My Diet, lifestyle change and exercise.

Well as you all have noticed, I have not posted much about my lifestyle changes recently. I have not stopped what I was doing. In fact I have kept on doing what I was doing with adjustments. With those adjustments I have actually seen more success then I was before. Instead of eating a small or nothing for breakfast I have actually been eating a good breakfast. I found out it carries me though the day and I am not as hungry in the afternoon. So then I don’t end up snacking on things I shouldn’t be. I know this should have been a given but you know when someone tells you something, even if it is good for you, you have to find out for yourself. So I have….lol!! I am still doing the exercises that I was previously and it feels great. When I get done with them, it’s like my whole body is energized ready for the day. I love that feeling.

I will start posting more about this again. It is just the last few weeks have been a bit overwhelming…personal issues and stuff. It’s life…we all have those days. We just got to find a way and do the best we can. Till next time!!

 

Yoga Tuesday

Hi all!! Welcome to Yoga Pose Tuesday. I think I am going to change this just to Yoga Tuesday because until I can actually get back to getting pics for you all…it really is only information. That’s not a bad thing but to be honest I had a lot more hope for this weekly segment on my blog but between the home life, job, and just myself I have not been able to keep up with I was hoping to do. So as of today it will be called Yoga Tuesday just because I can provide more info them actual pics. Does that mean I will not post anymore pics? No I will as I have them 🙂

Now onto the post 🙂

 

Today on this post I would like to talk about how Yoga effects the outlook on your life. When you start Yoga you have can have any of a multitude of reasons to start it. Mine was always to get balance in my everyday existence. Yoga not only will help achieve a certain calmness but it will allow you to look at the world from a different perspective. Meaning it gives you a chance to see things differently.

When doing yoga, it is not all about getting the poses done right or wearing the right clothes or being with the “IN” crowd. Yoga is in fact a spiritual journey. Now that probably will turn some people off. They will say…I don’t need that or I am already fine with my religion…etc. But I have to say I am not talking about religion so much when I say spiritual. I think a lot of people equate religion with being spiritual. Religion to me is the study and following of text and beliefs set forth to help people have a good moral compass. And that is great!! Being spiritual to me means being able accept yourself, being able to center yourself, and most of all open yourself to everything that brings you peace. Once you reach that level, everything will be easier to do. Does that mean you will not have bad days as well? No…hey we’re all human we’re not perfect. There will always be bad days and good days and even better days. But with yoga if you open yourself to that peace, it will make it better.

 

 

 

Fit Challenge Week 48

Ok I know it’s late and I know I really do not have too much progress to share…but guess what…it is what it is. My progress is showing in my other numbers besides my weight. My thyroid levels have improved to the point where my doctor decided to reduce the amount I am taking, my sugar level is the best it has been since before the kids, and my cholesterol is on a steady downhill slide 🙂  So with all this said I can’t complain too bitterly about the fact my weight has not budged. I am determined to look at the whole not just one particular number. I am going to keep going and continue to improve and change me from the inside out.

Fitness Challenge week 46 and 47

Well here I am at week 47. Let me start out saying I have been busy otherwise I would have been posting more regularly….sorry everyone!! Now on to the post….

I am not anywhere close to my goal but I am learning a lot about my health. In the last 47 weeks and even before that when I first started, I started to do this because I was having the beginnings of major issues…anywhere from asthma all the way to high cholesterol. I was not in good shape and could not go and do things with my kids that I wanted to.  I mean I was not even 40 years old and I felt like I was falling apart. I weighed almost 190 pounds and every joint felt it. I was at the heaviest I had ever been in my life. So I started on this journey with the decision not so much to lose weight as to get healthy again.

And it seems that I have.

I have not lost as much weight as I would like to and in the process I have gained some back and lost it again. In total I have lost 13 pounds since I started. I know that does not seem like a lot but considering I really did not go into this to lose weight but to get healthy, to me, it is a lot. It’s a lot because I have kept it off. I did not gain it back after losing it. It shows if you change your diet you will not only lose weight but will regain your health. Yes I know I should not tout any huge successes because commercial weight loss programs will “guarantee you that you will lose 50 pounds in 6 months or your money back (insert sarcasm)” but to me this is a huge success. Not in terms of weight loss but in terms of me taking my body, my health, and my life back.

I am going to continue doing just as I have and will continue to update my progress. I will change myself the better and teach my children to live better and healthier. I don’t want to leave them sooner then I have to and I want them to have a long, healthy, enjoyable life. The more I learn the more they learn. Maybe by changing my path, I have change theirs for the better.

Success is not the absence of failure; it’s the persistence through failure.

Aisha Tyler

 

Weight: 174.8

Bust: 38 in

Waist: 32

Hips: 37

Fit Challenge Week 45

Hey everyone!! This post is a little shorter than normal because I am in the middle of getting things prepared for my Mom’s b-day. So let’s hit the highlights…on the plus side I lost a pound. That sort of surprises me considering the foods I ate this weekend. Whereas they were not the worst, they definitely were not the best. I guess my body has woke up and is using the calories I intake a little more efficiently. Which is a good thing…it means I am on the right track…YAY!!  Something else that may have help it as well is I did start using weights again. I used to lift weights (not as a bodybuilder but more than casual) when I was younger. So now I have decided to start doing it again if for nothing else just to keep my arms and legs toned and even to alleviate pain I stated developing in my arms. Hopefully this will help me burn fat more…will keep you all updated as always!!

 

Weight: 174.8

Bust: 38 in

Waist: 32

Hips: 37

Fit Challenge Week 44

To be honest I really have not got anywhere near where I wanted to be when I started this. I am still a lot heavier then what I want to be. I still go back to my comfort zone when I let my guard down. It’s just so easy to do it especially when you are feeling down, tired, or (let’s be honest) lazy. I am not bashing myself….I am just being truthful. I am doing a lot better I think then when I started all of this way back when.  I see the difference in the way I feel and the way my family feels but it doesn’t want to translate for me. That’s ok though. When I started this, I wanted to lose weight which I have but most importantly I wanted to get healthy. I have done this. It is still a work in progress, but I know things are changing. I no longer have severe breathing issues. I no longer have to stop to rest when doing high intensity exercises. And most of all I feel amazing!! I will continue on this path I am on to get where I want to be. It’s just going to take time. It did not happen overnight and this is not going to fix itself overnight either.

 

Height: 5′ 7″

Weight: 175.8

Bust: 38 in

Waist: 32

Hips: 37

Yoga Pose Tues…(oops) Wednesday

Hey all sorry about the delay on tis I have been busy with a lot of things sorry I didn’t do this earlier. It was a day…but no excuse…here it is…Yoga Pose Tuesday (a day late)

Well today I do have a pic for you for a new pose called Bridge Pose. This can be a relaxing pose but if you have any kind of neck injury or shoulder injury please do this under supervision to avoid additional injuries.

***On a side note…Please consult with your doctor before doing any new exercise. Also yoga is not meant to be done quickly it is meant to be done gradually. DO NOT force your body into any pose. The more you do them the easier they become.***

 

 

BRIDGE POSE (Setu Bandha)

1. Begin lying on your back.
2. Bend your knees and place your feet on the ground hip-width apart with your arms on either side of you reaching toward your heels. Outer edges of your feet are parallel.
3. Press into your feet (especially into the big toe mound), lengthen through your tailbone, and lift your hips.
4. Interlace your hands together underneath you, and, if it feels good, wiggle your shoulders closer together one at a time. Breathe here for at least three deep breaths
5. Lower slowly down to lying on your back.

 

 

Fit Challenge week 43

Back again for my weekly update…sorry about the delay but was really busy yesterday. Well I did not make much progress on my weight but I have started doing weight bearing exercises. I am making progress because again my pants are getting looser. I can’t tell you how good that feels  🙂 I also know that my internals are changing. This time last year when I started using a push mower to cut grass I could hardly breathe. It took me at over almost 2 hours to cut grass. Yesterday it took a little over an hour!! I am so happy that this is improving!! I am still waiting on that number to fall…but any way on to the numbers:

 

Height: 5′ 7″

Weight: 175.2

Bust: 38 in

Waist: 32

Hips: 37

Yoga Pose (information) Tuesday

Yes I know I keep telling you I don’t have anymore pics of poses. I’m sorry will get some for next week I promise. Until then here is some more useful info about Yoga. This week instead of terms…I am going to talk about the health benefits of yoga.

I am not a professional yogi by no means but I have over the years experienced the benefits of yoga in one form or another. Now that I am much older then when I first started yoga, I know what the long term effects are. I try to educate as much as possible but the old saying “you can lead a horse to the water but you can’t make them drink” applies here. My kids at least have come around to it and enjoy it and I know they will benefit from it as they get older as well.

1. Improves your flexibility
Improved flexibility is one of the first and most obvious benefits of yoga. During your first class, you probably won’t be able to touch your toes, never mind do a backbend. But if you stick with it, you’ll notice a gradual loosening, and eventually, seemingly impossible poses will become possible. You’ll also probably notice that aches and pains start to disappear. That’s no coincidence. Tight hips can strain the knee joint due to improper alignment of the thigh and shinbones. Tight hips can lead to a flattening of the lumbar spine, which can cause back pain. And inflexibility in muscles and connective tissue, such as fascia and ligaments, can cause poor posture.

2. Builds muscle strength
Strong muscles do more than look good. They also protect us from conditions like arthritis and back pain, and help prevent falls in elderly people. And when you build strength through yoga, you balance it with flexibility. If you just went to the gym and lifted weights, you might build strength at the expense of flexibility.

3. Perfects your posture
Your head is like a bowling ball—big, round, and heavy. When it’s balanced directly over an erect spine, it takes much less work for your neck and back muscles to support it. Move it several inches forward, however, and you start to strain those muscles. Hold up that forward-leaning bowling ball for eight or 12 hours a day and it’s no wonder you’re tired. And fatigue might not be your only problem. Poor posture can cause back, neck, and other muscle and joint problems. As you slump, your body may compensate by flattening the normal inward curves in your neck and lower back. This can cause pain and degenerative arthritis of the spine.

4. Prevents cartilage and joint breakdown
Each time you practice yoga, you take your joints through their full range of motion. This can help prevent degenerative arthritis or mitigate disability by “squeezing and soaking” areas of cartilage that normally aren’t used. Joint cartilage is like a sponge; it receives fresh nutrients only when its fluid is squeezed out and a new supply can be soaked up. Without proper sustenance, neglected areas of cartilage can eventually wear out, exposing the underlying bone like worn-out brake pads.

5. Protects your spine
Spinal disks—the shock absorbers between the vertebrae that can herniate and compress nerves—crave movement. That’s the only way they get their nutrients. If you’ve got a well-balanced asana practice with plenty of backbends, forward bends, and twists, you’ll help keep your disks supple.

6. Betters your bone health
It’s well documented that weight-bearing exercise strengthens bones and helps ward off osteoporosis. Many postures in yoga require that you lift your own weight. And some, like Upward-Facing Dog, help strengthen the arm bones, which are particularly vulnerable to osteoporotic fractures.

7. Increases your blood flow
Yoga gets your blood flowing. More specifically, the relaxation exercises you learn in yoga can help your circulation, especially in your hands and feet. Yoga also gets more oxygen to your cells, which function better as a result. Twisting poses are thought to wring out venous blood from internal organs and allow oxygenated blood to flow in once the twist is released. Inverted poses, such as Headstand, encourage venous blood from the legs and pelvis to flow back to the, where it can be pumped to the lungs to be freshly oxygenated. This can help if you have swelling in your legs from heart or kidney problems. Yoga also boosts levels of hemoglobin and red blood cells, which carry oxygen to the tissues. And it thins the blood by making platelets less sticky and by cutting the level of clot-promoting proteins in the blood. This can lead to a decrease in heart attacks and strokes since blood clots are often the cause of these killers.

8. Drains your lymphs and boosts immunity
When you contract and stretch muscles, move organs around, and come in and out of yoga postures, you increase the drainage of lymph (a viscous fluid rich in immune cells). This helps the lymphatic system fight infection, destroy cancerous cells, and dispose of the toxic waste products of cellular functioning.

9. Ups your heart rate
When you regularly get your heart rate into the aerobic range, you lower your risk of heart attack and can relieve depression. While not all yoga is aerobic, if you do it vigorously or take flow or Ashtanga classes, it can boost your heart rate into the aerobic range. But even yoga exercises that don’t get your heart rate up that high can improve cardiovascular conditioning. Studies have found that yoga practice lowers the resting heart rate, increases endurance, and can improve your maximum uptake of oxygen during exercise—all reflections of improved aerobic conditioning. One study found that subjects who were taught only pranayama could do more exercise with less oxygen.

10. Drops your blood pressure
If you’ve got high blood pressure, you might benefit from yoga. Two studies of people with hypertension, published in the British medical journal The Lancet, compared the effects of Savasana (Corpse Pose) with simply lying on a couch. After three months, Savasana was associated with a 26-point drop in systolic blood pressure (the top number) and a 15-point drop in diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number—and the higher the initial blood pressure, the bigger the drop.

These are just a few of the benefits of yoga. There are more…but until you actually try it you will never know. So why not give it a try. Till next time Namaste

 

Thank you Yoga Journal for the info! You can find a lot more info here!!

Fitness Challenge Week 41 and 42

I bet you all thought I was going to never post anything again….that I had given up. Ha!! Gotcha!! No I haven’t given up. I have just been so busy the last few week and I let everything sort of slide. The only thing I did not let slide was my exercising. But I guess once you get in a habit of getting up every morning it becomes easier. Do I say I enjoy getting up before everyone else and exercising and then go into the rest of my day? sometimes I do…sometimes I don’t. I think it really depends on how I feel when I go to bed the night before.

Now onto the interesting stuff…the last couple of weeks I have not been eating as good as I should. So it’s kind of interesting I have not gained all that much back. I know you are probably saying well you did though…and you’d be right. But it really proves that if you continue to exercise…you can keep your weight under some control. Of course I can honestly tell you I did not go whole hog and pig out on everything I saw. I just ate more of what I had planned for on our menu. Instead of eating example a 1/2 a cup of rice I ate more along the lines of 1 1/2 cups of rice or instead of getting up from the table when I finished I sat and just had “a little more”. I am learning these things as I am improving my health and well being. I know you are thinking…well duh I knew that…but the thing is I don’t think any of us really know until we are there trying to manage what we are doing. Then we actually find out how far off we really are. I think by doing this, even though I am not there yet, I am not only learning how to eat but I am learning also about how much I have hurt myself over the years by what I ate as well as the lack of exercise. It really can be an eye opener at times.

 

Height: 5′ 7″

Weight: 176.2

Bust: 38 in

Waist: 32

Hips: 37