As you know, life is full of ebbs and flows. Although I always exercise at least semi-regularly, there are times when I'm super dedicated and work out intensely and there are times when other things demand my attention and there just aren't enough hours or energy in the day. At those times, I may let exercise slip, but I pay for it and don't feel as good.
I've had a lot going on with work, relationships, my dad's illness, my son starting pre-school, my blog, and on and on. We all have struggles so I know you can relate. When things are extra stressful in my life, exercise helps me cope. And I've been doing a lot of that lately. Getting really good and sweaty and fighting wars in my mind. Cursing cancer and feeling blessed for the experience of love. I'm also trying to add in periods of rest. Stillness. Time to just
Time to listen to my heart. Time to share my thankfulness and blessings with God. And time to listen for HIS guidance. I don't know why it's so hard to just take these moments for myself, but I know they are necessary. I find that right after dropping my son off at school, just sitting alone in my car for a few quiet moments can help ground me and prepare me for the day. But it's not enough. There needs to be more time to turn off the constant slew of thoughts, fear, worry, anxiousness, sadness.
I set out some goals for myself for 2013 and they have been really challenged. I'm "renewing my vows" :) to myself right now. I feel like if I don't examine my life and what's important and how I want to live, then I will just be on the wheel, going nowhere. In the stillness, answers come. Through exercise and getting stronger answers come.
I'm wishing moments of peace and stillness for you too. Have a beautiful day.
Thirsty yet? Visual cues such as these are used to drive food/beverage seeking and consumption behavior, which are used to drive profits. How does this work? Once you've consumed a rewarding beverage enough times, particularly as a malleable child, your brain comes to associate everything about that beverage with the primary reward you obtained from it (calories, sugar, and caffeine). This is simply Pavlovian/classical conditioning*. Everything associated with that beverage becomes a cue that triggers motivation to obtain it (craving), including the sight of it, the smell of it, the sound of a can popping, and even the physical and social environment it was consumed in-- just like Pavlov's dogs learned to drool at the sound of a bell that was repeatedly paired with food.
It does not matter how much I exercise, if I do not put healthy foods in my body, I will not be healthy.It is really that simple.Outside of my workouts, I maintain my body mostly with healthy food intake.An hour of exercise at least five days per week is sufficient for me, and allows for great recovery and rest for my body.How I feed my body is the maintenance work that takes place all day long, until I hit the sheets for sleep.Even then, it is important to eat healthy food that promotes sleep as well.
Yes, I build my body in the gym and prior to that ensure that my body is ready to go with the proper fuel to get me through my workout.I purposely create a space on my client calendar where I am the client for a workout.I give myself one hour of bodywork time and that is enough.If my hunger bell rings just before my scheduled time, I will slam an apple or a few pieces of watermelon, and if over the top hunger hits, there is no way I am missing what my body is telling me…GO EAT.It happens sometimes and I will not allow my metabolism to be thrown out of whack over one workout.Most of the time though, a small piece of fruit and water will allow me to push forward and I fuel directly after my workout.I have become quite the strategic eater and workout gal with my career as a personal trainer and coach.
The maintenance work is always on call and important for a healthy body.Like I shared earlier, there is no amount of exercise that will create a healthy body without the healthy food.Some get caught up in a vicious exercise punishment cycle of I got to work that “shit” off or starvation mode the following day.That creates a negative thought process about working out instead of looking at it as a gift for the body.Before any backlash, I need to clarify that exercise is great and important for the body even if unhealthy food is being eaten, so please do not think I am saying not to exercise if your nutrition is not dialed in yet. The human body was made to be active and move, not remain stagnant and sedentary for hours on end.So any steps taken to create a healthy body with exercise are POSITIVE steps. I understand that beginning and adapting a healthy lifestyle can be a struggle in the food department and if exercise is the first thing on the agenda to incorporate…that is great.
What I am saying, and I will use my personal life as an example, is that my body is at its’ healthy best when I am simultaneously eating healthy and exercising consistently.It is a LIFESTYLE of building and maintaining that has been fine tuned over the years.It does take years to develop muscle, maintain that muscle and fuel the body in ways to keep that muscle.Without healthy food and not eating, I would lose all the hard work made in the gym, and that is just not going to happen, besides…I LOVE to eat!
My main maintenance foods consist of lean proteins, antioxidants, healthy fats, and fiber.Examples would be boneless skinless chicken breast, lean ground turkey, eggs, yogurt, nuts, seeds, oats, all types of greens and vegetables along with fresh fruits, and healthy oils.I prefer to purchase all my healthy food products organic, humanely and sustainably raised, and non-GMO (genetically modified organism).If I am on track at least 90% of the time with my healthy food intake for maintenance, I feel pretty good enjoying my occasional treats.I do not deny myself if I want to enjoy a cookie, brownie, pie, frozen yogurt, etc. as long as the dessert or “cheat meal” is quality.There is no way I am downing a packaged processed non food item for a “treat meal”…did you catch how I changed that up?The indulgence would have to be home baked or gourmet, all natural quality ingredients and provide over the top fabulous flavors in my mouth.
Overall, the combination of work in the gym, maintenance with the food, plenty of rest, and balance of life with work and play is what makes up healthy ME.I do not believe in calorie restriction, over exercising my body to risk physical injury, or overworking myself to unmanageable stress levels.Life is about being healthy and the work in the gym and maintenance with the food is just a part, but very important part, of the success of living a healthy life, feeling my best, and enjoying the results of living this way.
IN YOUR FACE MOTIVATION
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Some/many of you will know that I have recently become co-chair of the HIA/Health Section of the IAIA (International Association for Impact Assessment). I did so reluctantly because I don’t know if I can give it the time it needs. In the end I accepted because I believe in what the IAIA stands for and what, in particular, the group of HIA Practitioners in the HIA/Health Section of IAIA are thinking and are doing (though I don’t necessarily always agree with every perspective). I like them and I consider some/many of them friends as well as colleagues.
I would like to take some of your valuable time and relate to you a story of my involvement in professional associations and why I think you should seriously consider joining IAIA. www.iaia.org
I was a passionate member/advocate of the UKPHA (UK Public Health Association) I joined UKPHA in 2003-04 as a corporate member (via my then very small independent consultancy Living Knowledge). I was very disappointed and quite frustrated that the Trustees of UKPHA did not see the funding crunch coming so that in the end the only way forward was for UKPHA to close (okay it merged with the Faculty of Public Health but for me it closed). I still think that was and is a big shame.
I have nothing against the UK Faculty of Public Health but ultimately FPH and the UK Royal Society of Public Health (of which I have also until this year been a long standing Fellow) have not been as good a fit in my professional development as I had hoped. At this stage in my (professional) life I don’t feel the need/value of being linked to associations where I don’t really get much from my membership apart from saying I am a member. Partly/mostly people can legitimately say this is down to me, you only get out of these associations what you put in. But I think it is also due to the structure and focus of these associations as well, HIA is not a strong focus in them.
Since 2004-05 I have also been a member of IAIA, in fact I met Ben Harris Roxas in Stavanger at an IAIA conference in 2005-ish. He has been a good HIA colleague (dare I say friend) ever since. I have also deepened friendships I have made at the International HIA conference at the Porto IAIA conference more recently.
There is only one international association for HIA that also connects with the other closely related IAs of Environmental and Social Impact Assessment and that is the International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA).
My enthusiasm for IAIA has waxed and waned and there was a point where my membership lapsed and a point where I seriously considered not being a member. The thing that has kept me renewing my membership is that sentence above and more recently the, not perfect, but increasingly interesting members-only IAIA Connect network where members can post ideas, issues and thoughts across environment, social and health. They do have a journal IAPA (Impact assessment and Project Appraisal) but I rarely have time to look at it. IAIA Connect and the email updates I get are as interesting and useful as the HIA Group on LinkedIn and the HIAnet email network (perhaps more so).
I find that my £80 a year or so (US$110 is what they charge) is worth it for IAIA Connect, the ethical values that IAIA provides as a benchmark for all Impact Assessors and the sense that I belong to a bigger global Impact Assessment movement/community.
I confess that being spontaneous is a difficult one for me.I am definitely a plan and prep girl when it comes to almost everything about Darla.I have always done better with structure and a guide to get me from start to finish.Where this has served me best is in my meal planning and exercise. I am not one of those who open the door to the refrigerator puzzled by what to eat, looking for something and finding nothing. I think that would drive me crazy, and talk about wasting energy by leaving the frig open…YIKES. I have dedicated one day out of my weekend and sometimes during the week, to plan and prep my meals.This not only ensures that I eat healthy, but saves me lots of money, time and stress, especially when time is limited during the busy work week.
I have two crock pots that are in constant use and filled with boneless/skinless
chicken breast, brown rice, quinoa, and steel cut oats at any given time.Having crock pot chicken ready to eat is fabulous and I use it for so many things: chicken rice bowls, wraps, tacos, and even by itself with a side of chopped veggies or fruit.I am not kidding when I say that it takes about 10 minutes to throw the chicken in the crock with my spices and on with my day.
I also plan my workouts and just as I create a program for my clients, I plan for me.Not doing so would be like getting ready for a test without studying.Having a plan, writing it down, and following through makes for a successful, challenging workout catered to what I can do and accomplishing that goal in the time allotted and at least 5 days per week.I am able to look back on my workouts and know from one day to the next what muscle group I will work, avoiding any sore areas of course.Having a plan and prepping for it during my fitness routine creates an even flow, eliminates any guessing, and allows me to be very efficient and effective of my time and body.
The planning and prepping is really not difficult, and actually very simple as a
healthy LIFESTYLE.I would feel weird if I did not have my healthy food in the refrigerator ready to go, or my exercise program in front of me as my accountability guide to an effective workout.This is the secret that is really not a secret to living a healthy life and maintaining a healthy body. What it comes down to is caring enough about ME to make my health a priority and I have done so through the planning and prepping process.My hubby and I eat most of our meals at home and rarely eat out and we do not consider this a wrench in our life, but we welcome creating and eating healthy foods, and more than that, enjoy how it makes us feel.The beautiful part about eating healthy is even if the exercise lacks during the week, I am still maintaining a healthy body through my planned meals.Many studies show that vigorous exercise 3 times per week accompanied by healthy nutrition will maintain a healthy body, which is why the nutrition is so vital to keep up.Imagine, not working as hard in the gym by maintaining healthy food intake…sounds GREAT to me.
IN YOUR FACE MOTIVATION
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Stay Healthy~ Darla
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Thanks for stopping by my Blogand I hope you enjoyed the content. Let me know by leaving a comment, a LIKE, or whatever you are inspired to do. I look forward to responding, and if you have not become a follower yet, I would love to see your face on my friends list.
Non-shivering thermogenesis is the process by which the body generates extra heat without shivering. Shivering is a way for the body to use muscular contractions to generate heat, but non-shivering thermogenesis uses a completely different mechanism to accomplish the same goal: a specialized fat-burning tissue called brown fat. Brown fat is brown rather than white because it's packed with mitochondria, the power plants of the cell. Under cold conditions, these mitochondria are activated, using a specialized molecular mechanism called uncoupling* to generate heat.
The mechanism of brown fat activation has been worked out fairly well in rodents, which rely heavily on non-shivering thermogenesis due to their small body size. Specialized areas of the hypothalamus in the brain sense body temperature (through sensors in the brain and body), body energy status (by measuring leptin and satiety signals), stress level, and probably other factors, and integrate this information to set brown fat activity. The hypothalamus does this by acting through the sympathetic nervous system, which heavily innervates brown fat. As an aside, this process works basically the same in humans, as far as we currently know. Those who claim that rodent models are irrelevant to humans are completely full of hot air**, as the high degree of conservation of the hypothalamus over 75 million years of evolution demonstrates.
Two new studies concurrently published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation last week demonstrate what I've suspected for a long time: brown fat can be 'trained' by cold exposure to be more active, and its activation by cold can reduce body fatness.
