Jadeed Health And Fitness Tips

Saturday, 9 February 2013

SIMPLE IS HEALTHY

Simple is Healthy ~ Workouts Part 2

As promised, I am continuing my write about why I think �Simple is Healthy� and how I apply that to my life in all aspects. Of course, it is such a HUGE factor for me, and knew that I could not fit all I had to say in one piece being the chatter bug that I am, so had to break it up in a series of Blogs. If you read the first of the series, I covered my food and how keeping it Simple makes for healthier foods�an apple vs. some packaged product with fake apple substance in it for example�YUCK. I am dedicating this Blog to how I keep my workouts Simple and how that is absolutely HEALTHIER for me.

I am a down to earth, back to the basics, sticking to the foundation of exercise kind of gal. I do not need anything fancy to create a healthy body, and in fact enjoy the simplicity of an all over body weight program many times throughout the week. Also�my time�it is so important�please do not think that I spend hours in my studio pounding the weights to maintain my 48 year young self�..NOT. I keep that simple as well and dedicate one hour at least 5-6 days per week to get my Darla Sweat ON. That is it�if I am spending more time than that�what the heck am I doing and WHY for crying out loud. My body requires daily physical activity and healthy foods and feeling like I need to push my body to limits beyond requirements is unhealthy in my book. I consider working out a reward, a privilege and thankful that I can perform the exercises that I do with my new modified ME. I think when the balance of workout is tipped so far into an obsessive thought process, it can become a burden and a something I �have to do� instead of �I want to do it�. Think about this idea�maintaining healthy food intake so I do not have to work as hard or long in the gym�WHAT�.YES, studies have shown that the body only requires a good focus of 30 minutes per day of QUALITY exercise to maintain a great physique. LIGHT BULB moment here and QUALITY workouts are a �want to� inclusion in my life to make exercise SIMPLE, and that is HEALTHY! So, if I remain consistent on my healthy food intake, I can shave down my gym time by at least 15 minutes and really complete what I have to do in 45minutes. WIN WIN�clicking of fitness gal trainer shoes�woo hoo.

There are so many ways to exercise the body, but think about the root of all exercise that stems from strength and stabilization�that is where I come from. If my strength and stabilization are not in order, I might as well forget having a healthy workout session and body for that matter. I am all about body balance, proper posture, positioning, form and technique, and positive and negative (concentric/eccentric) movements. Let�s say I have a postural deviation and need to work on my core strength, my simple focus will be on doing that, and progressing from there. I will not put my body at risk for injury by swinging this or that for hours on end, jumping here or there, and creating pain and suffering by performing movements that my body is just not ready for and may not be able execute properly even after I have come to my point of progressing forward. I feel like a �body whisperer� where I pay close attention to what my body says I can do and proceed with caution with those things that I should not be doing. I am not a �push through the pain� person or trainer�there is normal discomfort that comes from a workout and then there is that �not right� discomfort that should put a screeching halt on my workout and yours for that matter.

I can have a simple good exercise time with nothing but my body weight, a set of dumbbells and pull up bar�BINGO. I see squats, negative pull ups, overhead presses, bicep curls, triceps kickbacks, and core work in that program. Nothing fancy about what I do, just me executing simple controlled QUALITY moves for 30-60 minutes, getting a fabulous sweat on, and feeling accomplished when I am done. Getting back to the basics of exercise, and the base moves that ALL workouts stem from is the safest and simplest form of creating a healthy body for ME and has served me well for several years. I turn a deaf ear to the fads of fitness out there, especially if they are making unrealistic promises with risky movements that may send a once healthy body into a now I need rehab for an injury body. Keeping it simple, fun, QUALITY, and time efficient sums up my workouts to be HEALTHY and LIFETIME maintainable. That is what I am all about �Quality Life, Simple is Better, and Simple is definitely HEALTHY!

Enjoy my Stay Healthy recipe feature this month on SkinnyMs.com, a website dedicated to Health, Fitness and Success!

Stay Healthy Crock pot Chicken & Brown Rice on Skinny Ms

In Your Face MOTIVATIONS

Coming soon�I have been asked to provide a review for Ellie, a new online fitness clothes brand and I am very excited to share my personal and professional opinion next month in addition to providing a special offer for you!

Thanks to all my Stay Healthy Fitness Facebook Followers who contributed to the Stay Healthy Fitness Grocery List and this was a fun interactive project. I have put your selections together and created a printable PDF list for you�HAPPY STAY HEALTHY SHOPPING!

CLICK THE GROCERY BAG ON MY HOME PAGE

Mardi Gra Fun with Hubby day before Super Bowl

Thanks for stopping by my Blog, hope you enjoy the content, and if you have not become a follower yet, I would love to see your face on my friend's list. If you are inspired, LIKE my entry, leave a comment and I look forward to responding!

Stay Healthy~ Darla

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Labels: body, crockpot chicken, Darla Leal, ellie.com, exercise, fitness, health, healthy, life, Motivation, Recipe, simple, skinnyms.com, success, time, weight loss, workouts

Sunday, 4 November 2012

I Have Let Go of Being Hard on Myself

DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF

Believe me this has been a lifetime learning journey and it feels really good to be in this place�peaceful existence, balance with life and self, and overall feeling of AWWW�Life is BETTER than Great!

I can remember being caught up in the stuff that really does not matter in the BIG scheme of life�the house looking just right, what people thought, oh my�my body is not quite there�is that fat on my butt�really??? How many times am I going to give myself the outer thigh pinch test for crying out loud. Oh�I burned this, and that food presentation does not look perfect, oh�am I saying that just right, am I doing this right, and, oh no�my diet was not clean today and I have just ruined everything�REALLY? Enough of that crap already�whew�like I shared earlier�I am so glad to NOT be there anymore.

We really can be our own worst enemy if we let ourselves. Thoughts of �not good enough� swirling around in my head years ago are thankfully gone, praise God that is for certain. As I reach almost 50, I have to say that I have let go of being hard on myself�I mean what the heck would be the point. I do not need the acceptance or approval of others to be ME, although as I shared earlier, I know how that feels to be in that ugly place. Also, coming from a position of fitness competition, and featured here and there, I admit, I felt pressure to look a certain way, be a certain way, always on guard to public scrutiny and needing to be THAT GIRL�always in shape�perfect as some say�but�even then and now�I was and am FAR from that YUCK word. As I have shared many times�PERFECT DOES NOT EXIST except in fairy tales and photo shop�what a mind @%#& life can throw a person if you let it.

Moving to the NOW Darla�I do not �Sweat the Small Stuff� and I will certainly leave a few dishes in the sink and not worry about the pillow arrangement on the sofa when family and friends come over�I mean are they coming to see my dishes or me�taking that pressure off myself for years now feels FABULOUS and I really enjoy the precious moments of Life. Am I saying that I do not take pride in my home and self� of course not�I am NO piggy. What I am saying is my priorities have changed and I have a happy lived in home. When my time comes to leave this life, will my regrets be�I should have made sure the dishes were done all the time, the house was spotless, and all the streaks off the mirrors, work more�NO WAY�in fact, I do not want any regrets�I want my life to be full of meaningful moments with my family and friends, and helping people adapt healthy lives. What does this have to do with maintaining a healthy ME? Let me tell you�STRESS relief plays a big role in feeling great about who I am and life in general.

Not stressing over things that do not warrant attention and giving attention to those things worthy of my attention are important to living a healthy life in my book. I am not going to bash myself for hours on end for eating a splurge meal for example and thinking that I have ruined my life and health. I am living life for heaven�s sake. One or two splurge meals are not going to make or break my fitness health bank as the old ME would have thought. NOPE�not going to sustain my body on boiled fish and broccoli as a lifetime routine�YUCK �not realistic and truly not sustainable for a lifetime of healthy eating. My body definitely needs all the variety that comes from a variety of healthy foods�and I LOVE food to taste good�did I mention the spicier the better:)

Taking a deep breath each morning and being a thankful woman for my health, my hubby, family, this body, home, job, and so many other things that often get taken for granted like the beauty all around me is what fills me with absolute happiness. Am I saying that I do not take care of myself physically and through my healthy foods�now that would be ridiculous�I have not gone rebel on you and saying that this is not important. I live an example of a healthy life through my fitness and nutrition and share that with you as much as I can. I would be a hypocrite and not even be able to represent myself as a trainer and motivator if I did not live a healthy lifestyle.

I have relaxed so much with acceptance of whom I am, loving my body as it is with all the changes that come with the aging process, and knowing what is important as I have shared before�Being the BEST version of ME given my genetics and medical issues. Genetically, I would have to say that I have my father�s long, lean look, and I have had to work hard to put muscle on this body to add the curves that I like. So, I will no longer be a slave to society�s view of what Darla should look like, and I have let that go for years now, and celebrate the fact that it feels so good to NOT be hard on myself. What I will say about myself is that I am a dedicated woman when it comes to being a healthy person and take the time and effort to ensure that my body is exercised and fed healthy food on a consistent basis�but being over the top obsessed to the point that my life is negatively affected�NO WAY! Life is about beautiful balance, health in the physical, nutritional, and I can�t stress enough how important it has been for me to really key into my emotional and spiritual life. Talk about feeling carefree, and open to sharing my life and being REAL�that is what I am all about.