Tag: exercise

Regular Routine

Yes! A full week of regular routine. My whole being is so giddy 😀

If I ever doubt or question that caring for my whole person is beneficial, going off routine proves the opposite. However, being too rigid about routine can cause extra turmoil in my scrambled brain. Flexibility is essential.

This Frail Frame needs to be cared for Spiritually with good Nutrition cause let’s face it We Need Food to fuel, and to keep this achy-breaky-body-moving with some form of exercise. So Let’s get Physical!

The weekend is here. Go do something fun, new and exciting or sit, relax and enjoy a good cup of coffee. Get refreshed, renewed, re-energized. Get lost in a good book or write a piece from the inner most part of your soul or watch a good movie. Remember TODAY is a Gift! Tomorrow is not here yet. What will be etched in your memory from TODAY?

To the girl…

🎼“To all the girls I’ve loved before🎤”, singing in my Willie Nelson voice…haha! WAIT?!?! Wrong post! And, by the way, you do not want to hear me sing in any voice…just sayin🤐

But seriously:

  • To the girl who steps on the scale everyday – why do you torture yourself? The look of disappointment and discouragement swallows you up. The scale is NOT your barometer for worth.
  • To the girl killing yourself doing cardio. You do not look like you are enjoying yourself. Change it up. Find something you enjoy. Exercise shouldn’t be punishment.

And, on an annoyance note:

  • To the girl who taped her pantyliner to the bathroom stall…seriously! Were you so bored that you decided to wallpaper the place? Ew, nasty!!!
  • To the girl who, apparently, had breakfast in the shower. Next time, please clean up after yourself. There’s a trashcan on every corner. Those extra steps can count for your fit-bit.

And, so ends “my song” for the day. A remix with all kinds of highs and lows…do, re, mi, fa🎼🎤🎼

We Need Food

Remember, Nutrition matters. Food is part of our life.

Once upon a time (long, long ago), I could eat anything in any amount and not gain weight. It was a mindless, very fulfilling, endeavor. I can’t remember when and where it all changed. However, “change” is part of my life. Remember my Frail Frame? I’ve dealt (and deal) with hormonal issues, adrenal fatigue, horrid digestion (IBS), hashimotos (thyroid), and the list continues.

Growing up, I don’t remember salads being part of our meal plan. Being a big family with limited resources, our food choices were extremely limited. Our first attempt at a “salad” was cabbage and tomatoes drowned in chile y limon. I think we put chile y limon on everything.

For a brief time I sought out the help of a nutritionist, it really helped, but our budget couldn’t handle this added expense. But a learned some things. And, the learning continues from here and there and everywhere. Most of all, I’m learning to know what my body needs. What I did before, might need to be tweaked or changed all together. It’s a lifetime of learning.

It’s very disheartening seeing posts like, “drink this magical concoction and lose belly fat while you sleep”…SERIOUSLY?!?! Followed by a post “eating tacos”, lots of tacos. Or those photo-shopped, filtered pictures, “look like this with my program in only 30 days”. Yeah, no!

I follow this guy @cartergood on IG. He is so down to earth. He says,

“Stop worrying about how quickly you’re losing weight. A year from now, are you really gonna care if it took you 3, 6, or 9+ months to lose weight? Hell no. Instead, you’ll be glad you took your time developing habits that will help you stay lean and healthy forever.”

For me, the scale is not my barometer. For me, it is about doing my part to be as healthy as I can be. To be able to enjoy my family time as much as possible. Because I am a whole person, I need to care for myself Spiritually and learning to feed my body with good, needed food and moving with some form of exercise (Let’s get Physical).

What are you doing to care for yourself?

Let’s get Physical

The title alone brings memories a Richard Simmons workout to music by Olivia Newton John. Yes, I’m ancient…haha! There’s a love hate relationship with exercise. You have those obsessed by it and those that curl up like a bath-hating-cat. Then there’s the pressure to “be-like-whoever”. For example, that person who loves running and wants you to love it; or that person that gets pumped by competitions and wants you to join in; or loves “whatever” and wants you to come along.

LEARN what you enjoy (at least a little bit), and if you have underlying health issues take those into consideration. Learn your body needs and capacity, remember my Frail Frame? Try everything. Have a routine, but don’t be rigid. Be fluid. Be coachable. Be consistent. Remember your Nutrition. If your body is depleted of nutrients, you’ll have no fuel.

I’ve tried classes. Watched videos. Ask my son for help and advise. Met a trainer and asked her for advise. My medical doctor is amazing. Lots and lots of my physical therapy sessions. In fact, at their recommendation I tried water classes.

Always learning. And, even on “off-days” I do a little something, because for me the benefits far out-weigh “no-movement” at all. My time at the gym is very therapeutic (unless I’m having people-issues, but, hey, they serve as writing material…haha!)

“No pain, no gain” is not for me. For me pain = check my form, modify, or stop. Stretching before and after my workout is not an options, it’s a necessity. My core is the most important part of my body. Everything stems from it. So, I am purposeful to work on it everyday. I’m not fast and furious; I’m slow and purposeful, always mindful of my form.

My routine: 1) Free Weights, 2) Bike, rowing machine or skiing machine, 3) water, 4) TRX or medicine ball or kettlebells, 5) water, 6) a fusion of pilates, yoga, physical therapy or salsa dancing or smooth jazz, 7) flexible day — depending on my body/can be water or mat work on my core. I also go in the sauna or steam room or jacuzzi – depending on the needs of my body. And this is where I, at times, do my meditation (Spiritually).

Hope this helps. Let’s keep walking together on this life journey. Glad to have you along.

Body ~ Mind ~ Soul ~ Spirit

⇒Caring for the Whole Person⇐

Frail Frame

I have always been sickly. I remember “joking” with my mom saying, “Hey, Mom, the reason I’ve always been sick is because you and Dad made me out of scraps.” She didn’t find the humor in this, but I thought it was hilarious. You see, I was pregnancy number 15.

female issues since I can remember, which ended in a hysterectomy at 21, which plummeted me into hormonal hell. migraines. fibromyalgia. chronic pain. chronic fatigue syndrome. degenerative osteoarthritis in my spine. sports injuries and falls, which have made for horrid arthritis in and around my coccyx. planters fasciitis with bone spurs in my heels. uncooperative, painful knees – I’ll stop cause I’m getting depressed typing this list :-/

Physical activity is not foreign to me, and, I actually enjoy it. But as I was facing one physical ailment after another, well, I was discouraged and, quite honestly, I thought I was doomed to a couch for the rest of my life. I continued my walking and attempted some jogging, but I would end up laid out for the rest of the day, and at times weeks.

As fate would have it, one of my daughter’s therapist recommended that she join a full service gym. He explained the benefits, and well, we budgeted and joined together. My daughter was autistic, and although she was high-functioning, I was her “security-blanket”. So there I was venturing into a huge-gym with my “shadow”. Supposedly, I was there for her, but little did she know that she helped me conquer so many fears. I felt like I was in high-school again (cringe). Here I was with my K-mart outfit and all around me were the fashionable-gym-bunnies. But the fact that I was there “for” my daughter, well, it just didn’t matter. Goodness, in February it will be 3 years that we took that plunge. So much has happened since, but I digress.

I’ve had to “rethink” physical activity. I’ve had to “regroup” over and over again. I’ve had to “revamp” a work out routine. And, modify, modify, modify. And, I’d venture to say “modification” will be my friend for the rest of my life. However, LORD willing, I will continue to “move”, even if it is at the pace of a turtle.

“Stop treating fitness like it’s a punishment. You can choose to eat and exercise in a way that significantly improves the way you look and feel. That’s not a punishment. That’s a privilege.” – cartergood

I’ll share my present exercise routine on a future post. Hope this encourages you to do something…anything…for the benefit of “the gift” you’ve been given ❤