we're all the same

a phrase ive been thinking about so much lately.... we're all the same on the inside. we all start out the same (of course with some exceptions) we all have the same ability to have a strong heart, healthy lungs, and a fit body- inside and out. i dont know why some people sell themselves so short? you CAN achieve ANYTHING you want to- anything you put your mind to. if you see someone running a 7 minute mile and you think i could never do that- you are sooooo wrong! do you think that person started out running a 7 minute mile? or even running at all? no way! small steps guys... start walking 1 mile, then walk a mile and jog a mile, then jog 2 miles, then run a mile and jog a mile, then run 2 miles, and so on. you get the drift! i have been so bummed about losing progress so many times, and every time i have come back. with a little hard work and dedication. i think a lot of people are just afraid. afraid to work hard, afraid of success, afraid of failure, afraid to prove themselves wrong or maybe prove others wrong! people are afraid, and i challenge you to NOT BE AFRAID. have some confidence and who really cares who you prove wrong or right. its not about them- its about you and your life. and how you feel and how you take care of yourself- or not.

americans obsession with meds

or should i say doctors obsessions with drugs? and americans obsession with not asking second opinions. on a side note, i think we all need a course in the differences in doctors training. as a pyschology graduate and counselor, i am always surprised to find out that people do not know the difference bewteen a pyschologist and a psychiatrist. let alone counselors, therapists, and social workers! there are big differences. the reason i think people should inform themselves about these guys, is that if you go to see a pyschiatrist for anxiety, he will prescribe drugs. if you go to see a psychologist, or a counselor for anxiety, they will counsel you. pyschiatrists are medical doctors who go to med school and choose psychiatry as their specialty area, like a gynecologist would choose gynecology. so they dont have the counseling training that a psychologist does, nor do they believe they need it. most, but not all, of them believe that problems like anxiety and depression will be cured with meds. but let me ask you, if you take take meds for depression, what happens when you come off them? it's still there. and ive seen this happen- the drugs are covering up the problem, not solving it. and in addition, they are making matters worse with their side effects. i have watched more than one person in my own life go from being addicted to alcohol or whatever, to being addicted to anti-depressants b/c they had a hard time coping with coming off the previous substance. so when did everything have to be so easy? why are we so afraid to feel and put in a little effort? it builds character people! dont take credit for quitting smoking if you did it with pills- you didnt quit, you just exchanged one form of nicotine for another. how about a little hard work and being so proud of yourself b/c you did it on your own like a big girl? im always so hesitant to post what i feel about things, because i truly do not want to offend anyone. i know life is hard, and if something can help us through the rough times, who cares right? but i guess my point is just that we are stronger than we think. we dont need these crazy drugs that have a billion side effects and put you in a state of permanent spacy-ness! i am more scared of what the drugs do to you than feeling depressed or what it really feels like to get off nicotine for example. dont be afraid to feel! thats what lie is all about- feeling and experiencing. last year i had my 4th baby, and little did i know, had the worst year of my life. i went into a huge depression- hormonally induced, but very very real. my son is 16 months old, and i am just coming out of it. i barely remember the past year, it was so hard and tiring and sad. i could cry just thinking about it. but i fought and fought to get through it, and i knew i would, b/c i have faith in myself. not my doctor, not anti-depression meds, but myself. and i cant tell you how strong i feel for not giving up on myself. i kept working out, i ate healthy food, and i got sleep when i could. i kept in touch with friends and i cried a lot. i mean a lot! but i kept myself from falling deeper by keeping the faith. in myself. doing cardio releases "feel good" hormones in your brain that mimic a happy euphoric high. so i kept at it. day in day out, so many days i didnt want to get up and work out, but i made myself b/c i knew that was my ticket to feeling better.
we are responsible for our lives, for how we see the world, and how we feel the world. dont be afraid to feel your life. and i dont think we should be afraid to work hard and to battle things w/out the help of drugs. thats when we learn the most about ourselves.
on another side note! theres this amazing doctor, dr. weil. and his website is drweil.com btw....
he is a harvard trained MD. but he grew disappointed in the treatment minded medical system, and began focusing on prevention as opposed to treating his patients. he is very well known and in my opinion, an amazing guy who really has a grip on whats important and what it means to be healthy. he discusses exercise, our diet, and disease. he talks about how to heal from things w/out the typical drug cocktails. but most importantly, he feels like we need to put more emphasis on preventing illness, rather than treating it.
check him out! he just developed a food pyramid that we all should follow- throw out your ideas from the FDA and the ADA, and refer to his! it will literally, save your life :)

cardio or strength?

so the better question is what are your goals? the new trend is to focus more on strength training. but my heart is always with cardio. if i had to choose i would choose cardio. but some go the other way. i personally choose to do both, but there have been periods in my excercise life that i have not done much strength besides yoga, which can absolutely be strength training using your own body for resistance. i think the bottom line is that strength can reshape your body, but nothing can replace the feeling, the high of cardio. i love how it feels, and no amount of lifting weights has even done that for me. yoga also, i just love the way it makes me feel. so if i only have a half an hour to workout, i will choose cardio. but my goals are to feel good, feel well, feel better, and to keep my heart and other organs healthy. some people focus on their outside figure and some focus on health. there is a bridge between these 2, but it seems as though most fall on one side or the other. best case scenario, do both. for me, working out is for health, and a lot for relieving stress. for me, cardio does this. i cant explain the amazing high you get from running, there is really nothing like it. it makes you feel calm and strong all at the same time. it makes you feel lean and svelte, even if youre not! i do other types of cardio, like the bike, and spinning, and the elliptical, but for me, nothing comes close. you have to find that one for you. the one cardio workout that makes you feel good. for some its swimming, or biking, or even rowing. try them all and see what works for you. some people think they cant run- im just not a runner they say. but i urge you to try it- really try it. try anything you think you cant do. we are all capable of working out hard, and we are all strong. find your strength!

life is too short

a lot of people might think that life is too short to worry about diet and exercise- that we just dont have enough time in our days- and i totally get that. i constantly, daily, battle with which things to do now or later, when i can do this or that, and whose needs to put first. do i go running and i know ill feel better and be a better mom or do i spend more time with my kids or my husband or my friends, and forego my excercise? its a daily battle for sure. and sometimes i look at people (who shall remain nameless!!) who dont make time for exercise and im sort of jealous of the extra time (they dont even reaize they have) in their days. but i know i feel good, i feel better if i make time for it. and i hope that it will extend my life so that i can, in the end, have more time for my kids, and my husband, and my friends. we have to think about quality of life too. i know an older man who has never exercised in his adult life and his days are spent in front of the tv on the couch. he doesnt ever feel well mentally or physically, so he has resigned himself to a lonely world on the couch. he doesnt play with his grandchildren or take walks. he doesnt have any desire to do much and is very grumpy. if he wouldve taken those few minutes every day and respected his body, he wouldn't feel this way now. he would have energy, he wouldnt have bad circulation in his legs, he wouldnt have high BP and cholesterol, he would be happier in general (many many studies show how working out=more feel good happy hormones and less depression). so i do agree life is short, and there are some days where i feel like, im just going to skip b/c i want to hang out, i try to think of the future and what it would look like if i didnt work out or take care of myself. its not just an extended life you'll get, but a better one.

measure-ey

so as i was walking out of fitworks and i overheard a trainer/nutrionist meeting with a client. also, that same morning i had the today show on and i remember it being one of the reocurring (yawn) pieces on portion control and calorie intake. the trainer/nutrionist of fitworks had a super boring copy of "the correct portions" you shall intake at each meal. this included such things as tennis balls and softballs. the client looked oh so interested in this sheet of course! and the trainer didn't have to do anything but pass that printed out dated worksheet on correct calorie intake and portion control onto her client to follow to the tee. i mean could we make it a little less robotic please? not to mention completely boring and dare i say not realistic at all? i mean especially for the beginner trying to lose weight- let us tackle one problem at a time before we get to how many peas we're allowed to eat at dinner. and to me, it's so much more important WHAT you eat, not just how much you eat. i mean if you're sitting down to a meal of carrots, who cares if you eat 75 of them? i'm so sick of these ADA following rule following portion controlled calorie intake bosses telling everyone how much and when to eat. it is not one size fits all! i think it doesn't have to be like this. who has time to count calories and measure your food and compare your meals to balls?!! not only is this method of food control completely boring, but it's really a pain and complicated. a healthy diet is actually the opposite of this- it's SIMPLE. let's just focus on eating real whole food and we'll all be much better for it :)
i focus on ingredients PERIOD. i focus on QUALITY, not quantity. even if you eat only a tennis ball portion of cheese puffs- you still subjected your body to cheese puffs. so let's stop being so anal and measure-ey (great word there, huh?!), and focus on the important stuff like what are you feeding your body? what are you feeding your mind?

the strength of a woman

every woman's journey is different- i love all the stories i hear every day professionally and personally. i love women and respect our strength- i feel like we all posess this amazing underlying strength. the strength that comes from dealing with all the issues we have to deal with every day, the strength that comes from getting through the most terrifying pain of childbirth, the strength that comes from being a mother, and a friend, and a sister, and a daughter, and a wife. until i gave birth, i didn't know what me, what my body, was capable of. i didn't realize what i could get through and come out the other side- physically and emotionally. i think carrying and having children proves that to us every day. i have always loved to push myself physically. but after having children, i feel like i have never been stronger, and i now know what i'm capable of- ANYTHING! so for me, being a mother has brought me more confidence in my own strength. when i am pregnant, i feel like i am keeping myself healthy and strong for my baby. the stronger i am, the stronger my baby will be. of course, there are different parameters pregnant women have to follow- especially if you have a difficult pregnancy. i have had both- i've had 3 miscarriages, and 1 really difficult pregnancy- i had placenta previa and was on pelvic rest after month 2 until the end- and bed rest on and off with lots of heavy bleeding in between. i also had to take progesterone during 2 of my pregnancies b/c my levels were very low, and with a history of miscarriage, we wanted to be on the safe side. with all of that, i also had 3 relatively good pregancies. i worked out the entire time and felt great about that. i truly believe it helped me and my babies. the research shows that if you and your baby are healthy, exercise is best during pregnancy! of course, a great side effect can be keeping your weight gain in check. but like i've said before, weight should not always be the focus! if you've never worked out, you can begin during pregnancy- but you will certainly need more guidance than those who already do. i would strongly recommend a trainer during pregnancy- this is the time to know your parameters. and to be honest, why not leave the boring research to those of us who do it anyways?!! leave the boring stuff to us, and just enjoy your pregnancy and the strength you can find within yourself and let your body do the most amazing thing it will ever do :)

walking

a lot of people like to believe that if you take walks or take the stairs instead of the elevator or park further away so you walk through the parking lot, they're getting their exercise. the thing is, if you don't get your heart rate up to a certain point and even sustain that, you will not reap all the benefits of exercise. in general, walking does not accomplish this. yes, it's better than sitting on the couch and does burn some calories, but by no means is it as beneficial to your heart and other systems of the body as more vigorous exercise. i like what jillian micheals says, that's sending a false message of lethargy and not doing anyone any favors. we are all capable of working out, and working out hard. not that everyone needs to work out hard every day, but to compare walking to real exercise just isn't a fair comparison. if you have watched the biggest loser, you can see that literally anyone is capable of working out hard and reaping the benfits of working out like getting off all their meds!
vigorous exercise can and will....
decrease depression, decrease anxiety, elevate the happy hormone, decrease stress, improve your sleep, lower blood pressure and cholesterol, give you more energy, allow you to live longer, decrease your risk for premature death, prevent or lessen osteoporosis, decrease risk for a heart attack, decrease likehood of developing heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers like breast and colon (by 60% or more!). have a better sex life, increased mental focus, better digestion, better circulation, increased metabolism, and better immune system.
these are just some of the many ways exercise will improve your life! not to mention increased self-esteem and just plain feeling better. and i can't tell you how much exercise can increase your confidence by making you feel strong and powerful and capable of pretty much anything! and of course, we didn't even talk about losing weight and increasing muscle mass and toning up- my approach is that if you focus on health, the rest will fall into place. so i feel like weight is secondary to all the amazing benefits of working out.