going to find healthy recipes or join a class.

Think of how you use the word “try” in general, but specifically when it comes to new challenges. Don’t allow “try” to be your escape hatch.

With a different perspective you might find yourself removing obstacles and doing amazing things you never thought you’d accomplish.

Have you thought like that before? Have you thought you’d “try” something fully knowing you might not commit to the process?

Monday Musings

Hello world and welcome to another edition of Monday Musings!

It’s been a crazy weekend and as I write this ( late Sunday evening) it feels amazing to finally sit and get comfy and chill for awhile.

I’m listening to thunder in the distance and the sound of rain falling outside on my deck. Heaven knows we really need the rain here so I’m grateful for that. I also kinda like the sound of evening storms. Do you ?

We hosted my grandsons 6th birthday party this weekend so we were all pretty happy the rain held off all Saturday for his party. We had one of those huge inflatable water slides and probably didn’t need any extra water to go with it 😉

On a side note… you know it IS true…. grandkids are all the amazing things your friends always whispered to you before you had them.. but you thought they were lying or crazy or some other adjective.

Anyway, we did the party, he had a blast and that’s what matters.

I still have an obscene amount of balloons gracing my dining room….

20180812_221344

I finally got some time to work on some of my projects for my space at the Vintage store. If you missed my post on my journey into a vintage business, find it here. https://sassyfitnesschick.com/2018/07/25/the-journey-of-opening-a-vintage-business/

I love doing small things to fill in at my shop. I scooped this little wood caddy up on a local garage sale site this week.

It was kinda…. well…. sad… but I was already envisioning it’s future beauty….

But then… just give me a little time with something and then this happens…..

20180812_195537 — Does it even look the same now ??

Look inside… I love this…

20180812_195616 — Uh…yeah it was a pain in the butt cutting out those squares but so worth it 🙂

I think it came out super cute… such a bright cheery little thing now compared to its former self 🙂

Oh and I’m pretty excited to have had several people contact me to do custom orders for them. Meaning, they have a piece they want me to do some wizardry on.

One girl has a 7 foot buffet. For the love of heaven… nothing small….

I had been chatting with her answering questions, looking at pics and she messaged one night asking if I had an estimate together. I took a deep breath, finished it off, and sent it thinking she’d either decline my price or take it.

The next morning her message simply read… “When can I bring it by?”

Ha… I guess I got the job.

My weekends need to be productive ’cause I’ve kinda signed on to help my son at his shop for awhile since the woman who typically is up front is off gallivanting on a month plus long vacay.

Which means I’m like… a working outside the home kinda woman… most of the week.

Gah.

So my mornings start with me hitting the floor early to get my workout in, showering and eating yogurt and berries while I get ready at Ninja speeds so I can get in to the shop at a reasonable time.

My “boss” knows I’m training for a duathlon so he’s willing to work with my training schedule 😉

Oh yeah speaking of that…..

IMG_20180809_100855_560 — I already rode up this sucker, now the fun part 😉

How about a look down one of the hills I ride on the regular? and don’t be jealous of my snappy Cannondale bike.

So I get some training in before I go to work…..

My son has a small engine repair shop. I run the front taking in orders, checking people out, answering phone and doing anything else he throws at me.

Like helping him lift a heavy generator into the back of a truck.

Those “Practice” squats and deadlifts in my workouts do have pay offs for real life 😛

I had forgotten how… “fun”…. dealing with the public can be in customer service ways or how people can have such high demands and well, gosh, they can be horribly rude.

One customer… “well, I’m not happy. I had this in here for repair recently and it doesn’t seem to be working now.”

Me: “Ok, well when was it in? If it’s recent then we can fix it under warranty, no problem. ”

Customer… “yeah it was in March I think.”

Me: ” Uh… so you mean like about 6 months ago….”

( I always use my smile when I’m dealing out an obvious statement to Mr. Customer)

Then you find out they were using it and ran over a rock or a stump…. like no.. we are not responsible for fixing your stuff for free when you trash it, just because you had it in here 6 months before…

And yes, yes they do expect that.

Or they want stuff fixed but don’t want to pay for what needs to be done, like fix it for free or do just enough to make it work but not do the actual work to fix problem so they can come back and complain.

The other day this man was ranting about a charge for a pick up and delivery fee ( which is the cheapest in town for this service) he’s… older… one day he’s asking me if I’d come cut his grass and telling me he’d make me zucchini bread and the next he’s ranting about the charge and how he’s gonna write negative reviews on us and blah, blah, blah, I just casually tell him no worries we’ll be fine, and may I please have his card number?

Threats are always great too.

When he called back to ask about the exact charge to his card, I told him, as I asked if he’d like a receipt I heard a weird noise and realized he’d just simply hung up on me.

Ah yes. The world of customer service.

I’m constantly amazed not just working there but out in the rest of the world, how horribly awful people can behave to workers behind the counter….like they have a given right to treat them badly…. just because….

I’ve seen to many people go off on baristas at Starbucks over a drink. Like for real. Even if it’s not right, can’t you be decent, talk nicely, and state the problem?

Didn’t your mommy teach you to be polite and respectful ?

The world would be a nicer place if we all took a deep breath and smiled a little, right?

IMG_20180811_090815_895 — Saturday morning… coffee n braids 😉 I love my Starbucks baristas.

How has your week been? Any new adventures? Any thoughts on the world of customer service? How do you feel when someone is acting poorly to a person behind the counter?

Progress And Improvements

It seems when it comes to the subject and actuality of weight loss and health improvements there is a common thought that it should be big, bold, and dramatic to be counted as worthy and notable.

What? You only lost one pound this week?

Throw in the towel.

Have you ever seen one pound of fat? You may rethink that idea.

progress

Yet, we approach our attempts to lose weight and get healthy like that, we dismiss the seemingly not so important looking for something bigger and more grand.

We want that dramatic 5lbs gone in one week like the ad on social media promised. We want to be able to run faster and longer after just a month of starting to run. We think we can lift heavy like the guy at the gym ( only he’s been at it for a lot longer so he can lift more than you)

Stop being dramatic

I really write that in a joking way, but really, stop looking for the big and dramatic as “proof” there’s something going on for all your efforts.

When you or I or anyone decide we are going to take steps to start changing our lives, our bodies, or our mindsets, it will take time.

You don’t want some of those “instant” results. They just don’t last.

Progress IS progress.

Why have we been trained to think if we don’t always have big impressive things going on, it’s not worth our effort?

I was out on a ride a few weeks ago thinking about how I have to work my way back up to a level that I had last year before the duathlon. Sometimes I think it’s “unfair” that if I back off ( as I have to at a point ’cause I can’t stay in peak forever ) that I have to begin to build back up to that level of fitness again.

Like, why can’t it just permanently stick?

Ok in all fairness, even in my not “peak” condition, I still have a higher level of physical fitness than someone who doesn’t work out, but I also have tons of room for progress and improvements in my game.

This was brought to my mind a few days ago in a new way as I took on a fairly huge hill, scaling it quickly and barely being out of breath that I had made progress since I started getting back at it a little over a month ago.

Building up your fitness level takes time, consistency, and uh, some more time.

Trust me, I took a brief moment to celebrate that victory at the top before I was plunged down the backside of that hill at full speed, before I turned around to head back up.

I was making progress.

The self improvement game

Maybe my progress is more than you want to think about or nothing you’d ever do. But you’re still gonna have ways of assessing how you are doing when it comes to your health and fitness goals.

We need to stop dismissing small victories as if they are nothing, when the reality is, they lead to larger victories.

Trust me, it took lots of smaller hills and lots more miles before I got to the point I am today.

If you start to focus and pay attention to those small things you will not only feel more grateful for what you are doing but you will appreciate reaching the bigger goal even more when you get there.

It’s such a journey for me to mentally look back at what I’ve had to do, to get to where I am today. I can see those smaller things so much more clearly as learning opportunities.

As you move forward whether it’s a process of losing weight, training for an event, or just wanting to be able to do something new on your own, be aware of those small steps leading you there.

What does progress look like ?

Each of us could answer that in a hundred different ways. But overall, progress should involve a forward movement towards our specific goal.

Let’s consider losing weight. Setting aside the scale, or clothes fitting looser, which is everyone’s overall idea of “success” and “progress”.

Maybe there are other areas you haven’t considered….

Have you learned to listen to your body better and eat when you’re hungry and not just bored?

Or learned to eat enough to satisfy you without being self indulgent?

Did you bypass the fast food place on the way home for a “snack”?

What about making better food choices over poor ones you used to have?

Are you learning to speak kindly to yourself if you are used to speaking negative self talk?

Have you learned more to value and appreciate your body even if you don’t like something about it?

Do you celebrate more moments of self awareness and stopping yourself from impulsive choices?

Can you step on the scale and see a pound lost and celebrate that as being a bit closer to losing a 5 lb. goal?

Have you let go of old, tired food “rules” and “guilt” to embrace living and enjoying life, which also has food as a part of it?

Have you learned to see food as, food? And not label it “good” or “bad”?

What about in the ways of physical fitness?

If you couldn’t even get the desire to get off the sofa before but now you are at least going for an evening walk, do you see that as progress?

Do you see overcoming obstacles that challenge you and you push through as progress?

If you could hardly walk a mile when you started but now are doing 3 and considering signing up for your first 5K, well yeah, I seriously hope you see that as… progress 😉

Do you do strength training? Can you lift things now that used to feel like you could barely squeak out 5 reps before you fell apart?

Do you feel stronger?

Can you lift more, go longer, push through things you previously didn’t?

You my friend, are making progress.

Of course we don’t want to dismiss things like…

good lab results at the doctor as evidence of changes going on in you from the choices you’ve been making.

Or the fact you have better mental clarity, feel less anxious, are more focused and perhaps are sleeping better because of choices you’ve made.

Perhaps you’ve gotten your relationship with food in order. Maybe now you have it in the proper place it belongs and you call the shots, not food.

And ok, yeah, it is cool when you’re jeans get looser, let’s be honest.

So many things we do are actual steps to progress and improvement with our health and fitness. We just need to learn to appreciate them and not minimize them as not as important as “just” losing weight.

If we take a careful look at all we do, it can encourage us to continue to press on in our journeys and not become weary and frustrated and make the ( not best) choice to give up and go back to our old, unproductive, unhealthy ways.

Choose to see progress and not instant results. It will make your journey far more enjoyable.

Tell me. Do you look for progress in yourself, or do you want to jump right to the end results quickly?

Spotlight on Bananas

Have you ever heard the term “going bananas” as a bit of speech to indicate things are crazy in life? Lately, I feel like that’s how things are, in a good way, but just trying to accomplish all I want to do in a day. I have to remind myself not ALL things must be done.. this is where lists come in handy… mental or written. Those pesky tasks need to be kept in some sort of organized order or they can make you feel, well, a little bananas 😉

If you haven’t snapped to it yet, bananas are what’s on todays food spotlight.

Random factoid first… did you know this humble fruit, botanically, is actually a berry?

Yeah, I didn’t know that either.

Whatever.

It’s tasty and makes a great pre workout snack in my belly that usually prefers no food before endurance sessions. Bananas are a great source of carbs, water and sugars to help athletes who are working hard. Eat one before or after for those healthy benefits.

20180806_180112 — Nothing like a banana to fuel me pre or post workout 🙂

Oh… and a quick shout out to Constantly Varied Gear for my cool new sports top. Hubby and a lot of my friends often call me a beast in regards to my athletic shenanigans so I couldn’t resist ordering it.

Check them out, Constantly Varied Gear, for cool athletic wear.

Now… those bananas… they make a great snack whenever but lets check out some more facts on them.

Health benefits

Bananas are rich in fiber and potassium. They may also help prevent asthma, high blood pressure, diabetes and cardiovascular disease when incorporated into a healthy diet.

Potassium is an important mineral as it helps maintain fluid levels in the body and regulates the movement of nutrients and waste products in and out of cells. Potassium also helps muscles to contract and nerve cells to respond. It keeps the heart beating regularly and can reduce the effect of sodium on blood pressure. Potassium may reduce the risk of kidney stones forming as people age. In turn, healthy kidneys make sure that the right amount of potassium is kept in the body. One medium sized banana contains 422 milligrams of potassium.

Bananas are naturally free of fat, cholesterol, and sodium.

Bananas provide a variety of vitamins and minerals:

Vitamin B6 – 0.5 mg
Manganese – 0.3 mg
Vitamin C – 9 mg
Dietary Fiber – 3g
Protein – 1 g
Magnesium- 34 mg
Folate – 25.0 mcg
Riboflavin – 0.1 mg
Niacin – 0.8 mg
Vitamin A – 81 IU
Iron 0.3 mg

Fresh bananas are available year-round. Unlike other fruits, the ripening process of bananas does not slow down after they are picked. Bananas should be stored at room temperature.

The warmer the temperature, the faster bananas will ripen. However, to slow ripening, bananas should be refrigerated. The outer peel of the banana will darken but the banana itself will stay intact longer.

To encourage faster ripening, place the banana in a brown paper bag at room temperature.

My Mom used to say bananas just got more ripe, that they didn’t really “go bad”. I had to part ways with her on that thought watching gnats carry one off….

Not really… but to me there is a point where there is no way I’m eating that banana…. “ripe” or not.

Actually those super over ripened bananas make freaking awesome banana bread. I have one recipe that uses whole wheat flour… it’s actually the only recipe I use for banana bread ’cause it’s just… that… good.

If I don’t forget, I’ll post it in here for you 🙂

20180806_194818 — Nothing like a crusty, well used recipe, is there??

I am super selective in how I like my bananas and I think many people are, not just weirdo me.

They have to be this perfect, just right shade of yellow. No green anywhere (gross) and it can’t be heading into a darker yellow ’cause they seem way to sweet to me then and I just really don’t enjoy them like that.

Don’t bananas have a whole lot of sugar?

Bananas are on the sweeter side compared to other fruits. One large banana has about 120 calories and 17 grams of sugar compared to I cup of strawberries with 53 calories and 8 grams of sugar. However, in the context of watching sugar in your diet, it should be more of the refined sugars you are concerned about ( those found in soft drinks, table sugar, and other refined added sugars) not natural occurring sugar as found in fruit. When a nutritionist might say to limit sugars in your diet, they mean added refined sugars. Eating a piece of fruit there’s no “added” sugar.

Plus some of the carbs in bananas come in the form of dietary fiber…. 3.5 grabs per large banana…. about 15% of your daily needs.

Green bananas contain a type of carb called resistant starch . (As bananas ripen, the starch turns into sugars, making the banana sweeter.) Because resistant starch isn’t easily digested, it reduces the amount of sugar released into the bloodstream, helping control blood sugar. Research also suggests that resistant starch helps maintain the balance of healthy gut microbes.

Let’s talk more about eating them….

Do you know bananas make great add in’s to baked goods for a rich moist ( cake, brownies whatever) you can substitute half the amount of oil with mashed bananas. So if you needed a cup of oil, you could do half oil and half bananas. This reduces calories and fat but still gives that full flavor.

One fun and tasty way to eat them as a cool frozen treat is to slice them, dip in dark chocolate and freeze. I can’t tell you how delicious they are. I first stumbled across them in the frozen section at store and then wondered why I was paying for something so simple to make 😛

Bananas are also great tossed in homemade smoothies, giving added texture and creaminess along with the health benefits from the banana.

Topping oatmeal, plain yogurt, or peanut butter and toast with banana slices is an excellent way to add nutrition and sweetness without added sugar.

Of course there’s the standard muffins, pie, custard, breads…. yummy….

How about a couple recipes? I thought this peanut butter banana bar looked awesome

In summary bananas are not only a tasty, low calorie snack that can be used in a variety of ways, they are loaded with tons of nutrients and minerals that our bodies love.

And of course, I don’t think you can go wrong with it pre or post workout for an energizing snack 🙂

Your turn now… how do you like bananas? Do you use them to cook with or just eat as is? Do you have any recipes you like using them?

Science Or Snake Oil

As a writer, there are many paths my mind goes when it comes to sitting down and deciding what I want to let out of my head. Sometimes I just feel like talking about life and things going on. Other times, because my blog is about health, fitness, living well and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, my focus is zeroed in these areas.

One of the topics I haven’t written on lately is the ongoing, ever present, collection of products to “help” people lose weight.

Ya know, gimmicks and what not. People happily, willingly, fork their hard earned money over for the latest smoke and mirrors in an attempt to unload fat magically overnight.

I hate to break it… but it just doesn’t work…or maybe for awhile they are encouraged and see some initial water weight loss and that can spur someone on to keep going… but it’s rare.

Most of the time they just have lighter bank accounts once the novelty has worn off.

So I’m on my soapbox again….

in the mega million dollar “health and wellness” industry, there’s always a new kid on the block. There’s always some product that makes people hopeful that maybe this time, this new thing, will do the trick.

There’s one that recently caught my eye and of course I’ve started digging and reading on it.

I love when the … what do I call them? the sellers? business people? distributors? boldly post the ingredient list as if to proudly say “SEE this is what’s in it. All good and natural ingredients”

It just helps me so much. It helps my research to ferret out all those magical ingredients that lead to sweet dreams of health and being goal weight thin.

Gosh one ingredient, I do not exaggerate, has as many letters as the entire alphabet.

For real.

It should also be noted that the person writing the review and nicely breaking down all the ingredients ( they obviously sold product X) first off mentions (that this product that contains all the letters of alphabet) is chemically demonstrated….

So there’s that, whatever that is.

Let’s establish this….

Just because a product tells you it’s made of “all natural ingredients” doesn’t really mean squat.

The term “natural” is common in the supplement industry, but doesn’t always mean it’s safe. In fact there is no legal definition for natural. Often many plants that grow in nature can be deadly and natural supplements can still have added unnatural ingredients.

All natural supplements don’t always mix well with other medications we may be taking. be sure to consult with your doctor before taking any.

Pay attention boys and girls, the “all natural” thing is a huge marketing and selling gimmick designed to make you feel comfortable and good about using their products. It encourages you to buy them because, well gosh, it’s all natural so it’s gotta be super good for me, right?

Don’t buy the hype.

Diet+Snake+Oil+Cure+Take+Once+ver+2

Other things to consider..

Do you know the FDA ( food and drug administration in the U.S.) has actually banned many “natural” substances that were being put into diet and weight loss aids and products?

Why you may ask?

Oh because of pesky little problems like accelerated heart rate, shortness of breath or even heart attacks from the stimulants of these “natural” products. Many of these natural ingredients are actually mother natures version of “speed”. They can accelerate your heart and breathing, leave you feeling jumpy, nervous or agitated or provide an upset stomach and headache as well as (maybe) have effects of curbing appetite ( most likely from other said issues it causes)

In the US, herbal products and food supplements are largely unregulated.

That is, the products are not screened or subject to FDA approval
prior to their going on the market. Rather, it is the product
manufacturer that has the responsibility to make sure that anything
being sold as a food supplement is safe… or to determine how much of what to put in the mix of everything.

For that reason, you will often see statements on herbal products or weight loss supplements sold in the US to the effect of: “This statement has not been evaluated by
the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or
prevent any disease”.

Let’s look at a current example….

one of the “natural” products on the market today that everyone is jumping on is green coffee bean extract derived from unroasted coffee beans. It is currently among the worlds most popular weight loss supplements.

Basically, keeping it short, it’s claim to fame is supposedly to cause more fat loss by increasing body heat.

Green coffee bean extract comes from coffee beans that haven’t been roasted. Coffee beans contain compounds known as chlorogenic acids. Some believe these compounds have antioxidant effects, help lower blood pressure, and help you lose weight. Roasting coffee reduces chlorogenic acid content.

It’s interesting to note in all the articles I read it stated it “may” help with weight loss or lowering blood pressure etc.

There isn’t much testing or proof done on this topic to be totally conclusive and because of this there is always a lack of evidence on it’s safety. Studies are small, not long term and for the most part poorly designed.

Because there is no regulation on this manufactures can use the amounts they choose in their products. As mentioned previously, the jury is still out on the fact there isn’t enough evidence to support the claims for this product.

Speaking of evidence ….

As I read this glowing report on this particular product, she indicated “studies” had been done on the effectiveness of it. Well, of course I wanted to see who had done them and what some of the results were.

I mean, in all fairness, let’s see what they revealed. Maybe I was being a bit unfair.

Well, it turns out the studies were actually done by the company selling the product. I might be a wee bit cynical here but, I don’t see that as some kind of scientific, conclusive proof.

And of course the contestants who used said wonder product, were losing all the weight.

A company doing their own testing, to me, is not the most compelling evidence.

In summary….

not just this product but thousands of others are not well tested, have limited evidence for their claims, and are not regulated by food and drug administration on any level.

It’s important to be mindful of what you take, especially if you already take medications.

Also understand that as sweet, good or well intending your pedaling neighbor or family member is, they are simply regurgitating the company driven info that comes to them in their sales packets. The majority most likely know nothing of the effects of ingredients that are in products beyond what they’ve been told.

And of course there is the simple truth that you will not find a magic formula to help you quickly knock off the weight to get your dream body.

You just have to get that the old fashioned way. Sensible, healthy eating, the right amount of calories for your body and purposeful exercise, that and that alone is your key to success.

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