lifestyle – sassyfitnesschick

Birthday Reflections

Hello my faithful readers!

Am I the only one who wakes up lately wondering what day it is, what month or some days, what planet we’re on?

Like a surreal time warp lately.

Therefore, it kinda caught me off guard when hubby mentioned a week or two back,” hey you’ve got a birthday coming, what do you want?”

( My birthday was on Saturday)

Ah! Christmas in July 😁

Like wow, where did the year go?

If you will, allow me to wax poetic in this post on some reflections of another year around the sun .

Age is definitely a number

I giggle when my young friends lament that they are on the door step of 30, like it’s the end of life.

Although 30 is a ways back in my rearview mirror now, I love where I am in life. I want to tell them that getting older isn’t awful and it’s something many will never know. That getting older means wisdom gained, compassion deepened, love expanded, and a broader understanding of things you didn’t really grasp years before.

Getting older means knowing yourself, really. The good and bad and knowing how to manage both of those areas. It means knowing how to use to your voice and being comfortable doing so.

It means gained confidence in ways you have not have known in your younger self.

It can be developing new skills or talents you find along the way you didn’t know you had earlier in life.

Age also challenges you to press into hard things you may never have dealt with. It can either forge strength in you, or leave you weak or fearful.

You also learn to be true to yourself and who you are….or you don’t. Being true to yourself might not always float everyone’s boat but that is really their issue, not yours.

Be authentically you, there is no one who can fill your shoes.

Getting older doesn’t need to define life as “less”.

That’s how it’s often observed right? Getting older means you can’t or shouldn’t do certain things cause ya know, age right?

Don’t do this, don’t do that.

Nonsense.

I jokingly tell my kids I will forever be the mom/grandmother/aunt in little shorts at the family picnic 🤣

I will be on the dance floor if there’s music and not observing life on the side.

I will continue to push my limits and challenge myself to new things.

I want to learn and grow and be better with each year marked.

Age is no excuse

Honestly, I do not even let myself allow that idea into my head. I refuse to be guided by a thought that would cripple me from living a life of more .

As I reflect back on this year, it is not without looking at some hard times I’ve walked through that have strengthened me in ways I had never previously known. Walking paths of illness with loved ones builds unknown strengths in you that you don’t know you possess until you go through fire.

Getting older is often looked at as getting weak with the thought older people should step aside so the stronger young ones can handle it.

Physically, my body is stronger and more capable than it has ever been.

I love that! I love that my sons call on me at times to help move something because they know I can deliver.

Pushing myself to lift heavier or ride farther on my bike, whatever, it may be is empowering! And training my body prepares it for those daily life tasks we can be called on to do.

I guess really, if anything, I don’t ever put limits on myself. That has allowed me to grow and tackle such big goals that if I had put mental limits on myself I would spend my life wondering if I could do it, instead of getting it done.

A friend tagged me in this post yesterday telling me it reminded her of me, of how I am and the fact she felt I’d say the same thing to my followers, and she’s right.

No matter where we are in life, choices are to be made. What we do determines who we will continue to grow into.

I will, no matter my age always be pressing into where I want to continue to be, and that is driven by what I do.

How I think, the goals I set and how I challenge myself.

Chronologically, age happens to all of us. We have no control over that.

How we approach aging, the choices we make, our behaviors and attitudes, our mental thinking, well we have a ton of control over that.

And with those ideas firmly in mind my mantra will forever be, age is no excuse.

Cheers to another year celebrating #50ish!

Oh That Super Bowl Show!

So the biggest game in football happened this past weekend, the “creme de la creme” culminating the year in football.

I’m happy Kansas won. After a 50 year hiatus they came in with an impressive finishing win.

Then… then….there was the half time show.

The half time show is either a time people go get food and another beer or they settle in waiting to see the million dollar entertainment.

Well, let’s just say those who watched the show seemed to have lots to say. The internet has been a plethora of opinions, much like my Facebook newsfeed.

This post is written from my personal opinion. You may have a different one.

That’s alright too.

Our opinions are shaped by everything from our age, the generation we were raised in, our upbringing, the things we deem important and valuable, to our own personal moral convictions.

So many factors shape our personal opinions.

It’s ok to have different opinions and respect each other in those opinions.

Life would be really boring if we all thought alike.

What does bug me though are opinions grounded in ignorance. A little education goes a long way on a topic to present a more informed opinion. You lose me with an ignorance based opinion.

With that being said..on with the show.

It was “good/bad”.

Those were some comments I first saw. But look, the whole “good or bad” thing is totally subjective based on well, what you, personally like.

Your thoughts on the overall quality of show are based on your music tastes, your entertainment preferences, and even your personal thoughts and feelings on how performers are dressed and perform.

This years entire show was very Latin themed (obviously) but if Billy the cowboy had been on, or someone’s favorite hip hop artist with every fourth word getting bleeped out, (or whoever) were featured artists then I’m sure those people would’ve declared it “good!” and “awesome!”

Why? Because it would’ve fallen in areas that they enjoy and prefer.

An opinion of “good or bad” is totally subjective.

The players

Of course this years heading line duo was Shakira and Jennifer Lopez ( J Lo) . Now if I were to believe some things I’ve read you would think people had no idea what these women did.

For years…years…they have been singers and dancers. High energy singers and dancers. J Lo is also an actress.

They are entertainers.

So unless you’ve lived under a rock you would know these women are powerhouses in their industry.

I expected no less than a high octane performance with lots of Latin moves.

The rhetoric

I’ve read so many posts screaming about how inappropriate they were dressed, the the dancing, the pole dance and belly dancing.

Oh my, we will get to those items in a moment.

First, I thought their costumes were more covering and fitted than some artists I’ve seen in the past. Skimpy? Yes. Does it go with what they do as performers, also yes.

Were they covered way more than what you and your family can view on a public beach or at the pool? Also yes.

I mean last year Maroon 5’s frontman, Adam Levine, was out there in nothing but well fitted jeans, and his tatted very well muscled chest on display.

I didn’t have a problem with that 😜 but c’mon, technically he was half naked. Let’s stop double standards.

And people went crazy…especially the women. And this year the women are too, just in a different way.

Angry women

I have to admit to a huge amount of shock as I’ve read post after post of women ranting labeling these performers as everything from “floozies, poor role models, trashy, vulgar, etc etc” I know there were alot more adjectives used…..ah the judgement.

Fortunately, I’ve also got some women in the other camp who cast a different eye at it.

Ha..I’m not alone 😜

Shakira and JLo delivered a high octance show that was Vegas worthy.

Here’s the deal, again my humble opinion.

All the sudden the show starts and there are two stunning, strong, confident, athletic, fit middle aged women (Shakira is 43, J Lo 50)

Totally killing it.

They looked amazing and the cardio out put of that show no one could’ve kept up with.

These women are mothers and powerful business women. They are at the top of their game.

I dare say, there were alot of women munching chips and cheese dip behind their tv screen all the sudden being reminded that they’ve gained weight and are out of shape and maybe its time to get back to exercise and doing a check on the nutrition.

Maybe there were elements that made them uncomfortable personally, and not because of the costumes and dancing.

On the other hand I had many friends making jokes on how they needed to start working out again.

As a middle aged woman and an athlete, I was in awe of what they brought. I’m not intimidated by other women so I guess I just studied it all in a different way.

It’s not family friendly!

Really.

The half time shows almost always have an edge to them. And come on, who remembers Janet Jacksons MAJOR wardrobe malfunction years ago? Beyonce’s performance was pretty….shaking, grinding, wiggling in less clothes with plenty of crotch angles.

I also want to know….whose kids are all actually clustered around the tv watching the game and gearing up for half time show?

Mine were always running around and now as adults, still care less about the show.

If you happen to have children who actually sit and watch game and are waiting eagerly for the entertainment, you as the adult, if you feel what is coming on isn’t “family friendly” have the ultimate remote control power to change the channel.

Simple.

Belly dancing and pole dancing, oh my!

If I had a quarter every time that was brought up..well.. I’d have a whole lotta change.

My eye rolls though….🙄

Listen, last time I checked, these activites aren’t cardinal sins.

My favorite thing I’ve read is indigent Karen and Becky proclaiming it as “porn”.

Now I’m not a huge expert here, but I’m pretty sure, fairly confident, that isn’t porn.

I took belly dancing classes years ago ( oh my, I did).

You know what I learned?

It is crazy hard. It’s a ton of work.

You have to learn to move your hips while completely isolating movement of other parts of your body. You have to learn to use your arms while doing mentioned activities with hips.

It’s like patting your head and rubbing your tummy, doing it quickly

It is work and a huge talent.

My core was so sore after each session

Gosh, no wonder Shakira’s abs looked amazing.

This was also a nod to her Lebanese heritage, so many want to ignore that.

The pole dancing with J Lo?

Listen it was really no shock she put that in her show giving a nod to her most recent movie where she learned to pole dance in preparation for it.

Again, being able to do that requires a tremendous amount of strength and power to do gymnastic moves up and down that pole.

I can tell you there wasn’t a single male athlete Sunday who could’ve done what she did. None.

Are these poles used in mens clubs? Yes (I’ve heard ) so many women keep saying that 😉

Are the poles unto themselves, sexual?

No.

People need to stop sexualizing so many things that don’t need to be.

FYI, it is on my bucket list to try. Does that make me morally awful? Trashy? Not a good parent? Pretty sure I won’t be in alot of clothes learning to do it either.

We need to stop sexualizing so many things in our world today that aren’t.

What do we need to address?

Let’s bring this home, right in our back yard.

Let’s talk about our girls and young women in our town, family, friends etc and how they are portrayed, in a way, sexualized, before they should be.

Human trafficking is an awful thing. The super bowl isn’t the vehicle for it. Can it contribute in some way? Possibly.

Human trafficking is far closer home than the super bowl.

Let’s talk about little girls in dance classes and beauty pageants.

I’ve seen costumes that make me raise my eyebrows. They are far to sexual looking for their young age. Then there’s all the make up and I’ve seen plenty of dances with them shaking things everywhere. Two piece sets with their little tummies exposed and their baby bottoms in spandex.

Oh.

But that’s “cute”.

I’m a mom and grandmother and yeah, I might not think much of it, but do you know about people around you?

Let’s move up to older girls…middle school, high school.

Cheer and dance teams.

Anyone ever seen costumes these young women are in, loaded with lots of make up, shaking their hips everywhere in a dance? I’ve seen costumes that made me wonder why an adult picked them out for the girls to wear.

Ah. That’s ok though.

This is where we need to worry. This is where we need to stop accepting it’s cute or whatever and stop sexualizing young girls in a world full of horrible people who would look at them in a way you didn’t want.

I’ve seen grown men gaping at these young women and I can guarantee they aren’t thinking how great they are dancing.

Stop filtering your childrens faces to look older with that plastic flawless look.

If people are worried about their kids, start at home and don’t be ok with things that make them appear more grown up than they are.

There are( perhaps) people who look at them, and not in the right ways. And unfortunately, you have no idea who they are.

Two middle age women aren’t the root of the problem. They aren’t supposed to be the moral guidance for your kids. Your family, teachers, church leaders, friends etc would be more realistic leaders.

The show

Was I ok with it all?

Nah, the crotch shots could’ve been left out and never affected the show.

The two rapper dudes….Bad Bunny and J Balvin? Although carefully placed in the show they looked awkwardly out of place surrounded by beautiful women.

The shaking, wiggling etc…well there are two Latin women bringing it and it’s in their blood.

I’m sorta envious at how effortless they make dancing look.

The show though had so much symbolism and it all reflected their Latin heritage and spoke to some issues in our world today.

Perhaps that was the problem so many people had.

Latin women, Latin inspired show, idk hopefully there’s no racism smacking there.

The nod to America and Puerto Rico when she wore both flags with that stunning cape was to bring awareness to the need there…not to mention she is a Puerto Rican Amercian.

So much symbolism. I’ll let you look it all up if you don’t know what was behind it all.

The costumes? I thought everything was gloriously sparkly 😉 and loved how they used a silver and gold contrast at the end.

And the screaming over their costumes?

Let’s be real. Have you ever seen those costumes the cheerleaders wear every, single game in front of kids and God and everybody?

Yeah.

The bottom line

You will never make everyone happy.

Having a “good or bad ” show will be subjective to the individual.

The headlining artists are posted well in advance. If it doesn’t float your boat, or you’re worried about your children’s eyes, family values etc, just don’t watch.

I realize if that approach is taken people can’t complain or be appropriately shocked, something that many seem to enjoy participating in.

I personally thought it was a high energy show and I loved seeing empowered, strong women doing what they do best.

Just my sassy thoughts. What was your take on the half time show?

Spotlight on Watermelon

We are approaching that time of year here in south Texas.

The time of year where there are longer days, warm evenings and easier dinners.

One of the foods that make frequent appearances at our summer meals is the sweet and flavorful watermelon.

And not just for dinner but it’s also a cool, sweet, refreshing treat on a hot afternoon.

Let’s take a look at how this delicious treat breaks down…

Watermelon consists mostly of water (91%) and carbs (7.5%). It provides almost no protein or fat and is very low in calories.

The nutrients in 2/3 cup of raw watermelon are:

Calories: 30
Water: 91%
Protein: 0.6 grams
Carbs: 7.6 grams
Sugar: 6.2 grams
Fiber: 0.4 grams
Fat: 0.2 grams

You can eat a whole lot of it for minimal calories!

Watermelon contains 12 grams of carbohydrates per cup.

The carbs are mostly simple sugars, such as glucose, fructose, and sucrose. Watermelon also provides a small amount of fiber.

The glycemic index (GI) — a measure of how quickly foods raise blood sugar levels after meals — of watermelons ranges from 72–80, which is high.

However, each serving of watermelon is relatively low in carbs, so eating it should not have a major effect on blood sugar levels.

Don’t listen to health “experts” who criticize fruits because of sugars in them. These are naturally occurring sugars and not the simple sugars in cokes, candies or other sweet things.

Those…you definitely need to do in moderation.

The benefits of a fruit far outweigh the natural sugars in them that some people try to demonize.

What other good things does watermelon offer?

Vitamin C. This antioxidant is essential for skin health and immune function.
Potassium. This mineral is important for blood pressure control and heart health.
Copper. This mineral is most abundant in plant foods and often lacking in the Western diet.
Vitamin B5. Also known as pantothenic acid, this vitamin is found in almost all foods to some extent.
Vitamin A. Watermelon contains beta carotene, which your body can turn into Vitamin A.

Watermelon is an exceptionally healthy fruit.

It’s loaded with citrulline and lycopene, two powerful plant compounds linked to lower blood pressure, improved metabolic health, and decreased muscle soreness after exercise.

What’s more, it’s sweet, delicious, and packed with water, making it excellent for maintaining good hydration.

For the vast majority of people, watermelon is a perfect addition to a healthy diet.

Tasty ways to eat it

Really the best way is just a big slice, still in the rind, cold, and juicy running down your hands while you eat it.

Yeah, super messy but it’s also one of those fun easy ways to enjoy it

When I serve it with dinner I do cut it from the rind into neatly sized pieces for more manageable eating 🙂

Check out these ideas for watermelon…

https://pin.it/k2nvmzfzkrea5n

https://pin.it/yfrlea4m2u4nxm

https://pin.it/cxm47jhlwk4kfm

Is watermelon a favorite summer fruit for you? How do you like to eat it?

One Size Fits All Fitness

Do you ever see clothes and the size is listed as “one size fits all”?

For a woman it’s almost the kiss of death meaning the garment may or may not potentially fit you like a sack..

If you’re a woman like I am, at 6’0 the probability is even greater.

Except now it’s a much shorter sack haha

Why then do people try to approach exercise/fitness and nutrition in that manner?

There is no one size approach. I know with so many new diets and exercise trends hitting the market its easy to get swept into thinking you have to follow one of them to “be successful”.

Let’s not forget social media with the constant barrage of same old fitness poses, looks and “ideals”. That alone can be overwhelming to alot of people.

With all of that in our face, where do we start?

First, it may be trial and error. You try different things till you find something that sticks with you.

Not what your neighbor or sister does. Not what you saw on social media that tells you you’re supposed to do, but the thing ( or things) that you want to go do. The things that make your heart race and make you feel alive.

I can’t tell you the times I’ve had people tell me they admire what I do but “they don’t run”

Ok well then, don’t run.

Easy.

The things that make me feel alive and I enjoy are mine. They may be yours too but they don’t or won’t necessarily be something you choose.

Being out on the road whether it’s running or cycling, working hard and putting in the miles, is my jam.

I love being able to challenge my body, push beyond comfort zones, and dig deeper into myself. It’s crazy satisfying.

And yes most people I know think I’m crazy for what I do.

Find the thing you love, and pursue it to the point people jokingly tell you that you’re crazy.

Bodies are different

Even though we are all designed the same, how we look, how our bodies will develop with exercise and good nutrition, will all be different.

We all have different genetics that determine our bodies development. Your best body won’t look like someone else’s best body and that’s ok! Embrace who you are and celebrate your own unique qualities. Be compassionate and loving to yourself. You don’t need to look like the girl or guy next to you at the gym and comparison is the thief of joy so don’t do that.

Rest

Listen if there’s someone who has struggled at times taking a rest day ( from workouts) it’s yours truly. This is most true when I’m training for something. I intellectually know a rest day or two is neccessary and beneficial, but I hated taking them.

Now I understand the value more.

Give yourself permission to rest.

Looking healthy

Here’s a big misconception. Looking healthy and feeling it aren’t always the same thing. There’s such a focus on “looks” today that we over look healthy as a feeling, an overall well being. Learning to eat well, with healthy foods, allowing for some treats, and exercising in a healthy way is nourishing to our mind, spirit and body. Yes we want to “look” healthy, but feeling it is even more important.

The energy you have for your days, the ease with how you do activites, the appearance of your skin, hair, eyes, how you feel overall and then yes, how you look on the outside all add up to total health.

You don’t always have to go all out

I’m saying this to myself too. I love workouts that are challenging. But doing ones that are shorter or a notch less than what I usually do is ok too.

I feel like that doing yoga. It’s such a different kinda of strength workout but it’s not like how flying down the road feels. It brings me down and reminds me there are times it’s ok to not be going all out.

Same for you too. Find times to do activities that aren’t your full speed ahead usual ones.

Lifestyle changes take time

They really do, but they are worth the time and effort invested. Don’t jump on the snake oil trains of “lose weight get fit in 90 days” nonsense.

It takes time, slow and steady, but the results are satisfying and worth it.

Focus on what your body can do

Again, being constantly bombarded with images of what we “should” look like or what size our ( insert body part here) should be or shouldn’t be you may be left feeling like you’re lacking or should be “better”

Recently I’ve read articles on stretch marks, cellulite, not having skinny thighs, getting a thigh gap, and let’s not forget how…. over the top tired I am….. of seeing huge butts in my fitness newsfeed.

Bigger butts are on trend now. Lucky me Haha

Seriously though….none and I mean none of that stuff matters when you’re running, cycling, doing yoga, lifting weights, rowing whatever it is.

The last thing on my mind when I’m grinding out miles are any supposed “flaws” I have..

I am aware though of how my body moves. How it responds to what I ask if it. The way it feels to pick up a bar loaded with weight. How my legs work to pedal strongly up huge hills or run up them or when I can simply use my body weight in planks or side planks or difficult yoga positions

Those are the things that matter.

Stop obsessing over size

When I first started on my health journey 8 years ago it became a game to get smaller.

Where it is important to be aware of weight gain, you shouldn’t be hung up on sizes.

The more I’ve grown knowing myself the more I realize it’s not about being small. I’ve built a strong, powerful body and I celebrate that.

Focus on building a healthy, strong body, not the smallest size or some arbitrary number on the scale.

So as you move along on your health and fitness journey remember you are unique. Your needs are unique. Your body will respond to what you do in different ways from someone else. There is no one size approach. Find what works best for you and go after it.

Tell me have you ever tried fitness or nutrition approaches that were not good for you or weren’t a good “fit”? What has worked best for you?

Monday Musings

Hello world! and hello my faithful followers. Yeah, I’ve been absent for a bit… I’d say I’ve been lazy but that’s definitely not the case. Life is busy and besides the usual life stuff I’ve been busy working on projects for my vintage shop… and burning a lot of midnight oil working on projects.

Find my post on my journey here…. https://sassyfitnesschick.com/2018/07/25/the-journey-of-opening-a-vintage-business/

It’s crazy I do some of my best work late. I guess I like it ’cause it’s usually quiet, everyone is in bed, no one wants anything from me and I can happily focus on what I’m doing.

It’s really a very relaxing thing for me to work on my pieces. There is something tremendously satisfying watching something old, ugly, tired and often discarded as useless come to a new life again.

I wrote a post on that here…. https://sassyfitnesschick.com/2018/05/22/the-art-of-flipping-furniture/

https://sassyfitnesschick.com/2018/05/23/steps-to-transforming-vintage-furniture/

It takes me on adventures dragging it home….

20180213_182725

Of course, once I hit the pillow, my mind is still wandering in a million places and often the creative part refuses to shut down.

For instance, I just finished this little piece last night. I had it in my shop hanging out for awhile in “as is” shape. Meaning, it’s original finish.

It looked like this….

20190209_210750 — Kinda boring and dated. It had no back… a hazard of old pieces. Things go missing over time

But look now at it… I’m so in love with how it came out.

20190210_191923 — Fresh white, some distressing, a new back with some cute Paris themed fabric and it’s not so dated anymore.

20190210_191344 — And because I’m a girl….details.

Ok I’m gonna show you one more thing I scored this week. An amazing, beautiful, yet sad and needy piece that I can hardly wait to get my paws working on.

It was actually in a listing for two antique chairs I wanted. The lady offered me a generous and low price for chairs and basically said if I’d take chairs for that price I could have the desk for 10.00.

Yeah 10.00.

I’ll let you take a look at it….

20190204_150755

I know you’re wondering why I dragged it home, aren’t you? I love the challenge that awaits me! The opportunity to breath life into this piece. So here’s the deal… I never look a gift horse in the mouth. I’ve been messing with this furniture craziness for a year now. I have an eye for “the good stuff”. I could hardly wait to get this home, examine it really close, take inventory of what needed done and then do some research on it to see what I could find on it.

I knew the desk was really old just based on the construction and the wood. The wood is rough cut and more fitted and glued together in many places than nailed. The “mirror” is no longer that, but mostly glass that’s tarnished and long gone. Someone along the way painted it white. It’s original finish would’ve been stained oak.

20190204_150838 — A peak inside… and yeah.. it has no back. Like… what the heck is up with things losing their backs??

20190204_152747 — Once again… look at those details…

So I did some research and it turns out this piece was produced by the Larkin Soap company and dates somewhere late 1800’s.

Ironically, Larkin’s main production was soap and toiletries. The furniture was a “give away” for purchasing various products. They offered chairs, lamps, tables and the popular secretary styled desk. The furniture was massed produced at the time of rather ordinary type woods.

This is the Readers Digest version. I found the whole history to be rather interesting. Larkin was quite the savvy business man of his time and had an extremely lucrative business.

And here I am…. over 125 years later… entrusted with the restoration of this amazing and cute piece.

Of course I have a long check list lined out of what to do haha

I’ve also scored lots of other cool things, with which I won’t bother you here. I’ll share in upcoming posts some updates.

Oh and I did finally start a business insta page so if you like antique and vintage furniture and other cool stuff, follow me there at vintage_1964 to see other shenanigans I’ve got going on.

I have been up to other things too….

The weather has been less than inviting and it just makes me wanna stay holed up in the morning drinking coffee…

But no…. I’m a good girl and try and get some kind of workout in. Right now, I consider myself in more of an “off season”. With the duathlon behind me, I haven’t been pushing as hard.

I’ve really been spending some time hitting the heavy stuff and focusing on that several times a week. I usually try and warm up with 15 mins or so of cardio…rowing or boxing… and then weights. I think I’m a weirdo but my body responds quickly to it so I guess there’s a bit of reward to keep at it. Not only that, it’s so empowering doing moves that previously may have felt “heavy” but now I do with ease.

20190206_115234 — Gotta love a chilly morning that makes you work up a sweat

That organizing thing….

It is still on my list to keep cleaning out drawers, closets etc. I mentioned in a previous post the whole cultic Marie Kondo thing going on got me to trying her folding methods.

Don’t look for me to go all minimalist, but I do like a lot of her ideas.

I just need more time in my day for things! Anyone else out there?

I’m a list maker and if I can keep to doing that I am far more likely to accomplish an exact number of tasks in my day. otherwise, sometimes I can be all over the place ( my mind is a whirling place many times 😛 )

And finally….

The chilly wet weather has had me experimenting with some new soups and tasty food.

this soup was hearty and loaded with flavor. I doubled up and made a big pot of it. I used really big carrots and cut into large chunks for my non carrot loving people. I added warm French bread and it was perfect for a cold night.

https://www.littlebroken.com/2016/10/11/one-pot-chicken-stew/

And the chicken stew was amazing as well.

Try one of these out if you need a tasty cold weather meal.

Your turn, tell me what’s new with you. Tried any new recipes lately? Are you sticking with your exercise even if it’s cold where you live? What keeps you motivated to stay with it?

Monday Musings

Hello world and happy Monday! I’ve got a few things rolling through my head for todays Musings edition…

First, I think next to people making resolutions to lose weight, another top item on the list for many is getting more organized/tidy/having less junk… I mean…”valuable stuff”…. taking up their space.

Enter a little Japanese dynamo named Marie Kondo, an organizing consultant who helps people get rid of their useless valuables.

I can’t claim a long term following of her or her ways as I innocently stumbled on her while Googling some value fact or bit of info I was after one day. I read the article, noted the before and after of neatly arranged drawers and thought…. hmmm… maybe I’ll just give her version of drawer organizing a whirl.

First, though, if you’ve missed out on the movement of “KonMari”, get on the cool kids bus with us.

It simply means gathering all of your belongings, one category at a time, touching them, thanking them for their service ( ok odd I know… not sure how much of that I’ll be doing 😛 ) and only keeping those things that “spark joy”, then you donate what doesn’t.

The idea is to be left with only things that make you happy and bring joy.

Ok that sounds good to me…although I’ll state this here… I’ll never be a “minimalist”.

No offense if you are. I need some things around me that breathe people live in my home. I want cozy and comfy with a tiny bit of something not always in it’s place. I don’t like walking in somewhere and wondering where the person is who lives there, (personal touches) everything carefully staged, sterile if you will.

Just not my vibe.

But the less unimportant stuff that we all tend to keep around ’cause… maybe we don’t essentially feel moved to get rid of it, don’t know HOW to get rid of it… whatever the case?

Yeah, sign me up.

So as mentioned, I thought I’d start with a few drawers.

Easy…

And I knew it wouldn’t take huge amounts of time. If I “liked” it, I decided I’d move on to something bigger.

Her folding style is different from how most of us may fold. I tend to fold and stack things into the drawer. Her method is to fold into neat thirds and then you stand items up on end, like book spines sticking up. Then you can see at a glance exactly what you have and easily select it.

I started with hubby’s undie drawer. (sorry hubster) I figured it would be fast and then… I’d know…. if I should continue on. Well, needless to say after I did his drawer, and had extra space that previously wasn’t there, I wanted to move to one of my athletic drawers ( yes I have more than one)

So this drawer, made me crazy every morning. No matter how I folded things or kept shorts separate from sports bras, I was inevitably throwing stuff out looking for one particular item. Now, I open drawer and it’s all neat right in front of me, with space that wasn’t there previously!

I’m still trying to decide if I wanna apply this to socks. Some of you may know how I feel about socks… so those might be the LAST drawers I tackle. I will move on to my closet next and although I’ve cleaned out quite a bit before lil Marie tripped into my life, I realize I can go back for more. I might be taking baby steps on some of this but it’s better than nothing, right? It’s a 2019 goal for me.

I did do something fun in my week though….

Hubby and I took off to play tourist in our home area. Our kids had given us an all inclusive stay at a gorgeous hotel on the riverwalk and we had gift cards to a local restaurant for food. What’s better than a pre-paid escape??

20190113_174018 — A view looking down from our room

20190112_122450 — The river winds through the downtown area, below is the riverwalk area which covers a large area of downtown San Antonio.

We didn’t stay in the room of course, but did some roaming around enjoying the beautiful day.

I’m not sure what it is about being downtown, but it almost has it’s own energy, it’s vibe, of people and culture and times gone by that I love. I also love people watching too.

I was kinda shocked and delighted to see one of the buildings still decked out with Christmas. You know how much I love old school vintage and this Santa and Nutcracker were worth snapping….

20190113_110107

We stopped outside the Ripley’s museum and couldn’t resist playing with the distortion mirror…..

20190112_161251 — Here we are all distorted, tall (oops well I am tall haha) and awkwardly skinny. We preferred that over short, fat and wavy looking.

After roaming around all day, we headed out for dinner at a fun place called the Rainforest Café.

So inside is like a rain forest, it has animals and they actually move and “act” like what they are…. we happened to be seated next to a bunch of gorillas… it got really loud ….

20190112_182543 — This guy stared at me all night long…

Oh and of course we had to stop for a little coffee break while we were out… I love how they let you know you aren’t on your own coffee turf anymore.. hubby patiently waiting as he’s used to me taking random pics for my blog…..

20190112_163121

All in all it was a fun little weekend get away, and all rather close to home. Next time we’re going back for scooter rides….

Speaking of coffee…..

Dunkin’ Donuts just opened in our neck of the woods. I happened to stumble in the first day, right after they opened, and decided to try their iced coffee.

Yes, it was good. I probably won’t be there as a permanent customer ’cause I’m on Starbucks rewards program and I get free stuff ya know…. and free is good… and not only that… I love so many of the people I’ve gotten to know there too.

20190111_154646 (1) — Winter gear and iced coffee… I know….

What about food?

I made this amazing scalloped potato recipe for a family dinner last week. This won’t rank up there with slim and fit dishes, you gently boiled the peeled and sliced potatoes in heavy cream first!

Yikes, but they were tasty 😛 find the recipe below and dont’ forget to head to Pinterest and find my Sassyfitnesschick page for lots of great ( healthy) and wicked recipes, fitness tips and more.

https://pattyandersonsblog.blogspot.com/2015/03/steakhouse-potato-gratin.html

Your turn!

Is organization on your 2019 list to do? Have you heard of Marie Kondo? Or tried her methods? What other things are on your goal list this year?

No Exercise Required

It was early morning and I was still bleary eyed, sipping on my first wonderful cup of hot coffee slowly coming to life.

For the record I’m not “anti” morning. I mean most weeks I’m out on the road running or cycling while people are still crawling outta bed. On the other hand, I may just prefer to cuddle and be alone with my coffee for a bit till the fog clears my head 😉

I am more of strong night owl if I had to label myself … anyway…

I’m waking up, laptop in front of me as I do a final read through and edit on my post before launching it into the world and blog land. I do my level best to make sure you, my faithful readers, don’t stumble through to much of my ramblings haha

And can I take a moment to say thank you?

However, you follow me, whether through e-mail, Facebook, IG, Pinterest or on WordPress, thank you for taking your time to read what I write. I know our time is valuable and I appreciate you taking yours to read my offerings.

I will always attempt to make it worth your while, to keep it sassy, and hopefully to educate, inspire, or challenge you.

Now, where was I?

Waking up, drinking coffee and proofing my post… yes that’s where I was. So while I’m doing that, the morning news is on and the morning commercials.

Sweet heavens.

It must be the cheapest time of day to advertise ’cause obnoxious car sale ads are on along with ads for medical clinics, lawyers and all kinds of other services I can do without hearing about that early in morning.

All of them are so… loud. So very, very loud.

Anyway, this weight loss commercial comes on advertising how you can lose weight with some miracle something or another and “no exercise required!!”

I guess that’s where my still sleepy, yet slowly coming alive brain kicked in.

I thought, how is that a good selling point ? But then I realized, to a lot of people, that IS a good selling point.

Lose weight and you don’t have to exercise? Heck yeah.

I get it. Exercise is work. If you do it right, it’s hard work.

Of course, if you’re out of shape it really feels like hard work. Your heart and lungs are screaming at you and you get all red and you are breathing way to hard so of course a weight loss offer of no exercise might seem like a good deal.

oxygen

It’s just not.

Let’s just forget losing weight here as we discuss this. Really, exercise shouldn’t be what you do to lose weight, it’s really what you put in your mouth and how much of it that matters more. Exercise can just support those efforts.

Exercise offers so much more to us than being a weight loss tool. Think about how you feel when you leave your house on a nice evening to go for a short walk. Chances are it gives you time to think, clear your head from the day, brain storm ideas, and just unwind a bit. When you come back in you probably feel rejuvenated and refreshed, even if you may be sweaty 😉

In time, you most likely will want to walk a bit further as you start to really enjoy it and look forward to it.

Maybe going to a yoga class let’s you feel more connected to yourself, makes you more aware of your body. For me, yoga definitely slows me down, but it also let’s me have some time that is a bit more quiet and reflective.

Whatever activity you may enjoy, if you get started in it, you will most likely enjoy many benefits that have nothing to do with losing weight.

heart cardio — Remember, your heart is a muscle that needs work too 😉

So…get this…..

Exercise is the single best thing you can do for your brain in terms of mood, memory, and learning. Even 10 minutes of activity changes your brain.

Jumping on the treadmill or cross trainer for 30 minutes can blow off tension by increasing levels of “soothing” brain chemicals like serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. What’s fascinating, though, is that exercise may actually work on a cellular level to reverse stress’s toll on our aging process. according to a 2010 study from the University of California—San Francisco. The researchers found that stressed-out women who exercised vigorously for an average of 45 minutes over a three-day period had cells that showed fewer signs of aging compared to women who were stressed and inactive. Working out also helps keep us from ruminating “by altering blood flow to those areas in the brain involved in triggering us to relive these stressful thoughts again and again.

I wrote a post on exercise and aging… find it here….

https://sassyfitnesschick.com/2017/05/24/exercise-and-aging/

https://sassyfitnesschick.com/2017/07/24/aging-and-the-fountain-of-youth/

It can help with depression. Research suggests that burning off 350 calories three times a week through sustained, sweat-inducing activity can reduce symptoms of depression about as effectively as antidepressants. That may be because exercise appears to stimulate the growth of neurons in certain brain regions damaged by depression.

Exercise can improve our learning. Exercise increases the level of brain chemicals called growth factors, which help make new brain cells and establish new connections between brain cells to help us learn. Interestingly, complicated activities, like playing tennis or taking a dance class, provide the biggest brain boost. You’re challenging your brain even more when you have to think about coordination. Like muscles, you have to stress your brain cells to get them to grow.

It improves self-esteem and body image. You don’t need to radically change your body shape to get a confidence surge from exercise. Studies suggest that simply seeing fitness improvements, like running a faster mile or lifting more weight than before, can improve your self-esteem and body image.

It may keep Alzheimers from setting in. The Alzheimer’s Research Center touts exercise as one of the best weapons against the disease. Exercise appears to protect the hippocampus, which governs memory and spatial navigation, and is one of the first brain regions to succumb to Alzheimer’s-related damage.

Is that enough evidence for exercise?

Those are some pretty convicting reasons to exercise, right? Yet not a single one of them have to do with losing weight. The point being, exercise benefits all of our body, soul and spirit.

Exercise is a good tool to help with weight loss but as you’ve seen it offers so many more benefits to keep us healthy and whole.

It shouldn’t be viewed as something you don’t “need”. Our bodies are made for and are designed for, movement. So many of our modern day illnesses and health issues could be helped and improved with regular consistent exercise.

What exercise has taught me

ok admittedly, a few years ago when I was an out of shape middle aged woman, I wasn’t totally sold on the idea of vigorous daily exercise. As I mentioned earlier in this post, it’s hard, and it’s really hard when you’ve been doing nothing and then start doing “something”.

I purposefully made myself go walk each day. I dutifully walked 2 miles. I did it no matter what was going on, some days I had to fit it in at different times, but I did it.

I did it enough it turned into a new habit. One day I got brave and actually went farther. One mile turned into another, before I knew it I was running some, and then, well the rest is history…

Exercise was certainly a good discipline tool. Those scheduled daily times on the road disciplined me to getting up and making a commitment to something.

That discipline eventually carried over into other areas of my life.

When I trained for my first marathon I learned a lot more about discipline, sacrifice, and some serious hard work. Honestly, once you run a marathon ( I actually went on to do more and eventually in 2014, a 50k) you develop the feeling and attitude you can take on the world.

I learned more about concrete goal setting, short and long term.

Exercise has built my confidence in what I can do and what I’m capable of doing. This translates far beyond what I do on the road.

The more I’ve grown athletically, the more I’ve seen that transfer into my daily life.

Becoming mentally strong dealing with physically activity has given me a tough mind in dealing with life.

I shared in a recent post about my yearly check up with my doctor. My HDL ( good cholesterol ) was 75 on the lab report. It should be mentioned the highest number they had as “good” was 39. My doctor just gave me a level look and said… “it’s from all that exercise you do”. So exercise is good for stuff like that 😉

I’ve also learned I can do some of my most creative thinking out on the road. It’s a time to process, discard, think and get clarity.

It’s taught me to get out of my head, get out of my way, so I can see what I’m made of. I’ve learned I have strength I didn’t know I possessed, mentally and physically

Oh yeah. and somehow along the way of learning that, I lost weight and got decently fit.

So yeah, you do need to exercise

So if you’re one of the “anti-exercisers” 😉 I hope I’ve given you something different to think on. Find something you enjoy and want to do, then commit to getting good at it. DO it often enough and frequently enough and it will turn into a habit, a good one at that.

And then, before you know it, you too will have lost some weight and be getting decently fit too.

20180625_093035 — I love and anticipate my workouts now, physically and mentally.

Your turn… tell me… do you wish you didn’t “have” to exercise? Do you wish you could lose weight and get all the benefits without doing it, or are you at a place where you love it and would miss it? Have you ever considered exercise as beneficial to you in ways besides helping with weight loss?

Monday Musings

Hello boys and girls. Monday again. Time to let the random collections outta my head from this past week. I appreciate your encouragement and appreciation of these posts. They are fun for me in the sense I can just literally write on anything and everything. It gives you a little insight into other areas of my life that aren’t “just” health and fitness.

But health and fitness is really important to me

it’s pretty much why I started this blog. I found in my sharing on social media people were uh… hungry… for encouragement and sane, sensible ways to live a healthy lifestyle. I love sharing my personal athletic shenanigans and love sharing simple tips that can help and work to get fit and healthy. I also like being able to direct people in ways to get exercise into their lives.

20180427_084838 — A morning ride, the road behind me and more miles in front of me

But I was thinking as I often do when I was out on the road the other morning. I was thinking about how grateful I was to be doing what I was doing. You see I never take it for granted or believe that I’m entitled to do it.

It’s a privilege to exercise and use my body.

It kinda makes me sad when people make jokes about not exercising or being lazy or choosing not to do it. I guess I want them to “get it”. That once they push past a point where they have to make themselves get out, or have to set their alarm earlier (or whatever they need to do) that they will actually begin to look forward to it.

Crave it even.

It becomes a key part of the day. Not only that, it begins to build energy in me and clears and centers me for my day.

I mean really you only have one body. Shouldn’t you do things to take care of it? To keep it strong and healthy?

Exercise has multiple health benefits and yet, is the most unused activity to help our bodies not only physically, but mentally too.

If you don’t do anything yet, at least make a commitment to yourself to begin walking. Everyone can do it, it’s easy, and you don’t have to go anywhere except out your front door.

After exercise, we eat

Ok ideally food is good after a workout. I am sometimes bad about coming in and jumping to my to do list and not getting food ( bad girl I know)

20180427_095139 (1) — Most mornings my breakfast starts like this… a healthy dose of spinach

I try and make a breakfast that is really heavy in veggies with a side of fruit to start my day and nourish my body post workout. Spinach always makes an appearance. If you missed my post on spinach and why you should eat it, find it here……https://sassyfitnesschick.com/2018/01/19/spinach-benefits-and-great-hair/

Starting your day with a good breakfast helps give you energy, keeps your blood sugar levels steady and keeps you from over eating later in the day.

Oh, and it keeps you from being grumpy with people ’cause you are starving 😉

Breakfast is often the most skipped meal because people (mistakenly) think it will help them lose weight by doing so. Yet really it can have the opposite effect. Eating a good breakfast helps fire up your metabolism and will keep you from grabbing a donut in the break room later.

Speaking of sweets….

you may have read my most recent post on adoption and celebrating our daughters 20th birthday. If you missed it, you can read it here….https://sassyfitnesschick.com/2018/04/26/the-beauty-of-adoption/

Anyway, we kinda had celebrations through out the week for her with Saturday culminating with one of my delicious 3 layer homemade cakes.

20180428_165130 — I have mad cake baking skills

The frosting is so decadent, an entire package of cream cheese and lots of real, creamy butter.

Are you drooling yet ?

Because I’m nice, I’ll give you the recipe here. I have tons of tried and true cake recipes at home. However the day I was out running around and going to store I didn’t have a recipe so I reverted over to my go to place now days, Pinterest.

Ah… it didn’t fail me. I found this great cake which was proclaimed by the fam as “the best one ever” ( they kinda say that about every cake which is nice 😉 )

So here you go… the recipe if you wanna whip up something oh so good and earn some points with those you love 😉

In my other obsessions… uh…hobbies..

I’ve been sharing with you some of my adventures in flipping vintage and antique furniture. I’ve finished two pieces this week and I’ve got a couple getting close. I find a crazy satisfaction in doing this. The more horrible the piece, the happier I am. Because it means a cool transformation.

Check out this little Drexel side table. Like most of the things I scoop up, it had been someone’s ” better idea” project. They had applied some kind of goop to lift the varnish leaving it thick and bubbly. I took a strong arm and hand to it( having a strong upper body really pays off when you’ve got to hand sand forever!) knocking all of that crusty finish off to do my own magic….

20180415_163142 — This Is what I started with…

20180424_124544 — And here it is looking fresh in cream and black with a little light distressing.

My other project I finished off I will admit I’m a tad bit obsessed with. I caught the vision for it quick and it was so exciting watching it seamlessly come together. I shared last week some color ideas I had picked up but didn’t tell you how I was using them…

20180418_171558

20180415_162916 — A vintage telephone bench

20180426_192502 — I kinda used the colors like this….

20180426_192325 — Eek… tell me how cute it is!

This is one of those pieces I love but it’s meant for someone else. It’s fun transforming bland, tired furniture into something fresh and a bit more modern.

I’m excited over how that 1930’s tea/beverage trolley is turning out. I got that a couple weeks ago for a total steal. You can see it’s first day home pic here from last weeks post….. https://sassyfitnesschick.com/2018/04/23/monday-musings-10/

I have so many ideas bouncing in my head with projects. Add to it writing and other creative things…. my head is full of constant busyness…

Tell me I’m not the only one, right??

Ok your turn! Tell me about your week. Do you have any interesting or fun hobbies? More important , do you like chocolate cake? If so, do you need milk or coffee with it?

Optimal Health

Optimal health. What comes to your mind when you hear those words? A certain image? Lifestyle? A look? Perhaps it’s what happens inside of you that you can’t see… like all systems working great. Is it the “perfect” picture of health? Energetic and vibrant looking? Rosy skin? Clear bright eyes? A lack of illness or disease? Strong with the ability to do all your daily tasks with energy?

As I’ve noted before there are a lot of buzz words out there today that “health” companies use to make their product sound more appealing to potential customers, to sell you on it. Usually the words are descriptive and designed to make you think that by taking/using their product this very thing will be given to you.

Magically. No effort.

The marketing of these products is nothing less than impressive, but the times I’m choking and rolling my eyes over some of the claims….

Keep in mind these company claims are in turn, regurgitated by the sales people who largely don’t really know what they are talking about either. It has been interesting to note the fine print showing up on many labels now that these products aren’t FDA approved or endorsed.

Ok I digress… but my current thought was generated from the catch phrase on some products promising this ….

Optimal health

First of all, what does optimal mean ? Webster defines it as most desirable or satisfactory.

Health is defined as the condition of being well and free from disease.

So optimal health could be defined as a desirable and satisfactory state of being well physically ( and mentally) and free from disease or illness.

Sounds good, right ?

Isn’t that something we all desire and should seek to keep? Or if we have health issues shouldn’t they ( if possible) be something we strive to improve or reverse? There are many conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, blood sugar issues etc that can be changed or reversed with improved health.

But here’s where I get tripped up… every. single. time.

Why am I going to take a man made product to help me achieve optimal health? Why am I going to spend my money on a product when I could buy healthy food with it?

It does amaze me that people are willing to do so many things other than what they really should be doing which is focusing on eating real, whole foods and making changes in their nutrition and exercise program.

A focus on better food quality will go a long way to achieving optimal health. That will show up inside and out on you.

So how does one achieve optimal health?

First, it has to be something we desire and intentionally pursue. It will require consciously choosing a different lifestyle. You will have to be purposeful in your choices and decisions.

Learn to move more. Our bodies need exercise and are made to move. Active, vigorous movement allows our blood and lymphatic system to flow the way it’s designed to. Not only that exercise benefits our mental well being as much as our physical. Exercise is good for lots of reasons but that’s not my focus today 😉

Food. Obviously, your diet should be loaded with plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. They should be present at all your meals. I don’t think I can stress enough the huge benefits of adequate fresh produce. To me, optimal health is achieved with good quantities of produce. Your daily food intake should also include whole grains, lean meats and dairy products.

It should be light on empty calorie foods that offer not a lot in the nutritional category. This includes of course, sugary drinks, alcohol, refined processed foods like cookies, crackers, chips, sweet breads, fast foods, salted foods etc.

Water. Our bodies are made up of a lot of water. Water transports waste from our bodies and hydrates us. Water is essential for our health. It helps our skin do it’s job of regulating body temperature through sweating, water is essential for circulation of nutrients through the body, it aids in digestion and creates saliva. Drink your water.

Your mind. Read. Learn to play an instrument. Take up a new hobby. Go back to school or take a class on something that interests you. Be willing to learn and grow your mind. Find something that interests you and become an expert on it.

Your soul. Whatever nourishes your soul, find time for it. Prayer, meditation, scripture reading, devotionals, whatever your personal preference is, find something that feeds your inner being.

Optimal health has the potential to be achieved with a balanced lifestyle that feeds the body, soul and mind. It will also vary from person to person as to what needs to be addressed to reach that goal. It requires us to be intentional in the pursuing and maintaining of it but it will be well worth our efforts.

optimal-health-presentation-3-638

The Benefits Of New Habits

old-habits-uc-san-diego

So I got to my fav coffee cave before a crazy storm broke loose. I love sitting and watching the clouds gather and hear the thunder rolling in. I love watching people come running in, even with the skies emptying around them.

It definitely makes for interesting people watching.

I sipped my hot coffee watching the dark sky, thinking about what on earth I wanted to talk to you about in this post… shocking … I know…as I’m never at a loss for words 😉

I mean, really, there are so many topics I could discuss with you.

I thought I might discuss the topic of habits with you and how important those are in your quest to lose weight and get fit.

Let’s just review the definition …

Habit: is a routine or behavior that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously .

Habit formation is the process by which the behavior, through regular repetition, becomes automatic or habitual.

Now let’s think about that in terms of how you eat, what you eat, when you eat. Let’s think about it in terms of exercise and if you get it done.

Your life is smack full of habits.

The time you get up for work. The things you do in the exact way getting ready in the morning. How you brush your teeth. How you take your coffee. The things you do in your day, many are habits. What you eat. What you don’t eat.

So many of the things you do in your life are driven by habits. Things you’ve done over and over until you do them mindlessly without thinking about it.

This… is where you want to get with the disciplines of exercise and eating well.

If it’s not something you’ve done then you will have to practice at doing it. It means if your “habit” is walking into a convenience store and buying chips and a coke, you’re going to have to intentionally, purposefully, restructure a new habit to replace that negative one.

And trust me, you will have to be completely intentional to make it happen. And it will take time. But each time you make a better choice you get further along building that habit in you.

If your habit is to go through a drive thru for fast foods, you will have to intentionally keep your car driving on by.

You can remind yourself, you won’t be dead from hunger before you get home. You can remind yourself that you won’t accomplish your health goals if you feed yourself that. You can also be proactive and maybe keep some healthy snacks in your car if you feel you need something .

This will be an action you are proactive at doing.

When it comes to exercise, again, it’s not a natural thing for you to go out and do activities that make you sweat or breath hard. Most people want to avoid it.

This is where you will have to be absolutely intentional about getting up and getting out.

Perhaps, in the beginning, you might just get yourself to the store and get some good shoes and some athletic clothes to do your thing in. For me, the very act of getting in my athletic clothes and slipping my shoes on puts me in the mental place of what I’m about to do.

Maybe, it’s looking at your week and planning it out and determining what you are going to do and when. What are your days like? What times are best for you?

Then you make a commitment to it. And you will have to be intentional. Purposeful. No excuses.

New habits don’t happen. Remember our definition ….

“Habit formation is the process by which the behavior, through regular repetition, becomes automatic or habitual.”

If you want to build new habits ( like exercising and eating better) you will have to practice and keep repeating until it becomes automatic for you. You won’t think about it.

You will do it. You will want to do it.

I often get asked how I do it? I’ll tell you.

It’s been several years of constant repetition that has built new habits in me.

I can’t IMAGINE not exercising now. I feel worse when I don’t, than when I do.

It has been days of making myself get geared up…get out.. and do it. It has been overcoming any goofy excuses that would distract me. It’s knowing I’ll feel better if I do follow through, mentally and physically.

When it comes to food, I know how much better I feel, how much energy I have and how good I feel about myself when I nurture my body and feed it good food.

It makes passing on junky food or not so healthy food lots easier. I feel more “off” now if I do eat foods I’m not used to.

It’s a good place to be.

It’s taken time. It’s taken practice. Lots of practice building new habits. But they are habits I’m glad to have now.

I wish I could tell you there’s just this “quick fix” that shapes up years of negative behaviors in you.

There isn’t.

But I’ll tell you this, if you are persistent and make intentional choices to do positive things, you WILL build new habits, and that is something that will make a huge difference in your life. Just like you’ve built negative habits, you can rebuild new positive ones.

Tell me, have you built a new habit in your life that’s good? How has that impacted you? What habits would you like to change or improve on ? Remember, having a plan and intentionally following through puts you on the road to new habits.