Wouldn�t it be nice to wave a magic wand, and all of life is just how we wanted it to be? We are blessed with the gift of life but how we live it is up to us, and that takes effort and choices. There are consequences, hard lessons learned and happiness along the way, but ultimately it is in our choices that create the life of happiness we all desire. Sometimes we do not even know what we want or how to create this happiness, and wander around going through some sort of life motions that we learned from healthy or unhealthy example. Choosing the right way to create a life of happiness is quite the goal, but like anything else that takes time and effort, it is worth the journey to get there.
I have gone through the ups and downs of not being happy in this journey of life, and have held onto the hope that God has a greater plan than I can ever imagine. Life has not been what I thought it would be as I contemplate it, but I am thankful for the life lessons of each circumstance that created an opportunity for me to learn and grow in positive ways. It took a choice for me to go to counseling during tough emotional times, to go to physical therapy during horrific physical times, and to rough up my knees in prayer during doubtful spiritual times. All the choices to become a better person were in search of a happiness that I wanted in my life and I have always been in pursuit of all methods of work to reach that goal.
The pursuit of happiness also includes being a healthy person. I believe that the two go hand in hand. When we feel our best physically, it is easier to handle the emotional rides of life. Also, when our �mental game� is healthy and our responses to life�s circumstances are handled with maturity, clarity, and good intentions this enhances our state of being healthy and happy overall. Happiness is a goal just like being healthy is a goal, and both are lifetime achievements. There is no end to being a happy and healthy person, and each day is our chance to make choices toward being both.
Easter seemed like the perfect time to share how important it is to be happy and healthy, and to take this opportunity to let you know that it is possible and necessary in this life. Happiness does not just happen, but will take a commitment of self-discovery, and not being afraid to peel the onion and take a look at what is keeping you from being happy or healthy. This took years of work in my life, and I am thankful for it. I will share that it has not always been easy, and nothing worth anything is, right? My wish for you this Easter is health and happiness and for you to know that each day is a gift that provides a step closer to reaching those goals.
Have a very Happy Easter from My Family to Yours
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Many of you may be in the process of reflection, but truly it is something that should be done on a daily basis, and not only when the New Year rolls around. The word itself screams to take a look at me/you/us and speaking personally, I include all areas of my life and not just my physical well-being. I imagine a big mirror in front of me and gazing into that, I ask myself�am I happy with the person that I am physically, emotionally and spiritually? If any of the answers come up as a big negative, it is time to implement a change to create a better, healthier ME. It is hard to deny the things that need fixing when I am staring back at me waiting for the action to make that happen. Of course, I can close my eyes, put the mirror away, brush things under the rug, and procrastinate and get to it later�or not, and well, just continue to live in denial.
I am a mover and a shaker, and strive to change, progress, and become a better me today than I was yesterday and that takes a choice. Sure, I could avoid those things that need to be done, because maybe I want to hold onto some sort of drama, negative feelings about the past, or circumstance and continue to play the �blame card� of this is the reason I am the way I am. I have learned in this journey of life, that this type of thinking results in a life of unhappiness, bitterness, resentment, jealousy, and paralyzes the brain to make appropriate healthy life choices. Honestly, this type of thinking creates a person that is not a joy to be around unless the company being kept is another negative person also playing the victim card of life. It is so important in our life reflection to also look at the type of people we associate with, and I always ask myself�does this relationship nourish my soul and grow me in a positive way as a person?
Reflection is huge in the scheme of life and change for the healthy. It should cause deep thought into living our passions, being real with who we are, and having the ability to share that with ourselves and others. There is too much hiding behind the crap of excuses, circumstances, and laziness to change and I apologize if that sounds offensive, as my intention is to motivate and never discourage. Sometimes, a draft of really cold air needs to slap us in the face and wake us up to the reality of what is going on in our own life, and hopefully that leads to taking a step further to change what needs to be changed. Otherwise, we continue to go along living a �fake� life, hiding behind �out of our control� drama, negativity, and looking for validation for unhealthy habits. What is even sadder, is enablement of this type of lifestyle�YES, there are those who feed into the ugliness of negative and validate the behavior which enables someone caught in this shit storm to continue living this way.
Reflection also causes us to see our physical self in a way that makes us happy or not. What it comes down to is me/you/us and the mirror, standing naked before the reflection and staring back at the image, we need to ask �do I LOVE what I see�. It is important to always love yourself at every level of health and as long as steps are being taken to become a healthier us each day. If the answer to the question is �no�, then what steps need to be implemented to change this? Be honest here and strive for the happiness that you want, the health that you need and deserve. If you tell me that you are happy in an unhealthy state and if I shared that with you�how would that make sense? The point I am trying to make, is that we all have our best healthy-self hidden inside what may be an unhealthy body today, but that does not mean that tomorrow needs to remain the same. Reflection requires that hard honest look and further to take the actions necessary to bring about changes that move us in a progressive healthy direction.
Reflection is not a fad or temporary fix, but part of the process to make a LIFESTYLE change and create a healthy body that will be maintained for life. Reflection causes us to get into our �mental game� and start putting the puzzle pieces together of what is wrong and how does it get fixed. It all starts with what is going on between the ears, and once the reflection is honestly accepted, and the feelings that go with that, then changes can begin to create a healthier person, and then that lifestyle change will create a reflection that we will be happy to know for a lifetime.
Enjoy a beautiful and healthy Happy New Year!!!!
Me and My Mom
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Do you ever find yourself getting caught up in over-thinking healthy and what it takes to live healthy?In my journey of living a healthy lifestyle, I have found that over-thinking can lead to feelings of inadequacy of not doing things right, and getting so overwhelmed that it turns into something that is not enjoyed.Living a healthy lifestyle should be about simplicity, enjoyment, fun, balance, and all those fabulous things in life that make life worth the ride.
I come from a background of extreme athlete, competition, and counting every
Getting Back to Healthy
gram of protein, carbohydrate and fat I put in my face, in addition to the supplements taken at spaced out intervals throughout my day, and the intense workouts all tucked neatly into my very organized trainer binder.Whew�I think about that now and remember how strict, stressed, and really undernourished I was during that time.My body fat was not at a healthy level for a woman, I was not having a cycle and my hormones where so out of whack that it took months for my body to get back on track when I made the decision to discontinue treating my body that way.Now�am I saying that competing is a bad thing�NO�I am not saying that and I applaud everyone�s goals for health and fitness, but what I am sharing is that it did not work for me for an extended period of time.Further, this was not a life-long sustainable way of health for my body, mind and spirit.I just wanted to make that clear before any backlash hit my page.What I am sharing about this time in my life is that I did over-think health, but I was not really thinking about health per se as my goals were to look a certain way and not considering feeling a certain way.Fast forward to many healthy years later�
I do not over-think my healthy lifestyle and teach quality over quantity, simplicity over difficult, and enjoyment over feeling overwhelmed.I designed a very easy nutrition guide for my clients that I use myself and have received rave reviews, as well as fabulous results that are life-time maintainable. I never want healthy to feel like a burden to me or my clients. I do believe in a health plan and structure when it comes to food prep and having food ready to go for the week, but that is the only effort required for a healthy lifestyle, alongside a consistent exercise program. I put in the time to cook my food and enjoy what I cook.I no longer count calories, keep a journal, although this can be helpful when first beginning a program, and simply eat healthy food throughout my day without calorie restriction�.AMEN. I believe in keeping food to their simplest form and eating it raw or close to raw if possible, and I am talking mostly about my fruits and vegetables here.Of course, I crock pot chicken like no other, boil a boat load of organic eggs, crock pot large amounts of brown rice and steal cut oats every week.This has become my habit or healthy eating life and feels as natural as breathing to me now.I will also share that I do splurge in moderation, although I prefer to cook/bake my splurges because to me there is nothing better than a home-made cookie, pie, or brownie warm from the oven.Also, I do not like how overly sweet, salted or incorrect fat saturated purchased desserts can be and prefer to control that part of my splurge intake.So, the point I am driving home about my nutrition and how I think about it�is that I DON�T OVERTHINK IT�I eat to live and keep all kinds of healthy REAL food in my refrigerator and pantry and ENJOY my food.I realize that my body needs all kinds of fabulous nutrients and I have no worry about eating anything healthy that will fuel my body in a great way.If it is healthy, I eat it�that is how simple I keep it.
Turning to my fitness program or exercise, I have come full circle with that as well.I used to keep a journal years ago of my programs, weights that I lifted, gains, reps, intensity, duration, type, frequency, rest periods�OH MY.Again, I am not insisting that doing this for anyone else is a bad thing, but for me, it became mechanical and going through the power intense motions of pushing my body to the limits without regard for ME.This was years ago, and I now treat my body with more TLC and exercise to maintain a healthy body�that is now my goal.The journey with my exercise has taken on a whole new meaning as I dedicate my programs to taking the BEST care of my body with the limitations that I have and do what works well for my body without aggravation, or flaring this or that up.I no longer keep a journal but now enjoy workouts that I feel like doing on a specific day, and avoiding sore muscle areas, along with listening to my body if it needs a rest�I rest.The body needs to move for health and my focus is to move my body for health, to maintain the muscle that I do have, stretch to ensure range of motion through my joints, and perform cardio enough to work my aerobic system.I really enjoy my workouts and keep them fresh all the time with lots of variety�today was taking my puppy for a long walk/jog and utilizing park benches for step ups and squats along the way.I go with what works, I do what it fun and don�t over-think it.If I perform 15 squats instead of 20�so what�it is better than no squats.That is what I am talking about�doing the BEST I can with what I have and enjoying the journey.
I can say that not over-thinking healthy has provided a much healthier and
happier lifestyle for me.I believe if healthy feels like a burden, something is not being done right.The beautiful thing about living a healthy lifestyle the right way and not over-thinking it, is that it does feel good, makes my body feel strong, provides a confidence and happiness that is awesome, and overall allows me to be my BEST healthy ME.Wow�what a journey and I like it!
IN YOUR FACE MOTIVATION
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Stay Healthy~ Darla
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