Climb this pyramid today

I was surfing the internet over the weekend, and happened upon Dr. Weil's food pyramid I loved that it had veggies and fruit at the base of the pyramid. So many people don't get enough fruits and veggies. When we should be doing though is basing most our meals around them and adding other food groups as condiments basically. For example instead of putting a little sauce on a big ol pile of spaghetti. Try making a super hearty sauce full of peppers and mushrooms and top that with a sprinkling of spaghetti.

Practice mindfulness

Being mindful is so important in everything we do. Let's choose today to be mindful in making healthy choices. Being a little more active by choosing the stairs, going for a walk, or just doing a couple push ups. Every little bit helps:) Maybe you want to be more in tune to your eating habits. Try to stay hydrated by drinking water more often during your day. Spread it out through your day. You don't have to feel like your drowning yourself in 8 cups at once, because you really only just end up peeing more. Craving sugar? Eat some fruit such as a banana with pb(well due to the recent salmonella outbreak maybe almond butter), or have a few dates which are a super sweet candy like treat. Feeling stressed? be mindful of positive and relaxing thoughts. Nip those negative I'll never get it all done thoughts in the butt. Find a few seconds to close your eyes and take nice deep breathing. Do something you enjoy. You deserve it and if you are happier you are more productive and healthier:)

I need some energy

So I've been recovering since my test out on Saturday. I think it's mental recovery:) Because every time I thought about writing something I shuddered. The good news is that I passed! Yay I'm now level 2 certified through Peak Pilates. Next is level 3 which I need to go buy ink so I can print out my registration papers. I have also been looking into a website for my pilates business and advertising. I hate being in debt, but I am sort of coming to realize I might have to put out money to make money. The key is though that I want to be able to work from home so when we have kids, which we are hoping is sooner than later I will be able to still do some work. So with needing to buy a car that is family appropriate as well as continuing education I want to accomplish soon; I want' to be careful about how much debt I put myself in. On the other hand it's hard to try to find a job that pays decent but I won't feel guilty getting hired with the intention of quitting once we have a baby.

It's Tip day!

Today I feel like being helpful. So I'm going to post some tips I've used this week to Be healthier, save money, and maybe even be a little greener.

Tip #1: Switch your yogurt from flavored to plain. You will cut out quite a bit of sugar, preservatives, or fake sugars if you are getting the sugar free kind. Without the sugars you can flavor your yogurt however you want to sweet or savory. If you want it sweet you can control how much you put into it. This really helps if you are cutting back because you find that it really doesn't need that much to make it yummy!

Tip #2: I use bare minerals and was noticing they have a special cleanser for the brushes. So I bought it....the teeny little bottle for $15. Then before I used it I as thinking, hey there is prob not a lot of difference between this and my face cleanser or my shampoo! So I returned the cleanser and I'll use my face cleanser to clean my brushes. Bam! $15 saved:)

Tip #3: I also noticed that I have been throwing away a bit of food lately because it goes bad before we use it. So I have avoided the grocery store the last week in loo of being more creative and making meals from what we have. Now if I run out of veggies I'll be back there in a heartbeat though:) If you are having trouble trying to come up with ideas? Check out allrecipes.com I have found many Delicious recipes here and the greatest perk is that it lets you search for recipes by listing ingredients you have as well as ingredients you don't have. I made a yummy curried shrimp last night. I'll have to post the recipe later today.

Tip #4: I am always freezing! And we have our thermostat set to fluctuate up and down so it's not always blasting at 70 and making our heat bill rise. I got this wonderful plush robe from my hubby for Christmas and it is getting a lot of wear lately. So what's my tip? Dress warmer. We have all heard it but it's really true. If you think about it 65 degrees should not feel cold! It doesn't when it warms up from 10 to 60 outside. So why should I be shivering in my house at 65? Socks, slippers, sweatshirts, or a fab fuzzy robe:) Better yet cuddle under a blanket if you are chilling on the coach or at your desk.


Hope these help you out and inspire you to make other healthful changes in your life:)

I finally gave Acupuncture a try:)

Yesterday I had acupuncture for the first time. I had always sworn I would never do it, because I used to be quite wary of needles. I have to say the needles we're so small that I didn't even feel them going in. Occasionally I felt it hit a nerve or something, but it doesn't feel anything like a shot. It was a really enjoyable experience. My first session was about 2 hours and my acupuncturist took my whole health history. After the first set of needles we're in I just relaxed under some blankets for a bit. My next appointment is in two weeks, and I'm excited to go back. One of the main reasons I finally decided to try acupuncture was for headaches. I have heard many positive experiences about it, and hey if it helps I'm all in!

My AHA Moment!

Well I have to say that it just hit my like the bale of hay that fell off the truck in front of me today!.....well it didn't really hit me and it was two cars ahead of me, but I did have to swerve. No harm:) But as I was recently beating myself up for racking up my credit card which happened to have a zero balance in December! When I have debt I feel like I need to not spend money on anything else and just put my whole paycheck towards it till it's gone! Well I'm not really making enough dough to actually get that done quickly. So I would spend the next few weeks/months miserable and then once it's paid off I would either do it again...come to think of it I think I did it last December too! Well today I made the realization that the pattern I was in sounded a lot like my diet pattern used to be. Get fat, starve yourself, then pig out, then get fat again! I normally don't think I would have put two and two together if it was for reading about the skinny debt diet So then I put it into perspective that it's ok to have some fun money but to be more frugal in other areas, just like I learned that healthy eating is about moderation. It's ok to have chocolate just not the whole cake!
My other aha moment was when I realized what my issue was. Ya I have dealt with body image issues, borderline eating disorders, depression, anxiety, etc. You always hear that food isn't the issue there is something that you are hiding from. Well I think I knew what it was all along, but I just would only claim part of it or was afraid to actually say it. It comes down to me feeling in control and learning to accept and love myself and enjoy life! I grew up in a unhappy environment basically. Emotionally and verbally abused. You could even say brainwashed from the extreme views of my parents. I'm actually a little shocked that I even wrote that. Because I was always afraid of what they would think due to being again "brainwashed". As I become more comfortable with the subject I will prob write more. I have also been playing with the idea that I may add another blog to my repertoire so maybe that will be the subject of another site entirely. However I do agree that health encompasses emotional and spiritual contentment as well as the physical and nutritional aspects.
I consider myself lucky that I seem to be figuring out what to fix and how to move on at such a young age, because I grew up watching Oprah and seeing these older women in there 60's, 50's and 40's (which I don't' think is old at all!) just now discovering that life holds so much more happiness.

Inspirational Monday

Sometimes I forget why I love my job. When I only focus on the now and not about the future as well, I find myself guilty of hating my job sometimes. Just sometimes(well except for the hours;)) However it's not the job I dislike it's the hours, the sporadicness, perhaps my boss some days, I am sure there are many other reasons too that throw me for a loop. But when I think about the impact I have on peoples health and overall wellness, when people look refreshed and relaxed after class, and when I think about all the exciting things I can potentially do with my career I love it! So I was inspired this morning to make myself an inspiration list or mural that I can add to or change as my goals change. I am visual person and I think that having that visual reminder I can look at to get a little inspiration from is a fabulous idea. I encourage you to make your own. It doesn't have to be just about your career or just about your health. It could be all encompassing of your life's goals. Or you could have different lists. It can be as simple or complex as you like. Remember that change can be good so once you make your list it's ok to let it keep changing. Find your true inspiration.