A predominant part of leading & sustaining a healthy lifestyle is changing your mindset & being mindful.
As a public we have been brainwashed for years by television shows & untruthful food marketing and advertising about what we believe healthful eating & living should be; we have relied on these poor sources as our main source of nutrition & health education for our bodies, and today we are paying for it as a nation.
Look around you the next time you do a quick run to do errands, and simply be mindful about the % of people you see around you, adults and children, struggling with weight...the #'s are alarming. Compare this to what you saw 20, 10, even 5 years ago - there is undoubtedly a difference.
Being healthy & leading a healthy lifestyle first and foremost requires mindfulness and intention in every area of your life - it involves being in touch with how your body feels, do you feel stressed out about something? Is that why are you're eating that bagel, or are you TRULY hungry, does your body TRULY need those calories?
THINK PEOPLE THINK -- think and SET YOUR INTENTION constantly when it comes to nutrition. Don't eat mindlessly because you're at a conference or meeting and just because food sits on the table and it looks good, then you have to eat it? No you don't - ask your body first, am I hungry? Think about the time you last eat, is it truly time to eat again or will you be mindlessly consuming needless calories if you indulge?
As Americans we let our feelings & gratifications dictate our lives way too often - I want, I want, I want...and sadly we carry this poor attitude right over into food.
This comes into play just as much in our physical health and food today than ever before. The bigger, better, faster attitude of Americans has finally taken it's toll on our public health as a nation and it's got to stop. Eating should not be 110% of the time about pleasure and indulgence, we need to change our mindset as a country to understand that food is a way we honor the earth and land as we produce it, and honor our bodies and health and minds as we consume it in order to be prepared to live life to the fullest.
That said, here is a thought I think everyone in this country needs to hear: there is no such thing as an obesity epidemic; there is an over-feeding epidemic; a lack of quality nutrient food sources epidemic; & a lack of physical activity epidemic in this country - obesity is merely a symptom of these larger problems.
Branding the public health problem as an obesity epidemic merely pervades the incorrect mindset that health is not each individual's personal responsibility and it is out of their control, when in fact it is very much in their control, there are just those sadly that have not done yet what it takes to control it.
Kudos to those who have; it now becomes our job to pass on the invaluable lesson and MINDSET of a healthful life to those who haven't yet made this same discovery.
www.youandimprovedcoaching.com
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Innovating, Educating, Empowering
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One key thing our public needs to learn is don't believe anything you read that comes from a food marketer or someone trying to make money off you - including the 'next fad in nutrition' - whether it's low fat, digestive health, or no-cal sweeteners. They're always just jumping on the bandwagon of the next big thing to cash in before the ever-fickle American public tires of it and moves onto the next nutrition fad, and it's working for them at least, but the American public health picture is losing big right now as they continually fall prey to these company gimmicks revolving around nutrition, food & diets.
Always get the facts first before you try a product, as 110% of the time marketers tweak food labels and basically flat out lie as our FDA sets the bar so low that if they have only a small % of certain negative ingredients they can still say it has 'zero this' and 'zero that' on the label and get away with it legally. Or they can say something is pesticide free if it was not sprayed directly, but still was produced on a farm that uses pesticides and could have air transfered....there are numerous ways these jerks fool with the truth to get you to buy, buy, buy....
There is still nothing on any shelf in any market that will supercede the nutritient benefits of the foods God put on this earth for us humans, and there never will be. Science cannot recreate or improve nature, no matter how hard it tries to claim it can and does.
In fact, there is nothing on any shelf in any market that your body requires or needs & most of it actually counteracts your good health & breaks down your bodies internal natural healthy processes, and not for the good.
Here is a perfect example of how well food marketing can brainwash people into thinking they're putting something healthy in their bodies as they choose to rely on the packaging & trust the companies trying to make money on their lack of nutrition knowledge, vs. researching and finding the facts about what they're putting into their bodies first - and it's not good news folks: The Potential Dangers of Splenda (Sucralose)
Like most unnatural, synthetic, chemical junk that we are not naturally meant to eat, there are no longterm studies yet that show effects of use of ingesting Splenda for years on end, yet the FDA allows them to be pushed through to market and sold to the public not knowing what will happen down the road to people longterm as this unnatural product takes root in the body & builds up over time.
Even better if you dig, you'll find the company producing it foolingly named McNeil Nutritionals is really J&J / Johnson & Johnson - isn't it interesting how marketing works? We rename ourselves something that sounds health related and people all of the sudden believe we are a legitimate nutrition source, when we're actually just white-coated scientists fooling with nature in a lab and creating something unnatural & telling people it's good for them.
And while we're at it, we'll add a few chlorine compounds to Splenda in the lab so the body won't be able to digest it, so we'll avoid the NATURAL process of digestion altogether so it creates a situation where no calories are absorbed, and even though there are calories truly in the product and they get metabolized somewhere in the body, but we don't know where they're going, or what harm they're causing when they get there, maybe like creating cancerous cells over time, what the heck - we've got a product we can claim has no calories and the American public will just eat that up, so sell the thing, chlorine in it or not - what's the big deal if people eat a little chlorine as long we become millionaires off the product? A little lie never hurt anyone, right?
WAKEUP AMERICA -- And we wonder why our country has some of the highest rates of cancer in the world? Do you think European or other countries are taking in as much of this chemical junk as Americans are? Trust me they're not, because in their countries the people take a more active role in voting on food production issues, and the government also permits them to be active participants in determining the quality of food they're ingesting.
Not the US government folks, because it's all about what food manufacturer or big pharmaceutical is paying the FDA off to get their product pushed through to market with minimal testing - and who cares if a couple thousand lives are lost, right?? ..as long as their stock portfolios look good from the kickbacks they're receiving.
I'll say it again, science will never top nature, folks -
God didn't make sucralose, man did - and if it was good for us, it would have been handmade by God many years ago.
Stick to what He made for us to eat, and you will never go wrong - I don't know about you, but a healthful, long life free from illness sounds a LOT more appetizing than something that sounds as horrifying as lab-created, chlorine-filled "sucralose".
For safe sweetener alternatives that are from NATURE and won't add empty calories to your food plan, try stevia (be sure it's the all natural product). It is available at Trader Joes or your local health food store. Stevia is starting to become more readily available at grocery market chains.
Another lo-cal healthy sweetener option is xylitol, which is comprised from natural occuring sweeteners in fruits.
If you're not so concerned with caloric content blue agave syrup is a final natural sweetener option, although with the hefty amount of caloric content this product packs, I would recommend use of this in minimal amounts on infrequent occasions, i.e. make stevia your daily sweetener, but for an occasional treat to switch your taste up use blue agave.
http://www.youandimprovedcoaching.comI'm starting Atkins. Everyone always boos me on this one. But I don't sit there and eat all fried foods and what not. I do manage to put my meat in the oven, boil and eat lots of veggies and drink lots of water. I always want to get back in the swing of things and start tae bo'ing. If I can ever find the DVD. I think he said he put it away in one of my bags when he was cleaning the house.
I don't where I gathered up that energy to exercise last year. I exercised EVERY SINGLE DAY! When I didn't exercise one day I felt really guilty. I have to get the conscience back. Where did it go?! Did it go away? I think it got lazy along w/ myself.
Since the weather is getting nice, but attitude about losing weight should be a little better. The winter kept me down and I didn't feel like doing a thing!
Hey you guys...just checking in. I was going to delete my vox today, but Saha reminded me that I couldn't because of the prototype group...lol. I haven't been feeling very connected lately; I'm sure it's just something I'm going through, but I've deleted all my online accounts...except vox and I still have my personal blog (btrflyed.com).
I started Project 150 yesterday. That just a fancy name I gave to my getting back to 150 lbs. The body sculpt class was one of the hardest things I've ever done. ALLLL of me was burning. I felt like somebody stuffed my big behind in an oven and cranked the temp up to broil. I made it through the class...barely...and I woke up this morning to a VERY sore body. It hurts to blink...lol. I'm kidding it isn't that bad, but I am extremely sore. I was planning to take the class once a week on my off day (which is Monday), but I think I'd better shoot for two days/week. Otherwise I'll be sore every week...lol. I'll keep you guys posted.
Later,
Eve
I'm at the gym killing time before my very first fitness class starts. I'm scared and nervous that I won't be able to keep up with people. I'll share more information after the class when every piece of me hurts.
3 Hours later...
I was really scared to go to this gym class because I didn't know what to expect. When I walked into the studio there were lots of stations set up and I thought I just had to pick one. I walked up to an area and put down my water bottle and went to ask one of the women in the class what I needed because everyone was walking around getting materials. I took my first trip to get weights and right when I placed them at my station a woman came up to me yelling about how this was her station. I stood up turned around and she yelled again at which point I said this is my first time here I don't know what I'm doing I'm sorry. I quickly realized that I needed to setup my own station so I positioned myself in the back of the room (or what I thought was the back of the room). I got myself settled in only to realize that I had taken the instructor's spot and had to move again. By point already wanted to leave and class had not even started yet.
Somehow I convinced myself to stay and class began. Within the first 5 minutes of class the instructor had already said something to me about my lack of coordination. I have a really hard time doing things in unison with others and this situation was even worse because I had to do it in front of a huge mirror with at least twenty other women in the class standing behind me.
After the first 10 minutes of class I could not breathe. It turns out I was allergic or very sensitive to something in the room but because of pride I didn't pack up to leave instead I stuck it out for the entire 45 minutes struggling to breathe with my face bright red and tears rolling down my face. Even with the nightmare I just shared with you, I can still say that it was a fun class. The class was very challenging but there were opportunities to personalize the routine for your skill level. I think I would do the class again, but since I think that it was the instructor's cologne that caused me to choke I don't think my body will allow me to. I'm still choking.
Hopefully my body won't be in too much pain tomorrow from the weight training and ab workout.
I called my friend Jen last night while walking home to tell her that I was still in pain from going to the gym on Tuesday and laugh a little but instead of laugher I heard Jen crying. It turns out that she said that she was having an ugly day and could not seem to get it together. Earlier in the afternoon Jen measured her waist to see if she had lost any inches and learned that she increased an inch on her waist and her butt decreased an inch. The girl was furious and I did not know how to support her.
How do you help your friends get through their rough times?