Wonder Wednesday: Sunrise and Sunset

The beginning of the day starts like this nowadays.  Try it with an open mind.  It's really good!  I should clarify too that the shake gets me through the first half of the day from around 8am-noon.  It's really made all the difference in the almost month that I've changed to this kind of a shake I've lost over 2% body fat and feel really great.   

50g of fresh spinach
1 scoop whey isolate protein
1/2 oz. walnuts
2T Flax seed
1T chia seed
1/4c dry oats
1/2 c mixed berries
1 orange or apple--I use an apple
1T raw honey--optional
1/2 c ff cottage cheese
1/2 c ff plain greek yogurt
--Add as much or as few cups of water and blend
725 cal. 64protein

The day ends with half an avacado worked into each dinner.  Avacados are packed with nutrients and help reduce belly fat.  Promise.

Wonder Wednesday: When I Grow Up

This sums up my training philosophy . Got to love pinterest for finding a picture that depicts all the ideas I have in my head about growing up healthy.  Because a picture of strength and flexibility far outweighs skinny fat in my mind.  Remember, there is so much more than the number on the scale.  Researchers (and just plain common sense) are finding that how much a person weighs is not an accurate assessment of health. Rather, what can you do with your body?!?!  Because, contrary to popular belief, age doesn't mean a darn thing.  I love the headline, 100 year old man runs marathon, what have you done today? And this comes out right after a woman gave birth 7 hours after running a marathon.  See, I wasn't so crazy after all!

The Skinny

I preach this because I believe that it's the truth.  I think we spend too much time obsessing about something we can't control.  We can't control our weight.  And if you've been around me long enough you'll know not to protest that comment just yet.  Because it's followed by a statement on what we can control; our choices.  Our choices affect our state of "skinny."  So if we stop focusing on our weight we could start focusing on our behavior and how to change that towards healthier.  Granted, I know that's all easier said than done because I struggle with it too. 

Wonder Wendesday: They are all LIES!!

Wonder Wednesday can also be clumps of information I run across that I don't want to forget.  That is today! This was sent to me by a great friend; it's notes from a speaker.  She rocks for taking time to type out the notes and send to me.  Kristine knows me all too well...I love stuff like this because I often have to remind myself....don't believe the lies.

LIES WE BELIEVE

DON'T BELIEVE THEM :)

1. Everyone else is fine
this is obvious
the grass is always greener
keeping up with the Jones
we believe that everyone else has something we have
we forget to be ALL RIGHT in our own moment
we change our standard to what someone else has or is achieving
The example she gave is that when she sees another woman with great thighs she thinks their life must be perfect. that they have it all.
we all know that our lives are not perfect so why do we believe that everyone else's is????

2. I can do it all...by MYSELF
--recovering perfectionist
when we try to do it all we suffer from
BUSYNESS
FATIGUE
EXHAUSTION
DISSATISFACTION
RESENTMENT
BURDEN
lower your standard.
we are our toughest critic

3. "I SHOULD..."
we give ourselves an impossible to-do list full of "I shoulds" and we should on ourselves (pun intended!)
I should do the laundry, cloth diaper, vaccinate, make dinner, do a craft, decorate for the holiday, sweep, dishes, mop, volunteer, dust, read, ETC ETC ETC
pressure, stress, anxiety, wish list
"I have to", failure, anger
-keeps us burdened, overworked, stressed, exhausted
Imagine all the things you tell yourself that you SHOULD be doing. How do you feel?
Imagine if someone else were telling you the things you SHOULD be doing. How do you feel?
When it's ME, I feel pressure to maintain all that I want.
When it's someone else telling me, I say SHUT UP!
So why is it different? or the same?
so we GIVE out of obligation and duty and we VEIL this as serving others
*CHALLENGE: eliminate "should" from our vocabulary

4. It is sinful and/or selfish to take time for myself
-our soul needs to be replenished
-God rested! I am not better than Him! I need rest too!

Yay, Good News!

Wahoo!  Confirmed in this article that summarizes a study made up of 255 women ages 40-60 found that women who exercise at moderate levels were happier and were more likely to continue working out than peers who exercised more intensely.  Proof!  I love it but because this is the way I think.  If it leaves us feeling happy we're more likely to continue.  So when we're talking about incredibly random things during my small group training classes; we're able to talk and laugh (not easily might I add) while exercising which means we're at the right exertion point in order to want to do it again.  Interesting note too, these ladies in the small group training sessions are consistent.  They show up....and they keep showing up.  Consistency!

I love research that disproves what the vast majority falsely believes as accurate.

Wonder Wednesday: Twitching

Sometimes I feel like I'm the most curious person on earth.  I'm the one who will never run out of questions.  I'll ask you a question and then have a dozen more where that came from.  I'll never know enough, I'll never be satisfied with what answers I have.  I try not to say never but really this has been going on most all of my life.  While I feel like I'm always learning something new, sometimes I wonder how much I really retain.  When I was in college dating my husband (we met my the last part of my freshman year) while I was knee deep in my first biology class.  I'm not sure what he saw in me other than the nerdy biology girl that regurgitated every possible detail I could remember from that morning's lecture (and with a ton of enthusiasm, might I add). 

That introduction leads nicely into my next segment: the nuggets of information I'm going to enthusiastically relay via blog entries titled, "Wonder Wednesday."  Because I can't stand it, I have to tell someone what I've learned.  Thus the first of many Wonder Wednesdays...

Did you ever wonder why sometimes we are sore from exercises and sometimes we are not?  For example, let's take a side-lying leg raise series.  Your gluteus medius BURNS with pain and the thought is surely I'll be extremely sore tomorrow.  But you wake up the following morning with no evidence; there's no tiny ache or pain.  Then sometimes you do exercises where you hardly feel anything or maybe you feel it but nothing like the cramp in your outer thigh from the side lying leg raises. 

Very curious situations, right? Well, I have the answer as to why this is typically the case.  The reason is because the gluteus medius (along with the gluteus minimus) is a stabilizer for the hip.  It's a deep muscle that is mostly made up of slow twitch fibers.  This means that because it's a stabilizer muscle and made up of slow twitch fibers it doesn't get tired as easy because stabilizer muscles work all the time to helps us stabilize.  But perhaps when you do those squats, the next couple of days your gluteus maximus is talking to you all 48 hours.  The reason is opposite.  The gluteus maximus is made up of fast twitch muscle fibers.  It's a big mover and thus doesn't work as long or as often so it gets sore because of fiber type and exercise performed.

Whew!  Glad we got that covered.
Happy Wonder Wednesday!  Do a little wondering today.