Daily Pick Me UP

Inspiration, is soooo key. If there’s something you want to achieve/attain please find models to emulate and reinvigorate yourself with their struggles and their successes. It will become the impetus for you to keep moving. G’Luck.

Do You Have Any Bayer?

So, bootcamp started today and it was great. I killed… or I’m not in horrible shape; I can run for long periods of time.

But, I CAN feel my legs. Like I can really feel them. Like when I can feel them throbbing as I walk down the stairs. But that’s not actually what gave me a minor heart attack. What’s was actually scary:

I’m working with one of my students and at one point I turn and ask, “is your heart on the left or the right side of your chest?” She said the left. Problem? Well, YEAH! Several yawns had brought on sharp pains from the left side of chest. Now… we can just say it was some heartburn lol. But, I asked if she had aspirin anyway.

The commercials says it’ll save a life. Take your Bayer.

Manifest’s Mandates

You only have one body your entire life. Parts of it may become plastic, may be modified, may be usurped from other people, but you only have one vessel. Reward that sucka! Mine’s gotten me through some tough times and I still sometimes treat it like crap. You know, not moisturizing, not shaving, not showeri…. tough times is all I’m saying. So, how do I show my body that you love it. Well… let’s start with these three.

1. Traveling – visiting friends or going somewhere outside of your normal day-to-day locale is not only helpful but very necessary! It’s good to log out of my vortex and into another one. Helps me recharge and reconnect with the world another way, with my friends in another, with myself in another way and see the things that CAN be, a la, perspective. And as it specifically relates to friendships, long distance relationships of any kind, don’t really work unless you take the time to get some face-to-face time with that face that makes you want to go one more time, whatever that may be. At least once a year you’ve got to actually SEE your people. In a world of SKYPE and laptops for $300, you really don’t have THAT much of an excuse.
2. Shopping – spend your money if you gots it honey. Otherwise it will get really lonely and bored in your bank account, existing but never existing as anything other than numbers brought to life but the technology of a computer screen, the net, and a modem. Your relationships with your friends should be like your relationship with your money. You need to give it some face time, hold it, share it with others.
3. Playing/Laughing – If you are NOT a big kid, life sucks. You get all grown-up-y and forget to not take yourself so seriously. I’ve been told that I never grew up and I still act silly…. and yet those same people still talk to me all the time. I know what they’re doing. They’re absorbing my youthful essence and wise know-how. So go play. go laugh. go dance.

THREE-in-ONE  —-> take your friend out to the movies and pay! The End.

Exotic Aerobics? Um… YES!

So yesterday I went to my first exotic aerobics class which is being offered at my local community center. Once I got past my sister saying “I’d be in a room with a bunch of freaks” and awkwardly waiting to get registered lookin’ a hot mess while a bunch of men playing basketball watched (probably not – when men/boys play ball they really can’t be too distracted) I had so much fun! And i’ll tell you, that class was PACKED with all kinds of women. I mean mothers, grandmothers, college students, 18 year old high school seniors and everything in between of ALL different body types (ALL). And it was all women (no children) and it was amazing. The instructor made it feel like such a warm and welcoming place. She kept calling us divas! (snap snap).

I had such a great time. There was the warm-up part. And then the aerobic part.. and THEN there was the ‘exotic’ dance part which to be fair, was only a little more than what you would see in the club. You’d be surprised that simple repetition of a few exercises and isolations can do for your thighs…and glutes…. and arms… and abs. I’m just saying I got a workout. Thank you Omarion for “Gettin In.” Hate the title, love the song… or the metaphorical meaning I’ve put to it.

What I also really REALLY loved about the class was that there was a strong sense of community Some of the (GROWN) women have been before or have done other programs taught by the same teacher but they were so welcoming of the newbies that day (4 including myself). Apparently…. I know how to get down. The entire class, or all the classes the instructor is involved with are going on a retreat to New Orleans! Talk about fun. All fun, new friends, no babies is what she said. I can’t wait until I’m really feel comfortable enough to go.

So, will there be more exotic aerobics in the future. OF COURSE! I may even go to the pole class. ;P

NOT me. Just .. a pole.

Vegan-Prep

Ash Wednesday is upon us which means that Veganism is upon us as well. I am looking forward to the journey despite the opinions of the many “nah… don’t-do-its.” I’m sure it’ll be hard and I’ll be hit in the face with some really bad withdrawal (mmmm chicken tenders…. mmm oatmeal with milk and honey… why am I doing this again?)

Because I want to. And I can.

So… i’m getting all the prep and help I need to make this successful. Things I know to be true.

1. You CAN gain weight on the Daniel Fast or undergoing a vegan diet. If you overcompensate your desire for meat with a desire to carbo load.
2. Good planning is the key to achieving any goal
3. Supplements are about to become my best friend.

A good friend/co-worker of mine from the past recently went vegan and I asked him to give me some tips and tell me about what he experienced. For your reading pleasure.

“…Going vegan RULES! I don’t miss meat or cheese or eggs or anything like that. Sometimes when I’m out with friends it can be hard to find something to eat. But if I’m at a bar and super hungry, I can always fall back on fries… I make a mean vegan chili and I this a vegetable curry dish that I’m always putting different types of veggies in. Also I have a great tomato rice soup that I put lentils in and that makes it like a stew. Here’s what you need to know: You’re going to need a B-complex vitamin supplement. That is the one thing that humans can only get from animals. On top of that, I take a calcium/magnesium/ Vitaman D supplement (usually found in one pill), I take an iron supplement, and I take an iodine supplement derived from kelp. If you go to whole foods…there is a great brand called Veganlife that has all of these. Other things I’ve started incorporating is Flax Oil for Omega-3s, and I eat a lot of Quinoa. Quinoa is the only grain with a full protein. I like it plain (you cook it like rice). But there is also Quinoa bread, Quinoa pasta, or you use it like rice in a stew or with steamed veggies over it. It’s awesome! Hey, I hope you do it as it has made me healthier and happier… and as a side bonus it made me, like, way skinnier….“

I’m excited!

Vegan

I’m seriously considering doing this for a month… or a fortnight. Thoughts?

If Lovin’ Me Is Wrong, I Don’t Wanna To Be Right!

Loving yourself ain’t no easy task. You have to make yourself a priority and say “I’m worth it… I’m worth a little bit more.” Here at bodymanifesto, we are constantly working to become healthier, but we also want to work towards become better mentally. Many people suffer from huge periods of depression or lack of self esteem. Although for some people there isn’t an easy off switch and seeking outside professional guidance is necessary, there are a few small steps that you can take towards loving yourself. Here’s a few several people have told me of and a few more that I stand by on the daily! What do you think?

1. Acknowledge Your Efforts. Success…winning… sometimes they don’t come as quickly or as often as you’d like. But progress is progress. You may not have finished writing that novel you are working on, but if you’ve written a page, or formulated more of the plot… that’s progress. You may not be running complete miles, but if you’ve started running even for bits… that’s progress! Acknowledged that you’ve made a step and that you’re working towards something, even if it feels like you failed to produce a visible result
2. …Forgive Yourself. You may not always make it… and you may give up a tad too soon. You make mistakes but forgive yourself. Sometimes it’s not your fault. And sometimes… you can just start over again tomorrow. Life doesn’t have to be a rerun.
3. Nurture Your Dreams. Dreams like motivation, need constantly refilling. No need to give up that which inspires you. Life’s too long to be taken seriously and too short to be taken lightly.

Aside from my top 3, I’d add see beauty in everything… even the seemingly imperfect like a humid day. See beauty in disaster you will easily see beauty in yourself. And encourage yourself with positive reinforcement, not negative (see list above.) Bit by bit, inch by inch, the journey happens.

From the Diary to the Front Page

I’ve hit a road block. I tend to have an ‘all-or-nothing’ approach with some things and when it comes to health it occurs tenfold. Example: if I eat one too many pieces of Halloween candy or an extra handful of crackers, I consider my eating for the day a bust and I have an off day. And too many days like this in a row can be disheartening. Any suggestions on how to overcome them? I often tell myself that one should ‘never let a lapse turn into a collapse’ but it’s hard.

Things I’m thinking out. Planning my daily workout and meal plans for the rest of November up until Thanksgiving. I get so annoyed with that amount of planning but I think it may be the only thing to get me through the month. Ack.

In the meantime, my body is sore from working out and that’s always good.

Friends Are Good For…

Ever notice how doing something (that feels stupid or is annoying difficult) is ALWAYS much, much easier if you do it with friends rather than if you do it by yourself? I can think of a million and one things off the top of my head…

1.  Moving  

2. Dancing on a table tops

3. Traveling in an unknown, foreign land

Getting healthy can definitely be added to that list. It’s soooo much easier to face an obstacle or huge transition when you aren’t going throughout solo. It can be a great source of inspiration and at the very least, it’s an I-will-kick-your-butt-if-you-don’t-run-with-me-because-I-can’t-do-this-alone-and-you-promised-you-would-you-lazy-bum-and-I-don’t-want-to-look-stupid source. This goes for how you exert your body physically, but also how you nourish it (your diet which is the integral part to getting healthy and losing weight.) It’s better to have your friend, family, or whomever you are living with on board with your plan than to have them tempt you with his or her treats. Many college students and young professionals (or anyone for that matter) find that that extended periods of time home result in unhealthy diets do to the lack of good options and vast amounts of bad ones. However, if these don’t work for you, at the very least, tell one really good, supportive, and encouraging friend and they can be a great source of comfort.

Simply put, having these other sources lets you know that you aren’t alone in your pursuit of a goal that may feel daunting. That is never a bad thing. Find your friend and let’s get to it!

["Thank You For Being A Friend" by Andrew Gold used as the theme song for the hit television classic "Golden Girls"]