“Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.” This is one of those sayings that I loathe with every fiber of my being. It is not shallow to feel as though you want to be skinnier, but just because you are skinny does not mean you are fit and/or healthy. A wonderful thing that happened to me this past month was my scale running out of batteries. The numbers on the scale do not determine whether or not I am in shape or healthy. I think that once you are in a healthy weight range (which is actually a fairly large range) the scale should be thrown into a closet and you should focus on the way you look in the mirror and how you feel about the person looking back at you. One thing I will not discuss on this blog is how much I weigh. It was not until I stopped caring about my weight and focused on fitness that I got to where I wanted to be.
My quest for physical fitness was long. I wanted to go to the gym 4-5 times a week and that did not happen. I wanted to go running but quickly discovered that my allergies (sinus problems) and running several miles equaled a very bad sinus headache due to climate. The reality was that I have about 30 minutes of extra time in my day to get a workout completed. If it is going to be this short I better be sweating and feeling the burn! Did I mention the keys to this were that it had to be at home, at 6:00 am, and take up limited space? This is just for me personally and do encourage anyone who has the time to go to the gym or run a few miles to do it. I do love the freedom of running and hope to do it whenever possible. Allotting enough time to consistently do either one is not feasible for me so I had to find an alternative. My wonderful solution was Kettleworx. It is a fantastic workout that is about 20 minutes long and causes me to sweat and briefly question just why I am torturing myself. I feel fantastic when it is over with and ready to do the next one with results that started showing quickly. Mornings tend to be a great time to work out and if you are someone who has trouble sleeping my doctor had once mentioned to me that working out approximately five hours before bed may help you fall asleep easier.
Now for a few little lessons in eating for those who are left in wonder. Vegetables are our friend. My kids always built a preconceived notion in regard to how they would feel about a vegetable. I am not sure if it was the texture, appearance, or a combination of both that caused them to be cautious and psych themselves out into disliking it that was the problem. I can only list one thing that my children will not eat because how I prepared something turned out to be what made the difference. I will have to say that sometimes you just have to suck it up a bit and learn to enjoy some of the vegetables out there. We are omnivores after all so it is about time we all act like it (unless you are a vegetarian and find your protein elsewhere). Drinking lots of water really is beneficial for your insides as well as for your outside. I keep a 32 oz bottle of water with me at all times and try to drink at least three of them in a day.
Have you all heard that you should eat 5-6 times in a day? This is an ideal concept I suppose. If I am not hungry I am not going to eat and if I am hungry I am not going to wait. I loosely follow this one because I think it is a great concept, but hunger will ultimately dictate when I eat. Portion size is a big deal. You can eat healthy all you want, but too much of a good thing really isn’t that good at all. I use the smaller plates that we all have in our kitchen cabinets but are often over looked. I am not going to lie, I had to get used to this one. I am an eater and would eat until I was stuffed. If we all slow down and just eat until we are satisfied we will find that we eat a lot less and are not starving. I do bust out the big boys when I eat a salad. I love salads and eat one for lunch or dinner almost daily. How much it fills you up all depends on what you put into your salad and those heavy dressings do nothing more than add empty calories into your diet.
With this being said I leave you with a better saying to follow. "Nothing tastes as good as being healthy feels." Focusing on how skinny you can get will do nothing more than effect your sense of self and may leave you starving and miserable. We have all heard the phrase, “you are what you eat.” If you eat badly you will find your energy levels dip and surprisingly enough, your mood as well. Does that truly sound like the way to live? Evaluate your lifestyle and give yourself a personal assessment. What can you change today to help give yourself a better tomorrow?
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