The eight ways of giving

One gives spontaneously; One gives out of fear; or because of thinking "He too has given me a gift"; or because of thinking "He will give me a present, too"; or because of thinking it is good to give; or because of thinking "I cook, but they do not"; or because of thinking "By giving, I will earn a good reputation";
or because it ennobles the mind.


This makes me realize that there are a lot of things in my life that I am not doing because of fear, because I am afraid of the consequences.  Amazing opportunities are ahead of me every day, and I don't take them because I am afraid of the potential consequences.  I need to embrace that fear, not let it hold me back.  
I only have this life that I get to live, Fear should not keep me from living it to the fullest.

Juice Fast Day 5

Tired, very, very tired.  Still not hungry, but things are moving again, luckily.  

I tried the tomato juice again, but it left a nasty metallic taste in the back of my throat that won't go away no matter how much water I drink.  A piece of bread would take care of the problem.  And I could chew it.
Friday the 13th is a wonderful day, because today is the last day of the juice fast!

Juice Fast Day 4, will it ever end?

Day 4....
Tonight I get to go to Central Market for a movie on the lawn, Ghostbusters is awesome no matter what the situation or conditions.  And Slimer makes everyone lose their appetite!
I got a smoothie, and I think it was the best smoothie I've ever had.  Blueberries, Peaches, a banana, apple juice, and a little bit of soy protein as a pick-me-up.  Sooo good, the boyfriend finished his smoothie and went back to get one of mine!

 

Juice Fast Day 3 - Mastication

I am tired of drinking. everything. I want to chew something! 
Tomato juice tastes disgusting, I've developed a low level headache that hasn't gone away since Tuesday evening.  
I'm dreaming of a grilled cheese sandwich.... hmmmm.... cheese..... 

Juice Fast Part Deux

Well, not much seems to be happening.  Literally.
I'm not a huge fan of tomato juice to begin with, but I can cut it with carrot juice to make it a bit more palatable.  I did an awesome yoga class that totally kicked my butt today, but that might have had something to do with the fact that I've only taken in 500 calories this entire day.  But on the upside, everything feels a teeny tiny bit more sucked in and tighter.  No hunger pains yet.  But I'm sure that will change in a few days, right now I'm trying to keep myself as busy as possible, and away from my house where I can be tempted by the evil refrigerator, and his accomplice, the pantry.

Juice Fast Day 1 - the beginning of the end

Time to attempt to reset the system.  
Plenty of juices have been purchased - carrot, tomato, tomato + fruit, superfood, blueberry B monster, Berries Mo'Beta.... Beef, Chicken, and Vegetable Broth. 
Lets see how long it takes to go insane.

Healthy Lent

I decided that for lent I should do something productive for my health.  Attempting to cut out high fructose corn syrup, all processed foods, only eating foods with ingredients I can pronounce, or items with fewer than 5 ingredients, things like that.  Those were all shot down because they would most likely cut out the ability to go out to eat.  That's not acceptable, because half the time I'm too lazy to work out AND cook in one day.  So, it was decided that giving up pre-packaged foods was the way to go.  I'm not really sure what exactly that means, but I'm hoping that it will significantly help reduce my bottom line....

Steve Ross yoga

Steve Ross's Inhale yoga kicks ass. R&B, soul, and other fun music get you grooving while your muscles shake uncontrollably. Your biceps, quads, and hamstrings will be hating you during the class, but loving it for the results. Very energetic yoga class, you leave feelin like you've had a great exerting workout, but also relaxed and stretched out. And the best part is the last 10 minutes, where you stretch out and lie in corpse pose, trying not to fall asleep from the relaxed state you're in.
This is not yoga for the faint of heart.


Posted this on the go through some fancy doodad on a dumbphone

Yoga-licious

I love yoga.  I have been practicing yoga on and off since I was a teenager. 

Yoga is my only constant source of exercise.  And it can much, much tougher than most people think.  I like Ashtanga or power yoga, which can be much more strenuous than what most people think of as yoga.  It still helps you relax, and stretch, build flexibility, but it will make you sweat your butt off. Yoga is probably also the only exercise I truly enjoy. But I have to take it up a notch now. And I'm not really looking forward to it.

To Cleanse or not to Cleanse?

One of my coworkers has been talking about doing the Master Cleanse, and I'm considering doing it as well.  For moral support.

Now, I know there's a lot of benefits to doing a cleanse, but there's also a lot of potential health pitfalls.  Doing a cleanse and getting all the fatty, rich, unhealthy foods typical of the American diet would probably be very beneficial.  Going almost 2 weeks without eating solid food is a bit off-putting, mentally and physically.  Losing all the existing bacteria in your stomach doesn't seem very pleasant. And then there's the side effects of doing a cleanse....

I'm kind of attached to the bacteria in my stomach, I think its done a pretty good job.  Maybe I can find a toned down cleanse.  One that's not quite so drastic.... Or maybe I shouldn't be a wimp, and just do it.

Food from the best of both worlds: high fiber, high protein, low carb, low cal, low fat...high flavor?

Now for the good part-the food plan!  I've read lots of books, blogs, the fad diets, boot camps, medical diets, all that fun stuff, and none of it works for me.  I refuse to give up food that I like, or that tastes good, or eat cardboard posing as food, you could call me a FoodieBaby, or Foodlet or something like that.  That being said, I am a bit of a health nut, too. 

I've tried to combine the high points from several different diets that I've found helpful, but just not quite right. 

Here's the rough draft of the plan:

- eat a little something bright and early before working out, to kick start the metabolism.  

- eat a decent breakfast with lots of protein to keep me full as long as possible

- wake up....

- enjoy a light lunch

- have a small snack sometime in the afternoon so I don't leave work starving and wanting to devour everything I see when I get home or go to the grocery store...

- enjoy a yummy, healthy dinner in small portions

- try to have enough will power to not gorge on chocolate

Goal 1 - Becoming a Long & Lean Fitness machine

I'm a planner, I need to have a course of action for all this fun stuff.

I need to come up with a plan for getting my butt into shape. 

Some universal truths:

1 - I hate getting up early, but do it on a daily basis

2 - I hate exercising after work more than I hate getting up early

3 - I love food, and refuse to give up enjoying good food

4 - I won't give up enjoying happy hour with my girlfriends or having dessert

5 - I have (reluctanctly) accepted that I will most likely be miserable for the majority of this process, and must find a way to not let it affect my attitude towards my boyfriend, friends, coworkers, and random strangers that are unlucky enough to cross my path before the caffeine kicks in.

Wedding Fever... aka Motivation

A coworker told me there were a couple years when she attended a wedding approximately twice a month. 

I think that time is starting for me now.

I knew for a year that a friend of mine was getting married, on a cruise, and that I would have to wear a bridesmaid dress, as well as a bikini.  I had a year to prepare, and get in shape, and BE the hot bridesmaid.

It didn't happen.

There was one photo in particular, of me with 4 friends on the beach, that was the wakeup call. I'm not trying to be conceited or mean, but of the 4 friends, I am by far the most physically fit.  This was NOT evident in the photos, of all of us, I looked the worst.  It was a bad angle, I'd been on a cruise for 5 days eating my weight in butter, cream, salt, all the other light & healthy foods they serve you on cruise ships, I'd been drinking and didn't follow the mantra of chin forward, boobs out, belly in, twist shoulders....

whatever, there's plenty of excuses I could use, but no matter which way you turn it, I had a year to get myself in shape, and I didn't make it happen.

So, now with 4 weddings on the horizon, I am determined to rectify that mistake this time around.  Somehow...

Resolution central

2010 is a new year, a new decade in a new millenia. I'm going to start a new chapter of my life this year- the 30s....

I admit, there's a teeny tiny bit of apprehension there, but overall I'm cool with it.

Since it's a new decade in my life, it's time to start chacking off some of those goals that have been pinging around in the back of my head for the past few years (or longer). Blogging is one of them. (-Mainly because I always thought I should keep a diary as a child, but couldn't ever keep up with that more than, oh... Twice a year or so. The record of my childhood thoughts, feelings, and experiences is woefully inadequate. Jane Austen would be so disappointed in me.)

Now what should my goals be?