Monday Musings

Happy Monday kids!Where oh where do I start in today’s Monday Musings edition?Let’s start with one of my fav topics…. snake oil offerings…. aka health and wellness companies looking for those desperate to lose weight, along with their cash.When it comes to health and nutrition there are some guaranteed buzz words that will send me head on into the other direction. If you come at me with words like “cleanses “, “detoxes”, “fat burners”, telling me I need to get toxins out of my body, and that I need to spend my days drinking shakes or mystery drinks, I’m gone.Like yesterday, gone.I like to eat my food, not drink it.I get it. With the weirdness of the last few months people are stuck at home alot more.Feeling emotionally strung out they reach for the ice cream cartons and chocolate.”Quarantine 15″ is a reality for many people. Well, hopefully not that much. Life has been crazy and food, for alot of us, can be entertainment, comfort, or simply boredom eating. Being home extra time gives more opportunities to graze when we usually wouldn’t.No matter what your current weight situation, you don’t need to be cleansed or detoxed from your affair with ice cream or fries.Just incase you don’t know, cleanse and detox are buzz words for “starvation and being miserable “. I’ve never met an honest person who wasn’t ready to finish and get back to normal life from being “cleansed”. And the weight loss from it? Nothing but water loss, not fat.And I’ll say it again for the kids on the back row…..there is no such thing as a fat burner! If that stuff actually worked, everyone would use it and we wouldn’t have an obesity epidemic.So what would I recommend? I’ll put it as succinctly as possible.Eating! Eat good nutrionally dense foods with adequate protein that satisfies you.Feed and nourish your body with good foods, don’t deprive it or eliminate foods it needs.And don’t forget to allow treats because life is good and you shouldn’t live deprived.You don’t have to starve to lose weight or feel constantly hungry.Movement!If there is one thing under used for our wellness, mental and physical, it’s exercise. Exercise makes us feel strong and can clear our minds. I do my most creative thinking during exercise.Don’t get caught up in thinking you “have” to do it to lose weight. Take the weight loss out of the equation.You can build strength, gain energy, develop more muscle mass, develop your cardiovascular system, and flex your creative mental energy without actually losing weight. ( do it often and frequently with my suggestions on healthy eating and it will happen) you should exercise no matter your body size because it benefits you in so many waysBut please, don’t get on the cleanse and detox hype bus in a quest to get to lose weight.Speaking of building strength….I have been making strength training a part of my physical discipline for awhile. This week I tossed a little more weight on my bar moving from 155 to 185lbs on my dead lift. I did 3 sets of 3 for a starting place. I was pleasantly surprised when I did it again yesterday, it didn’t feel as hard as I was preparing for. I look back to several years ago when I got 8 lbs dumb bells and they were a little work for me ha it seems crazy now since I use 25lb for alot of my arm work. Consistency does pay off.You… no matter where you are… have a starting place for your health and fitness. You just need to find it.Speaking of all things health I’m excited to be reading this book, Give Yourself More. I’m also excited to finish so I can write a review on it. This book takes women past “just” losing weight to learning more of themselves to giving themselves “more” in life. I previously did a book review on Georgie’s “Lean Habits For Weight Loss” ( find both reviews in my posts) which focuses on building healthy, sustainable habits for life long weight loss. You’ll find my review here on my page when I finish this book .Oh…..and if you never had a black Nitro brew coffee, you need to. 😉No how about some fun stuff? I’ve shared with you before that I have a little vintage furniture business. Of the many positives I ponder in this weird time we are in, is how it has continued to grow. I moved into a larger space in the shop,and became a retailer for a well known chalk paint company. It took off so fast I made the move to become a premier retailer (lots of perks with it) all within a few months. I put together my website and launched it. I’ve gained alot of followers and picked up lots of custom orders with new customers.My little hobby, this fun little side gig, has turned more and more into a thriving business.All during a time things were closed and nothing was moving.I used that down time to be productive, to work and accomplish new things. I firmly believed that things would get moving again and I wanted to be heading that way, ready.Guess you can say I never let grass grow under my feet.I’d challenge you in this time to find something new to learn, build a hobby or craft. Take care of yourself and maybe get into some type of exercise. Use this time as an opportunity of personal growth. Read, write, reflect.Ok you wanna see some of the things I’ve dragged home recently, don’t you? I love showing you pieces from days gone by 😊

Antique six leg table
Harp media holder
Gorgeous antique china cabinet. Selfishly. I’m keeping this
These antique cabinets got a little make over
I transformed this cute telephone bench. She sold this weekend 😊
Painted in my fav, Antebellum Blue
Just a little snap shot of some of my projects, my many, many projects 😱So I guess I’ll leave you with this thought. Are you using this time to be productive in new ways? A lot of our lives and schedules may feel perhaps, a bit disjointed right now. We can look at it all in a negative way, or a way of accomplishing new things we haven’t done before.Tell me…. have you used this time to try new things or to learn something new? Are you focusing on caring for yourself in how you eat and move ?

Saturday Snippets

Happy Saturday lovely people!

So it’s been a red hot minute since I ranted about some snake oil diet and “health” program.

You’ve been forewarned 🤣

If someone offers you pie in the sky promises of ridiculous weight loss in a week ( largely done by starvation) and then tells you ( the victim) you will also have to pay 100’s of your hard earned dollars a month to buy all of their fabulous starvation….um….weight loss products… may I make a suggestion?

Take your 100plus dollars, buy some good running shoes, and run far, far away from it.

You’re welcome 😉

I’ve seen one particular product circulating through and it’s just so unrealistic in what it offers.

I’m sorry, but losing big amounts of weight in 8 days is not only unrealistic, it’s also unhealthy. And the reality is all you’ve done is shed a whole lotta water in those days.

I’ve read enough on it to know you basically starve yourself most days of the “program” in that first week.

I don’t exaggerate.

On top of that you spend a good amount of money to be involved in this particular diet cult.

I know it’s super old school but really, if you want to lose weight, and keep it off you’ve got to manage what goes in your mouth, eat healthy nutritious food the majority of the time ( because chocolate ya know?)and get some good purposeful exercise in most days of the week.

It will be slow and steady ( as it should) you will eat foods you enjoy, without depriving yourself, and the money you save you can use towards that new exercise hobby you fall in love with.

Stay away from the diet schemes that require you to buy their products and promise you “to good to be true” results.

Really the only results you’ll ultimately have will be a lighter bank account.

I Don’t Need Your Weight Loss Product To Be Fit

So yesterday presented one of those golden opportunities to spring board an idea for todays post. Just when I worry I might be running out of creative, challenging, inspiring, clever or inventive ideas, life just delivers it into my lap.

How splendid 😉

So I made a stop for some iced coffee at my favorite coffee place and was hanging out on the patio enjoying the breezy warm afternoon when from behind me someone grabbed my chair and acted like they were going to dump me from my comfy perch…

turns out to be one of the guys who is typically in during  the morning… one of the “regulars” I’ve gotten to know some. There is a lively group who encourages my running, wants to know what I’m currently doing, provides weather reports for my running days, ask when my next races are and wants to see my medals after I finish one.

I call them my cheerleading section and my fan club… it’s kinda nice 😉

Anyway, we just start chatting about random stuff and he moves into asking me about a particular “health” product and if I’ve heard of it or used it before ?

I tell him no I just try and eat good food, drink water, and stay away from most junk/random food. It’s been working…

Then he says… “well, what do you use for detox?”

I blankly looked at him for a moment and then said… “I have a liver that does it for me”

Haha…. the look on his face…. I’m not sure if he thought I was messing with him… but I mean seriously… it’s not hanging out in your belly for nothing.

When I mentioned I really enjoyed having a lot of veggies and fruits in my daily food intake I got the “yes, but there aren’t any nutrients left in foods anymore” mantra…( oh I’m weary of that one)

Ok… I like this guy. He’s always really nice and everything.. it’s just… he’s delivering the lines that companies have coached people into believing or saying to sell their product. They sell a product, using lines they’ve been given and not always understanding what they are actually delivering.

I told him I’d take my chances with “nutrient deprived veggies from our poor depleted soil”  that it seemed to be doing ok for me so far… I mean… as if this “product” was better than eating fresh veggies and fruits ? Really ? a man made product is better than fresh, nutrient dense foods ??

That perplexed me.

He then brought up having energy and getting moving in the morning. I told him I don’t really suffer from lack of energy (usually) and I found eating well, combined with exercise really seemed to be a good combo for abundant energy…. ( oh, and coffee, always coffee 😉

He then mentioned he knew people who had some success with it. I told him my issues with all these “health” products is that people want to believe it will deliver the “miracle” cure they are looking for and bring this item on board while never changing or making improvements in their overall nutrition plan, often continuing in their poor habits… not making or building new ones to replace the negative.  The only thing this product might do is make them lighter in their bank account.

A lot lighter based on many items I’ve seen.

Ah… I deal with this frequently. When people know I’m living a healthy lifestyle and that I workout and am fit, they want me to use their product to “improve” or “get better” or to have more of “something”.

Weird kinda thing here…. I got where I am, I look how I look, I do what I do, all on my own, somehow without all these amazing products to get me healthier, more energetic, fit, cleansed, etc.

My labs at doctors are great. My weight is in my perfect zone. My body fat is very low. I have lots of energy. I sleep well and am more fit and athletic than I’ve ever been in my life. All accomplished without some miracle product to get me to this point.

The biggest thing to success in weight loss and getting fit ? Is finding what works for you… the thing that is sustainable and easy enough for you to maintain and work at day in and day out without giving up.

Something that doesn’t have a shelf life of 6-8 weeks before it’s back to the old way of life. And ideally, something that doesn’t do a monthly draw off your bank account either is a good thing.

I would caution anyone…. think before you jump onto the bandwagon of a product making promises to make you healthier, more energetic, or fix your medical problems. (For goodness sake, if you have medical issues, consult your doctor, not your neighbor selling something!)

Nothing will work long term for you like learning to manage your own nutrition and developing an active healthy lifestyle. Changes must be made, new habits must be formed.

Have you ever tried a product hoping it would be your “magic pill” for success?  What was the outcome ?