about health

Jumat, 24 April 2015

INTENTIONS ARE GOOD, BUT THEY MUST BE LIVED OUT

I was reading my daily devotion this morning and on the subject of intentions. I was immediately drawn into the meat of the subject and felt it was talking to me personally. Can you relate? Isn't it so true how we have all these good intentions, dream about how we are going to carry them out and then some how along the way, they get pushed aside and forgotten some how. Well, not really forgotten, because they are still there dancing across the pages of our thoughts now and then, at least in my case. I am sure we can all agree to being guilty of not following through on good intentions to make something happen. As I read further, I understood the importance of writing down the intentions beginning a plan to follow through with action.

Moving from intention to action takes a plan. This applies to all things in adopting a healthy lifestyle and staying true to taking care of the important things in life. What has helped me is prayer and setting up challenge systems where I complete three goals of intention for that day. Today I plan to get in a morning workout, help my ailing father to the doctor, and meet up with family later this evening. Another goal was writing this blog and I was stumped at what to share with you at first, but enlightened after reading my devotional. It is amazing how things happen like that.

Having good intentions are well, good, but remain thoughts until living them out takes place. The goal of weight loss, toning, and improving overall quality of life takes action and intending to create that is wonderful, but the follow-through is what will create the health, the fit body, and overall awesome feeling of accomplishment. Those things that we think about all the time must come to the forefront of our actions. Has a family member or friend been on your mind to call? Pick up the phone. Has that surprise date with your spouse been put off for months? Time to bring on the romance. Are the intentions to workout four times a week not happening? Get your calendar, schedule your workouts and do not cancel. Intending to eat at home more to save money and improve the quality of your food intake? Write a healthy food list and head to the store.

Every step we make is a step closer to fulfilling our goals and taking our intentions further than our minds. Let's not get stuck in just thinking about it and feeling good about our thoughts only to have them fizzle out and remain stuck as things we just talk about in friendly conversation. It all sounds good but living it out by example and action will be the proof in the pudding.

Stay Healthy Happenings: I just created a Stay Healthy Google+ account and excited to share that with you for even more MOTIVATION, support and fitness fun. Head on over and ADD me today and Stay Healthy!

Darla Leal, Fit at 50

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Stay Healthy!

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Senin, 13 April 2015

LOSE 12 POUNDS IN 6 WEEKS

Losing 12 pounds is not only a realistic goal, but can be done before summer begins. I am not talking about anything “fad” or unhealthy, but straight up implementation of consistent healthy eating, exercise, water, limited alcohol intake, and plenty of rest. Application of a healthy lifestyle in all aspects will allow for approximately 1 ½ pounds on the lower end and up to 3 pounds on the higher end of weight loss per week. Working successfully with clients who are implementing the healthy eating guidelines that are supplied with their workout routines are losing in the middle range of 2 pounds per week.

Think about what this means in terms of time and the realization that this is only six weeks of sticking to a consistent fitness program that promotes no diet but eating lots of fabulous healthy food, exercising that body at least four to five times per week for a minimum of thirty minutes, eliminating the sodas and keeping alcohol to not more than two nights per week and two drinks maximum, preferably red wine, and lots of water. Sometimes it just takes the motivation of bikini or board short season to motivate a person to make it happen. A consistent program will guarantee fat loss, lean mass gain and the beginning of a lifestyle of health.

This sounds not only doable but exciting and realistic. This can almost fit into the have it now plan that everyone seems to be looking for, except doing it the healthy way provides knowledge of what and how to eat, how to exercise, and how to live this lifestyle happily for life. It becomes a habit and natural way to live each day and maintains all the positive results gained within the six weeks of consistent application. It is time that we stop over-complicating weight loss and start implementing the simplicity of eating healthy and exercise. We make things harder than they are, want all the results, but do not want to give up a current unhealthy lifestyle. Now therein lays the issue. If we want to see the changes, we need to make the changes and giving something 100% effort for at least six weeks should provide the personal feedback needed to continue to make the right decisions.

I will give an example of what I may eat in a day to maintain me as a 5’6”, 125lb female at 50 years young:

1 cup coffee with natural vanilla creamer

Meal 1: Organic morning round with 1tbsp peanut butter

Meal 2: Green shake: 1 cutie, ½-cup chopped pineapple and lots of power greens, water and blend until combined. 1 slice organic seeded toast topped with soft cooked organic egg, or slice of organic sharp cheddar cheese

Meal 3: ¼ cup fresh blueberries, ½ cup Fage yogurt, ¼ cup organic ground flax meal, handful raw mixed nuts (stir it up and eat)

Meal 4: Grilled Salmon or Chicken with large side roasted vegetable like Brussel sprouts and cauliflower (drizzle olive oil on veggies, and large tbsp. basil pesto, mix well, roast)

Meal 5: Kind bar, or 1oz square of dark chocolate with 1tbsp peanut butter

I exercise five times per week and for 30 to no more than 60 minutes total. I am a believer of being focused and getting my workout done in that amount of time. I also listen to my body and if I require more rest, I may only exercise in a structured fashion four times in that week. I am an active person, so on other days I am enjoying the outdoors at the dog park with my husband, going on long walks, hikes or swimming.

Losing one to three pounds per week studies have shown provides healthy, long term sustainable weight loss, unlike the “fad” counterpart diets that may shed weight quickly but it appears plus more once the program is over. Summer is around the corner and now is the right time to implement a six-week fitness challenge makeover and begin with the short-term goal of shedding 12 pounds. Start right where you are, begin a fitness journal and track your food intake and exercise, do your best, and have fun with the journey. I would love to hear from you sharing your start and finish stories so that we can encourage and support each other along the way.

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Sabtu, 28 Maret 2015

EAT LIKE A BABY TO LOSE WEIGHT AND GET HEALTHY

Babies use food for body building fuel and nourishment to develop a healthy growing body. They have a built in alarm clock every two to three hours that cries out to be fed, and they also will pull away from food when they are full, eliminating the need to count calories. As adults, we can learn much from our precious infants. Also, their nutrients are usually always quality coming straight from Mom’s milk, or formulas containing everything a growing body needs to be healthy. If we grab onto this philosophy and implement that strategy into our own daily nutrition, we would be on our way to adopting a healthy lifestyle.

Eating is no longer about growing a strong healthy body with quality nutrients and everything about filling our precious system with crap that does nothing but take us further from being healthy people. We no longer pay attention to our full barometer, intake too large of portions, and fill our stomachs with foods that lack in nutritional value that cause inflammation in our blood streams, the root cause of most disease of the human body. Food is not only our fuel, but our medicine, and can truly keep our body top notch and healthy, with minimal visits to the doctor if we consistently intake quality healthy “real” foods. We have come full circle into a fight against healthy food and are so caught up in being mad about what we eat and why we should not eat it when it comes to healthy food. The reason for this unfortunate issue comes straight from what sits on our grocery shelves and the marketing ploys that we all face each day through sources of media and advertisement. Studies have shown and there are plenty of documentaries to support that the major food producers are making us fat. But it does take team work because we can choose to say no to processed, GMO (genetically modified organisms) products, and non-organic pseudo foods that do nothing but provide a momentary good flavor and add fat stores to our bodies. Consider that anything in a box, bag, or wrapper with ingredients unable to be understood and further stating low fat, low-sugar, and low-calorie are nothing but chemical shit storms in a package. There will be some food items packaged and part of the organic and Non-GMO certified programs and I will applaud those food producers that do understand the importance of supplying that information to consumers. Off that soap box and getting back to eating like a baby.

Back to the basics, simplicity, and stress free healthy eating just like when we were babies is the key to mastering our daily nutrition. It is time to stop over-thinking, over-complicating, and to start making the focus about eating healthy. Forget about the chemical shit storms and reach for the real foods: lean organic proteins, fresh vegetables and fruits, raw nuts and nut butters, organic eggs, plain Greek yogurts, healthy fats in olive oil and avocado are just a sampling of the many healthy foods just waiting for our purchase and consumption. Change out the sodas for water and start getting excited about the vast amount of selections of healthy food. Personally, my hunger alarm clock goes off just the same as a baby close to the three hour mark, and I grab something healthy and satisfy that natural feeling. I do not count calories or even worry about that because what is important is the healthy food that I feed my body and eating just until I feel satisfied, never to the point of overfull. My body knows how much it needs because I listen to when I should stop eating. I will say that no one ever got fat eating Kale, so even if I did eat two pounds of greens, I still would not worry about that, but would most likely not enjoy my frequent bathroom visits as a result. Life was simpler when we were babies and the decisions made for us as we naturally cried out when we felt hungry and satisfied within 20 minutes with a boob or bottle full of nutrients, but as adults we can create a similar life by having healthy foods in our homes and eating when we feel hungry, not because we are bored or trying to squash some emotional feelings through unhealthy processed stuff. It is a simple perspective but gives us something to think about in regards to our “mental game” surrounding nutrition.

Stay Healthy ~ Darla

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Selasa, 10 Maret 2015

FIX YOUR FITNESS

We do not need anyone to tell us that we are unhealthy or that we need to fix our fitness, right? If you are unhappy with yourself, feeling like crap, have been told by the doctor to change your lifestyle, or have had your friends and family kindly give you hints, then guess what, you already know that you need to fix your fitness. Fitness goes beyond the physical and includes emotional and spiritual well-being as well. Don’t think we can walk around in physically pretty bodies and be all messed up emotionally, stressed out, overwhelmed and feeling like life is too big to handle. Fixing our fitness requires looking at our complete picture and making the choice to clean up our act.

It is not rocket science and requires nothing magic to fix our fitness, just our will, determination and follow-through to become healthy. The media would like us to believe that we need a bunch of expensive things, products, pills, and potions to obtain the body that we are looking for, but the truth of the matter is that we all possess the ability to create our fitness. The first step is admitting the areas we are unhealthy and putting forth a plan of action to get the process of adopting a fit lifestyle started. If being overweight and struggling with painful joints, lack of energy, low self-esteem, and frequent illness is the issue, a great start would be to look at daily nutritional intake and exercise. If emotional problems such as anger, high stress on the daily, inability to relax, and tension that sends your shoulders to the ears is a constant, a great start would be to look into what is causing these feelings through possibly a counselor or clergy member.

The important thing is to get on board with fixing your fitness. Procrastinating on this very important subject does nothing but waste what could be a healthier happier life. Being in denial about being unhealthy is also a thief of health and fitness. Changing our mental game and looking at ourselves with rose colored glasses off to expose all the unhealthy parts is what it will take to implement the changes needed to fix our fitness. It is a brave step in the right direction and today is always the right day to get to work.

Darla Leal, Fit at 50

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Rabu, 04 Maret 2015

NO ONE BUT YOU CAN MAKE HEALTH HAPPEN

In this world of comparison and getting pissed off at her or him for seeming to accomplish everything, and then spewing “what’s your excuse” in our faces, it’s no wonder women and men alike are throwing up their arms in frustration and happily giving a bird salute attitude at achieving fitness goals.

Put on the brakes here and look at what has happened. Letting others control what is best for our health and fitness is out right wrong, and does nothing for us. That being said, why are we allowing people or media so much control over our decision making to create a healthy, happy life when they have little to no concern or care for us? Why so pissed about it? What it comes down to is that no one but you can make health happen. You know that saying that goes, “whether you do or you do not, you are right.” Well, that is true and the choice to get healthy lies squarely on your shoulders. There is no amount of jealousy, blaming others, or putting up defensive posture because others are doing what you are not willing, that will get you closer to your health and fitness goals.

It does not matter how busy you are, I am, he or she is, because we all can say that we are too busy to carve out that very important exercise hour, and plan and prep healthy food time. The “what’s your excuse” phrase does hit hard and can ruffle the feathers, especially when it comes from family and friends. When it comes from the media, it is easier to be judgmental and hide behind our computers commenting on how cushy her or his life is and how they have the time to get it done. I say bullshit to that and start accepting responsibility for our actions, stop comparing to others, and who gives a crap what anybody’s excuse is. What is important are the excuses that we are making and why. It is time to tune into self and let go of insignificant negative drama that weighs down our positive minds. No one but you can make the choices to move past the excuses and the feelings that keep you from getting healthy.

Darla Leal, Fit at 50

Stay Healthy!

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Selasa, 24 Februari 2015

GET OUT OF YOUR OWN WAY

It is our time to get up to bat and before we are on the plate, we have mentally struck out and kick at the dirt in frustration for not hitting that ball as far as it could soar. And so it goes with our life and the successes we could be enjoying if only the negative movie reel in our mind would sit down and shut up. We get in our own way when it comes to reaching our fitness goals because we are too busy coming up with reasons why we are unable to make it happen. Whether it stems from fear, frustration, laziness, depressed feelings or procrastination, our mind plays the biggest role in our ability to reach and maintain the fitness goals we desire.

There is no easy way to achieve success without hard work and lots of sweat, and we all need to put in the effort to get where we want in life. My Dad always told me, “it is a tough world out there”, and we do not need to make it harder on ourselves by playing negative mind games that keep us from creating a quality healthy lifestyle. There is no perfect time or place to start taking care of our bodies and our minds. The time is now and “negative Nancy or Ned” will need to take a back seat so that we can be successful with our attempt to reach our fitness goals. There will be frustration along the way and that is part of life and the journey to get healthy. Exercise will be hard and eating healthy will not always be one hundred percent, and that is called being human. What matters is maintaining that positive mental focus and drive to reach your goals and not allowing thoughts talk you out of doing what needs to be done. There is no amount of work, social life, family drama, laziness or whatever you allow to consume you that is more important than your health. Once this is realized, it will be easier to stay on track with consistent exercise and eating healthy because the excuses will no longer be an issue. You will finally be out of your own way and onto a new healthy you. Time to hit the ball out of the park and Stay Healthy!

Stay Healthy!

Darla

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Rabu, 18 Februari 2015

PUSH THROUGH THE PAIN

I am not talking about pain that does not feel right when performing an exercise but what I am referring to is the emotional and mental pain that will enter each of our lives through differing circumstances. Whether we are suffering crisis from a family member being ill, a death, divorce, or financial strain due to a job loss, these types of stressful situations can cause us to not take care of ourselves as we place health and fitness on the back burner. We get so wrapped up in the pain of the event with our minds consumed, our emotional banks drained, and the energy to even put one foot in front of the other feeling like an impossible task. The burden feels heavy and the world can seem bigger than we are. It will be in these moments where taking care of ourselves through exercise and eating right is even more important, and often times pushing through the pain even when we do not want to will be what keeps us healthy emotionally and physically.

It will not be easy and I share this personally as I am currently struggling with my father being gravely ill and rapid decline in health. During sleepless days and nights of course I focus more on my nutrition and get in my exercise when I can, but do seek out exercise as being therapeutic and stress relieving. Studies have shown that exercise is directly linked to decreased depression and stress, which is why it is so important not to neglect this very important part of our life. Our bodies are made to move and doing that helps prevent a spiral down into dark mental places. All of us will experience pain in our life and that is unfortunately a part of this journey, and it will always be how we respond to the circumstances that will keep us healthy. Journaling is another great way to feel comfort through painful situations, and if necessary a great counselor, and I am all for talking to God and prayer. The Blog is an outlet of expression for me and sharing my feelings with you also provides healing and hopefully a comfort for others going through a painful life episode.

Life will not play fair that is a fact and we need to prepare ourselves by being healthy and happy to begin with. Being fit helps us to cope better during emotional stress. Today is always the day to take the steps necessary to become your best YOU in all aspects. Life is short, a gift, and taking it for granted is not only a shame, but will lead to a life of illness and unhappiness. When the painful things in this life come knocking on your door, will you be ready physically, emotionally and spiritually? Will you have the strength to push through the pain?

I dedicate this Blog to my wonderful father who is a fighter, and my beautiful mother who stands strongly by his side and for 55 years. Thank you for blessing me with life, faith and love.

My Beautiful Parents

Me and My Fabulous Father