stress

    Tonight my daughter Abby (8) asked me if "I ever get mad or grumpy about something you have to do?".  She had to do her homework and she did not feel like doing it. I told her that I feel that way almost every day about any number of tasks/chores I have to do. I told her to go grab a pillow and scream as loud as she could "I DO NOT WANT TO DO MY HOMEWORK".  We were laughing by the time she was done and then she went and finished it all up.

     We all feel angry and grumpy over any number of things in our day.  In NYC we are interacting with so many people who have the potential to be jerks and ruin our mood and our day.  I try to be the "positive" force to counteract those jerks out there.  If I ever think something positive (like the person making my coffee has great eyes or has a new necklace etc.) I ALWAYS say it aloud.  That positive feeling is contagious and who knows how many people that person will then turn around and be a little nicer too.  In so many ways we create our own "mood". We attract what we put out there.  I invite you to try to make someone feel good about themselves (always the truth mind you) and see how YOU feel afterwards.

    That is my "on the front end" strategy.  Once that fails and you are feeling angry/stressed/frustrated you have to express it.  There are many healthy ways you can do that:

1) Scream into a pillow.

2) Write a letter saying exactly what you think and actually let yourself consider delivering it. (then make the right choice)

3) Throw a temper tantrum on your bed and thrash around like a 3 year old.

4) SPRINT till you are so winded you have to stop.

5) Honestly and calmly address the issue at hand and make sure you are heard.

6) Tear up every page of a magazine and enjoy it.

7) Find the time to actually sit face to face with your friends and talk. Really talk.

     When I do Liquid Strength, I use all those feelings to find my "grit" and power.  For some people it's Yoga, for some people it is therapy or running etc. etc.  Find a healthy way that works for you and USE it. It takes a lot of work to keep that part of your mind/soul "clean" and free of junk.  If you don't, you start making bad choices for yourself and slip into self destructive behavior.  Before you can be a good friend or parent or partner, you have to be whole and strong within yourself.  We do the work on our bodies but we also have to do the work on our minds. 

challenge specifics

OK guys, these are the rules:

No vinegar, salt, condiments, sweeteners or premade food.

You can have:

olive oil, lemons, spices like garlic and pepper, nuts and seeds (no dried fruit).

Anything in it's natural state. (canned things like chick peas but no veggies) 

We are trying to eat bland.  You will find you will taste the flavor of what you are eating.

I love that Rachel set out some rules for herself. That helps her and helps us too.

winter blues

     I don't know about you but I find January a hard time to feel motivated.  Winter is just starting, it's freezing ,and there is nothing much to look forward to in the near future.  THIS year especially. 

    Yesterday I decided that I have to find the motivation in my own life.  I need to just see the road as a steady one.  This is the stretch that small changes and choices have time to work. There is no race I am training for.  No big event is looming.  I am training to train.  That is a different kind of challenge.  Right now is the perfect time to do those things that "take a while" to take effect. Eat the veggies and skip the bread more, try some new fruits and recipes. Take small steps to being healthier and hang out and let time work it's miracle. Be steady in your workouts.  Work hard on where your mind and emotions are.  There is no pressure or time limit, just time.  

tid bits of information

As promised, I am going to summarize some information I have read lately that I found interesting and that I think will be to you too:

1) Using a vinyl shower curtain may expose you to toxins. (phthalates can effect hormone levels).

2) regular consumption of green tea, brussels sprouts, beans and onions may lower a smoker's risk of lung cancer.(UCLA

3)Skipping meals may lead to health problems (Swedish study found that people who regularly consumed 3 meals a day were 37% less likely, on average, to develop metabolic syndrome)

4)Mix olive oil with tomato peels and you get the most lycopene out of the fruit.

5)A 5 year Danish study found men who averaged one alcoholic drink a day were 18% less likely to see waistline increases than those who did not indulge. ("Moderate drinking may stimulate a metabolic process that breaks down alcohol and produces heat,which could increase your calorie burn")

6) Thinking about the benefits of exercise isn't as motivational as thinking about specific actions that would make exercise more doable. "Imagining being active triggers positive and realistic steps"

"I'll listen to music or a book while I work out"

"I'll make exercise interesting by choosing a treadmill with a good view"

"I'll take Story's class"

7) 79% of people do not life weights at least twice a week.

8) A Cornell study found people who use "external cues" to know when to stop eating, are much more likely to be overweight. (external cues: plate is clean, t.v show is over, everyone else is done). It takes 20 minutes for your body to register that you have eaten.  If you sit down to a set table, take breaths between bits and chew and savor your food, you will give your body the chance to register your food intake.

New Year and fresh starts

     I have been remiss in my blogging. I have so much to say and to relay to you that I hardly know where to start.  I have been (of course) reading away and have some great information and fun informative facts that I am going to post this week. Some exciting new research etc. That post will be a punch list of factoids.

    For this post, I would like to give you all an assignment. It is very easy to blow all this sort of stuff off but I want you to trust me enough NOT TO. I want you to take a blank piece of paper and fold it in half. One the right side I want you to write all of the things you did this year that improved your life, you are proud of, or that you learned from. On the left side I want you to write a very realistic and specific list of what you would like to do, learn, or achieve for this year.

    Under those lists draw a line across the whole page and write down the things you have "let go" of for this year. Things you cannot control, relationships you alone cannot improve, negativity towards something etc.

    After you do your list, put it away. In a week take it out and read it again and let yourself imagine the right side of your page (each one individually) happening. Whenever you need it this year, pull that list out.  It sounds so "new age" and silly but there is so much power in your awareness and your focus. I firmly believe that we attract to us what we "put out there". I would love to read some of your lists but I know how intensely personally they are. 

     I will make you a promise though. If you do this, you will move most of your right side column to your left.  

     We are all on the cusp of change in our lives.  This year especially, with all the stress and uncertainty around us, it is a blessing to know that our relationships with our"selves" will be stronger.  Classes will be challenging. We will explore the boundaries  of our "comfort zones". We will grow and change physically and mentally and even spiritually.  Together we will do amazing things and we will do them together.