HEALTHY AND FIT IS NOT ROCKET SCIENCE

When it comes to getting a healthy fit body, it is not about making it complicated, extreme, and it is far from a science project.  There are so many confusing messages hitting us square in the face about the �right� diet and the �right� fitness fad exercise program to create what we so long to become.  Even further, people rush in droves overspending on pills, powders, gimmicks, videos, extreme fitness programs, and anything that promises a smoking hot body in two weeks or less.  Sadder still, there is no consideration of the negative effects on the body when such choices are made.  It is the dive blind and hope for the best philosophy and that would scare the crap out of me.

Think about the word health and what that means to you personally. I live a life of health and fitness and teach it as a lifestyle of quality that includes eating healthy foods, exercise and stretch on a regular basis.  It is also important to reduce pain in our bodies, and stress in our lives overall.  Lastly, I touch on the areas of emotional and spiritual health and wrap health up in a balanced package of physical, nutritional, emotional and spiritual well-being. There is nothing blind about the correct approach to adopting a healthy lifestyle and achieving that smoking hot body.

We all have the potential to create our best healthy body, but fall short when we slip through the cracks of empty promises and seek out the quick fixes that are never guaranteed.  What is guaranteed and will provide the results of good health and fitness are our individual choices to live a healthy life each day. This process is not rocket science but getting back to the basics of simple living.  Eating healthy has become such a complicated subject of what to eat, when to eat, why to eat and the same is true with exercise as everyone preaches the �my way is the only way� agendas. 

Let�s consider how to make healthy simple and work for each of us.  I like to start by writing down healthy foods that I enjoy eating: lean chicken, fish, peaches, plums, raw nuts, fresh vegetables, yogurts, and chocolate for example. I do the same thing with my exercise programs: ARC trainer, HIIT programs, dancing, stretching, and weight training to name a few.  I keep my cooking simple and healthy using olive and coconut oils, lots of spices, and herbs.  I exercise for no more than an hour 4 to 5 times per week, and make it a goal to get plenty of rest.  There is nothing magic about what works for me and I create my healthy lifestyle around what I enjoy.  If the focus is on simple, healthy, and fun, the results of that lifestyle will be seen on the outside as well as the inside.

Adopting a physical healthy lifestyle is not extreme, is not meant to hurt our bodies but a gift of moving our bodies in a way to challenge and build a stronger self.  There has been some trial and error as I have walked through the types of exercises that work best for my body, that continue to challenge me, but eliminate or greatly reduce risk of injury.  I may try something and feel aggravation and not that good sore that occurs from a great workout, and that is my body�s way of telling me not to do that move.  I simply remove what does not work for me, and keep what does.  My workouts will not be your workouts, and I do not buy into that philosophy of there is only one right way. Life and health does not work like that and I say run from any fitness professional who preaches that agenda. 

The same goes with adopting a healthy eating routine.  There is never a �one-size-fit� all program, we all have different tastes, and I hope we are all steering clear of foods that upset our systems. Our bodies are wonderful machines that know exactly what to do with the food we consume, and honestly, we are all adults with common sense enough to know that if we continue to eat like crap, we will feel like crap, and our bodies will be wearing the consequences.  There are no pills, potions, or exercise programs that will take away the results of poor eating habits.  It is important to realize that although science is at work in our bodies every day, when it comes to adopting a healthy lifestyle, let�s leave the rocket science where it belongs and get real with keeping it simple.

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Be well and Stay Healthy

UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN

This is such a difficult write and I have been away from my blog for several weeks spending time with my family, and my beautiful Mother-in-law who passed away June 18.  She was my second Mom, I loved her dearly and I still struggle with the realism that she is no longer here physically.  I miss her�

The journey of life holds such beauty and pain, and it is in the experience of death, and being present during that last breathe of a loved one that truly brings into full light the appreciation of the gift of our life and how we spend every moment.  My Mom-in-law is in heaven now, able to breathe, walk, laugh and exist in the perfect form of her spirit in the presence of God and those who have passed before her that she so loved.  At the same time, I struggle with my human feelings of this �is all not real and weird.�  I expect to go over to my in-laws� and see her, looking forward to one of our many girl talks.  I can still see her and hear her in my mind, and the sound of her laugh will remain forever in my memory. 

The loss of a parent hits very hard to the core of our being, and as I watch my adoring husband process his feelings of saying goodbye to his Mom, my heart aches for him.  We are a close knit, loving family who supports each other through the good and the bad times of life.  This is such a bitter sweet time for him and our entire family.  There are tears and so many stories, and through those we also laugh and capture the very essence of Mom still with us.  I understand that it comes down to time, and healing of one of the greatest losses in this life and it will never be about acceptance.  How can it be?  I would say it will be about change, and learning to live with the loss of such a special woman in our life � Wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, and daughter. 

I understand how one generation carries into the next, and going through this journey of losing my second Mom makes me think about my own mortality.  I am fifty now and even though my health is good, there is still no guarantee of life tomorrow.  Age and even illness are not always the deciding factor of death, which in this write I hope to bring home loud and clear that everyone please appreciate life, your body, family, friends, and all things that are cherished.  It will not be money that will carry you through emotionally difficult times, or even having the fittest body around.  I will say that being emotionally healthy is helping me go through this process and I am thankful my healthy state of well-being keeps me balanced through difficult times, and not running to numb up with medications.  We are made to go through the feelings of joy and sorrow and that is part of life, and we need to be healthy to experience both sides of our journey. 

One last Christmas Time together Dec 2013

My Beautiful Parents-In-Law, Rhoda and Dick Leal married 55 Years

I dedicate this Blog in loving memory of Rhoda Leal, my beautiful second Mom and friend.  I love you always and until we meet again, I will carry your laughter and wisdom in my heart and mind forever. 

One of our last beautiful moments together ... Jammie Party

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

Having a Relationship with Myself

Just ME

If I did not have a GREAT relationship with myself, I would be a complete mess.  This is just not a physical existence for me, but a very deep spiritual bond with God, and being truly content with me and my life.  The healthy lifestyle that I maintain comes from how I treat myself, how I allow others to treat me, how that is perceived, how I grow from my journey, continually being enlightened by both positive and negative experiences, setting healthy boundaries, and wrapping all that up into how I respond to life�s circumstances. 

 

As I have journeyed through this life, I have suffered physically and emotionally and would not be honest if I did not say that I have felt the sting of both from time to time even now.  The difference in the now is my past experiences have been a life education on how to love myself enough to see things and handle things in a healthy way, and navigate through boundaries that I now have to take

care of me.  A great example would be a person that has hurt me emotionally through an insensitive act or words.  I have realized that this has nothing to do with me or who I am as a person, but all about the offender not knowing how to be sensitive or compassionate in that moment.  Would it hurt�well of course but the important thing is realizing the behavior is not my fault, and even more important is responding to it in the healthiest way possible.  The best part about life is learning through the experiences, being enlightened by what is acceptable and not acceptable, not reliving the unacceptable, and �the knowing� of what is wanted and not wanted.  Looking at all things this way has created a healthy perspective of circumstances and a clear understanding  that God wants me to learn something from the situation and possibly create a circumstance that I will be able to help others going through a similar experience in the future.   Emotional growth has not been an overnight learning method of how to handle things, but a cultivation of experiences, over time that has developed my emotional self and created a bit of thicker skin as well in a positive way. 

Having a relationship with me also includes my physical day to day actions.  Believe me, there are days where I need to be In Your Face MOTIVATED to get my bootie moving to workout.  I feel very comfortable eating healthy a very high percentage of the time, but as I get older, I find that the workouts are my more difficult area and because of that, I have become wiser with my workouts.  This has become an enlightenment experience for me as well as some days I will be gang busters and full of pep in my step, and other days�OH MY�throw a towel over my ARC trainer monitor and beep when it is over.  I have also fine tuned my fitness training using what works for my body to reduce/avoid the chance of aggravation.  Nothing is worse than aggravating an injury during a workout and spending days rehabilitating something that could have been prevented.  My relationship with my physical health is all about HEALTH and feeling great, not so much on how great I will look on the outside.  Although, I do appreciate that my outward appearance is a reflection of living a healthy life.  I also want to add that I do not feel looking healthy to be a �vain or ego� thing and that it is OK to enjoy the �physical look� of living a healthy lifestyle.  Many people get so caught up in �acceptance�, and I think that is healthy to a point�but not to be taken to an unhealthy one.  No one should accept being in an unhealthy state of life in my opinion...how can that be a happy place or something to accept? 

Both the emotional and physical parts of my �self� relationship have taken years

to fine tune and develop, and still nothing in life is great all the time.  Life is not perfect or even easy, and in fact it is all the challenges, bumps in the road, hard work, and experiences that sand down the roughness of our inner and outer shells into smooth, beautiful gems.   Through it all, I have learned to not give up, be patient, and above all to know that I am worthy of great things, and I have definitely learned not to settle for anything less.  Life is too short to not want to be healthy physically and emotionally and the BEST place to start and maintain all that is within ME. 

IN YOUR FACE MOTIVATION

Me with My Fabulous Kids

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Stay Healthy~ 

Darla 

SIMPLE IS HEALTHY

Balance of Life, part 3

When it comes to Simple is Healthy, I have come to appreciate a balance of work, rest, play and pray.  I used to be a �YES� person with A1 personality type that first, could not say �NO� and second, the �busier the better�.  Always seeming to not be good enough, never satisfied, and always striving for that something that often times I did not understand �WHY�.  Can you relate to that?  I think it stems from feeling unappreciated in my early years, or just not feeling accomplished...going �Darla Deep� here.  Fast forwarding to the Darla of today that has shed that ugly skin�YEAH!!!!

Life�s journey has definitely taught me to love myself in every way and to accept that life is about enjoying it.  Think about that concept�I ENJOY MY LIFE.   I definitely do not want to breathe my last breathe with any regrets, and missing out on the important stuff in life, the real meaningful things that money just does not buy.   This is not to say that I am not goal oriented, strive to be the BEST me at what I do and provide that for my family and clients�I would be a hypocrite if I did or said that�this girl is definitely not lazy.   I am letting you know that my life has come full circle to finding that peace and balance with everything and I no longer run around like a chicken with my head cut off with a go-go-go , do- do- do mentality, and to the point of being so exhausted that my eyes are burning.  It is really OK NOT to be busy all the time, to enjoy some time to be still, to appreciate life and think about all the things in my life that are so wonderful.  Older, wiser, better�I stole that from my hubby and it is so true with my life at this point.  

Contentment is a GREAT word to describe where I am in life.  I love that quote that says �I may not have the best of everything but I make the BEST of everything that I have� and that is really true for me.  I am a no frills kind of gal who does not need to keep up with the Jones�, wear designer clothes or be concerned about that, I enjoy a bargain, getting my hands dirty in the garden, and in the kitchen.  I try to live life with gusto and appreciate the moment�something I took for granted years ago�being so busy being busy and going through the motions that the meaning of the moment was missed.  The �Older, Wiser, Better� Darla of today inhales every moment of every minute and I know that I smile and laugh a lot.  What a fabulous simple healthy difference living life with balance makes and provides such peace and happiness most of the time. 

Maintaining a balanced life with my workouts, nutrition, rest, play and pray is the secret to having a healthy lifestyle for me.  I am no longer hard on myself if I miss a workout or get off track once in awhile on my nutrition plan.  Life has a way of showing me exactly where I need to be, and what I need to be doing and sometimes, my body says�Darla the workout is not happening today�but that nap you need�go for it.  I am a more relaxed person who is very in tune to my body, and listens carefully to my energy levels, any aggravations and responds accordingly.   I can recall feeling guilty taking a nap years ago, like I needed to be doing something all the time and I am so glad that I do not have that mindset anymore. I have nothing to prove to anyone, and maintaining a healthy ME is what matters and of course loving God, hubby, family, friends and taking care of my fabulous clients.  Living life with balance of everything allows for deep breathing, relaxation, and really a release of all the stress and worry that we often bring on ourselves.  Exercise is my �cheap man�s� therapy, and so, yes I have a session at least 5 days per week for a good hour.  Moving on to my passion for cooking which is not only therapeutic for me but also provides my daily �REAL FOOD� intake that keeps me healthy.  Rest is also a big part of my balanced life and I try to get a good night sleep in addition to the occasional nap.  Lastly, my time with self, God and family rounds out the rest of ME that keeps me healthy and living simply. 

In Your Face MOTIVATIONS

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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