Body shaming

 

Yet another new day to be the person you want to be; not who everyone else wants us to be. 

I hate it, I absolutely hate it.  Why do people feel the need to judge others physical appearance?  Feeling good about the way you look is tough, no matter what you look like.   The "if I only were thinner, taller, shorter, curvier" plagues almost everyone.  The "perfect" body is unobtainable.  Why?  Because it doesn't exist. 

Feeling good in your skin should be our goal; being happy with the person who looks back at us in the mirror.  A goal to get and be healthy is important; health yes, but not the unobtainable goal of perfection.  Who says what is perfect anyway?  Who are we trying to impress?  Is there perfection police out there?  Well sort of and their name is the media.  Look at what has happened with Kelly Clarkson these days; it really is no one else's business but her own. 

Should people feel horrible about themselves if they don't fit into a perfect mold?  How you look and feel is all about you and you alone.  If you are happy looking the way you do, GOOD FOR YOU.  You are one of the very few.  There is something amazing about a person who is confident with who they are and how they look.  It is entirely different from someone in pursuit of the perfection that society puts on us all.  Both sexes are targets, men and women are made to feel that they need to be a certain size and shape to dodge the finger pointing.  Life is just too short not to be happy.

Being happy in life means a whole lot more than our exterior shell.  But, we do have to live in these shells so we should make the best of them, right?    We will live out our life in one body; so we need to take care of it and make living in it the easiest that it can be.  That means keeping healthy.  It does not mean keeping skinny, nipped, tucked and tweaked into perfection.  It means eating well and moving.  There is no perfection pinnacle; perfection is unobtainable.  Who are you on the inside?

Eating well and moving will create a happy body.  A strong and agile body will be the fruits of your labor, rock it. 

Claiming equipment rules

Not only do people "claim" machines, they claim weights too.  Honestly.

There should be a list of rules listed on the wall of every gym.  That said there should also be "gym police" to enforce them.  One of the things I hate most about gyms is when someone claims a piece of equipment.  You know those people who put their stuff all around and on the equipment but they aren't using it?  I saw a guy yesterday, grab his towel and walk away from a machine I was waiting for.  As I head towards the machine I realized it was still claimed; even though he'd taken one towel with him he had set up camp around the machine. 

Now, normally when this happens I will use the machine anyway.  YOU CANNOT CLAIM MACHINES.  If you are on a machine, fine.  Claiming a machine for your workout circuit is lame.  If you want to use a machine, leave and come back, fine; then leave and come back later.  You cannot put machines on hold; keeping them out of commission until you return.  It is extremely rude to do so and doing it makes you a lame ass in my opinion.

People do it all the time and if you happen to step in and use their machine when they consider it spoken for, you may hear about it.  I have often used equipment that people have put on layaway.  I get the dirty looks, of course I can't hear their rant because I have turned up my music.  I'm in my own little zone and they can just wait until I'm done.  I in fact am using the equipment, I'm in the moment and not putting the machine on hold.  I'm USING IT. 

I will step in, use it and step away when I'm done.  Some people think that they own the place when in actuality it is a public gym.  Use some common sense folks.    

Better

Working on my shoulder stand while Elsa waits for me to toss her ball, AGAIN!

For several months I have been babying my arms.  I had an injury so I've been ever so careful not to aggravate it; and have been working out everything around the injury.  I took several weeks off but that didn't help at all so I decided to get back at it and it is now better!!!!  I absolutely HATE not working out and even after a mere two weeks off, I felt it.  No, that was just not going to work for me.  So without hitting the injury spot I worked around it (my elbows) literally.  My triceps, biceps, forearms and chest while resting my elbows.  

I'd been pushing it too hard for a while and so my body let me know.  I had what is commonly known as climber elbow injury or golfer's elbow.    Ahhh, age, ain't it grand?  Not always.  :(  As we age we must adjust and be smart about working out.  Admittedly I often push myself a tad hard; I am very self competitive and hate when I can't do something that I could in my 20s.  An injury is your body speaking loud and clear.  "Okay, okay I get it, I'm almost 53," I relent to my body.  But being over 50 does not mean that you stop; no, it means that you get going.  

The less you move the more you lose, fact.  You don't have to be over 50 to lose it either; although for some reason many people think that age and losing mobility go hand in hand.  No, no, no.  As we age we must work harder to keep toned and flexible.  If you don't you will lose it, fact.  The move flexible you are and the more muscle tone you have, the better you feel when you move.  

Getting started can seem daunting but if you take it slow, succeed and see progress then you'll keep it up.  If you look at exercising as a privilege and not a punishment or torture then you'll be more apt to continue.  You will have more aches and pains as you get older just because; but having the body that you want is worth it.  Do you want to be one of those on the sidelines saying "I can't?"  Not me.  

Not even tempted

Made by me, yes the baker me; and I have to say "worth every calorie."  :)

Everyone has a food weakness; mine is potato chips, salted potato chips.  I love them and if they are in the house, then they are in my mouth usually.  I don't have very many weaknesses as far as food goes which is a nice thing.  Even those evil potato chips can be passed up these days; once you reach start to see results from working out and eating right, it's easier and easier to look the other way.  Of course I think everyone should indulge; I believe that it helps you to stay on your proper eating regime. 

As far as candy and those disgusting little Peep things, not even tempted.  I could not be more turned off by all that stuff, pure garbage.  My idea of a sweet treat is probably a piece of really amazing cheesecake.  Anything else really has too much sugar which in turn will make me feel really crappy.  I do enjoy a piece of dark chocolate now and again; but we all know that is good for you. 

The old saying "it better be worth the calories" is a good one.  If you think that eating something you shouldn't will make you happy, be good and sure before you consume those calories.  There is also the fact that when you eat really well, eating crappy food makes you feel really crappy. 

Life is really about being happy.   If that means feeling great, then skip the crap.  The better you eat, the more you move the greater you will feel.  That crap food will have less of a hold on you and a happy feeling life will take over.  Now, you decide whether or not to eat it.  It's all up to you.  

A handstand - at home strength building

I stood staring at the wall.  Hmmmmmm, it was just me and Elsa (my Standard Poodle) at home.  What if I slipped?  What if I didn't make it?  What if I made it and my wrist broke?  It had been a VERY long time since I'd done a handstand.  It wasn't that big of a deal to do; but my confidence was a bit shaky being that no one was there to spot me.  PLEASE, if you are going to attempt something like a handstand; do it when someone is around to spot you.  

Spot:  to place or position on a particular place.  

This means that you want someone there, hovering when you make your first attempt.  

Working on balance

Of course I went ahead and just did it.  After staring at the wall, I just did it.  I didn't stay up there long, and quit while I was ahead. It felt amazing; nothing happened and it was easy peasy.  While I was upside down with my feet on the wall; I realized that although it was easy, it took a great deal of strength.  Handstands suddenly became a daily thing.  I was determined to make it no big deal at all. 

I use to walk on my hands when I was much younger; a handstand against the wall is the first step to maybe doing that again.  My first handstand was pretty far away from the wall.  I will get closer and closer, trying to retain the balance that was once very easy.  Having a wall close by is essential of course; flipping over and landing on your back when you are in your 50s is not like doing it as a teenager or in your 20s.   

More balance, by putting my feet on the wall with bent legs I have my body more straight up and down.

As you can see I'm having fun.  :)  Handstands everywhere now.  :)  Why not?

Where to start?????? Sleeveless season is just around the corner.

Push up work out lots of muscles.  Arms, chest, back....a great exercise staple.  

Beginning the process of working out can be intimidating as I have said many times already.  Where to start?  Where to start?  Many people don't start because it is so intimidating that they just can't get to it. Diving into the workout pool may be too much in the beginning so maybe set a small and doable goal first.  What is it that you'd like to get out of working out?  Why are you even considering working out? Or are you?  Maybe you just want to lose weight and this seems like the way to go.  Perhaps you don't need to lose any weight but you'd like to firm up, stop the jiggle?  

Whatever the reason, you should add in health.  With working out comes eating right; to work best, the two go together.  I talk about both a lot because you should keep both in mind when considering a goal.  If your goal is simply to get healthy then you are in the right place.  I like to look at health as the main goal in working out and eating right.  There are added bonus things like dropping weight, getting strong and feeling great too.  

You don't have to just have one goal, you can have a whole long list of goals.  But you should tackle them one by one in the beginning.  You don't want to set yourself up for failure; biting off more than you can chew as they say.  I think when you tackle one goal at a time; you are more apt to get there and move onto the next one.  

Results are a huge motivation; so when you get even the smallest result from working out it can fuel you onto doing more and keeping at it.  Whether that result is getting stronger, feeling better overall from eating well or liking what you see when you look in the mirror, it all helps.  

So start small and with motivating results, you will keep at it.  I like the idea of working out at home to start.  But, if you are not going to do it and need to either join a class or gym to get going, then do it.  But don't think that you need a class or a gym to get started; there are tons of things you can do.  Maybe just start walking, it is surprising how many people don't walk.  It's about the easiest thing to get started on and it's free.  :)  

Here I am doing tricep dips with push up handles.  They just happen to be there when I was taking pics so I used them.  You can use the edge of a chair, a step or anything else stable.

If you want to tone some body parts up, focus.  Lets say you want to tone your arms, very common.  You need to work out that flappy back part of your arms, your triceps.  Two easy exercises will get you started.  The very basic girl push up and the tricep dip.  Start slow and build as your strength grows.  You can do these easily at home.  The push up you can do anywhere and the dip just needs an chair edge, step or anything else that is sturdy and will keep you a few inches off the ground.  It is just the very beginning but these basics are tried and true.  

You can get started right this minute. :)

Fuel?

This was my salad last night, amazing.  I was out of arugula (yes I almost died because I eat it every day) so had a bowl of asparagus, broccoli slaw, pineapple, raspberries and red pepper.  I had on the side, a couple of turkey meatballs for protein.

Food is hugely controversial these days.  There are so many "diets" "miracle pills" and "secret drinks" out there to pick and choose from when you want to lose weight.  I for one am not a fan of fad diets, magic pills or drinks.  I am not a believer of the diets where you order your premade food either.  I strongly believe that if you want to get healthy then you must change your lifestyle.  That means thinking "healthy" choices, not feeling deprived all the time. 

 

Paleo chocolate mousse.  First time making this, it was pretty good.  I doubled the honey that they called for and chilling is a must.   

 

If we looked at food more like fuel, I think that we might have a better chance at "getting it."  Eating well or "clean" as is the "in" term these days takes thought and it takes breaking a lot of bad habits.  There will be those who balk at your choice of diet; but everyone has their own opinion as they should.  Everyone has to do what they feel good about doing and eating.  I try to share what I have discovered as far as eating correctly and I am always open to listening to more. 

My kids are a huge inspiration for me; they are the new and improved generation of health conscious people.  When we get together the topic of conversation often goes to exercise and food.  Oh yes, we are foodies, we LOVE good food.  We share recipes, diet (as in the food we eat, not weight loss) ideas and experience.

I watched a new advertisement on television last night.  It was obviously made to appeal to children.  The people were cartoon like and in a grocery store.  The Mom is grabbing box after box of processed food.  The boxes with a red mark on them donate food to hungry children when purchased.  Sounds nice but a sad marketing ploy in these days of "don't buy processed food." 

Our bodies take us through life; yet we often think about our body very last.  We stop and grab fast food and gobble it down because we are hungry and in a hurry.  This body is the only one we will ever have; we need to take care of it as such.  No one else is going to keep our body healthy and in shape; that job is all on us.  We can or cannot put our body first.  Eating right and moving is the best way to keep our body functioning throughout our life.  If you don't who will? 

Staying healthy is work; but so is hauling around a body that is overweight and under exercised.  It is completely our choice to make.