Sometimes all it takes to start...

"If you're not moving, you're not growing. If you're not growing, you aren't living." - Tony Robbins

“Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.” -Emerson

Sometimes all it takes to start your fitness is knowing someone who has achieved their goals. The most highly acclaimed motivational speakers continually say that in order to achieve results, read a biography of someone who has been in your shoes.  Then model your behavior after theirs because success leaves clues. Authentic?  It's still authentic if you allow yourself to shine through and still have those tools in your toolbox, and even more authentic when you push past the goals, achieve them, and set new ones. Everyone needs a little help: why reinvent the wheel?

In that vein, I would like to give a few examples. I watch the show The Biggest Loser on NBC every week, and when they have a lot of good workout advice, I'll watch it more than once, as I have it on DVR. To see these beautiful (yet large) people accomplishing anywhere from 2-20 lbs a week weight loss... every single week with minor fluctuations either way, I am inspired. I see that success is eminent, as they have some of the best trainers in the world looking after them and kicking their butts on a daily basis.

I want to cry when one of the contestants 'only' loses 3-5 lbs.. that would be a dream come true for me!

I have purchased the bodybugg to measure my caloric expenditures throughout the day, and I have opted to get the year long subscription so I can log my food. This has enabled me to eat whatever I want (within reason) just as long as I stick to the basic math, which is to run at a daily deficit of 500 calories per day or more for a lb. a week of weight loss. Math is 500 calories a day for 7 days a week = 3500 calorie deficit, and therefore a pound of weightloss. For some of you, you know that 3500 calories equals a pound, for others, the light bulb is just turning on. I applaud you for getting this far!  This is all common sense, therefore simple.

Now something that Jillian Michaels mentions is Cardio Interval Training. She uses cardio bursts and a combination of muscle circuits while you are recovering from the short bursts of cardio. In my opinion, this is the best (and most efficient) form of caloric burn. Muscle confusion (and variety) is used to benefit the Mommy, and it's kicked into overdrive with the cardio.. (in the form of jumping jacks or modified jumping jacks, plank pose, mountain climbers etc.)

Jumping back out of the science and technique, and back into the motivating factors...because for me, that's where the juicy stuff is.

Your Friends--Face it.  It really pays to know someone who has successfully gone through a program and achieved results. It's not enough for a complete stranger to tell you they went through a program and it worked: again, success leaves clues, and the best form of flattery is to be copied. SO don't be shy. Interview your friends.. and if you have no friends who have tried any type of fitness or sport goals and achieved results, find more friends!

Surround yourself with those who are active. Make plans to exercise; make plans to meet someone at a trailhead and go on a hike! It doesn't have to be earth shattering...it's supposed to be fun, otherwise, why on earth would you want to do it again? Some of the best times I can remember were having a good talk with a good friend while keeping the heart pumping during a good walk.

Sign Up.  If you are having a tough time meeting friends who are active, sign yourself up for a local hike, walk, run, biking event, etc. Raise the money it takes to enter! Get a sponsor--and Commit to something! Just the commitment of signing up for something and telling everyone about it *keeps you accountable* to yourself, and ensures your progress.

If you're not moving, you're not growing. If you're not growing as a person, you aren't living.

If you are tired of being the way you are, get moving, and commit. Meet people in the training program you have signed up for, and go on rides, walks, runs with people. It PAYS to be in a group or a tribe. Who knows? It may become as addicting as food once was. You may use exercise as a form of comfort as opposed to food or escaping with TV or computer. I only say this to you because this is me. This content and information is because I am living it *right now*. You are experiencing my journey first hand. I am running away from the comfortable.

This is personal.  So far, I have signed up to ride a 100 mile bike ride in September. I figure that goal is far enough in the distance that I can give myself a fighting chance. I have to raise $300, and I signed up with my credit card. I have posted the link on my facebook for all to see. I have put a ticker on my profile to show people my training miles that I have logged. '100 miles seems like too lofty a goal!' you might say. Well, it is possible, but I've committed, and plan on riding 2000 miles before September so I am good and ready.

I am going to do a 3K run by May 8th. I will be either walking or cycling every day to give myself variety, and my body a chance to recover from the previous day's hilarity. 3K only equals to 1.6 miles. If you can run 1.6 miles, you can run 3 miles... and so on. Where is your first rung?

I *also* am going to do Jillian Michael's last chance workout for the next 6 weeks to give myself some cross training when I'm not walking, cycling or rebounding. I want to build up my calves (and my bum knee) and my core. I already feel the difference.

The reason I'm telling you all this, Ladies, is because I am desperate to get back to the shape I once was, and even more desperate to be better than I once was. All laziness is overrided by the fact that I *JUST* Can't Take it ANYMORE.

This One Thing:  this one decision aligns my heart, my head, my body, and my desire.

I am one little acorn who will grow into a beautiful oak one day, stable and balanced. All I have to do is everything I've planned and put out there into the universe.

I hope this has helped at least one of you.


 

Starting Your Road to Fitness with One Thing

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." -Lao Tzu

"How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time." - Unknown

"How fast can you change your state [of being]? *snap* How fast? *SNAP* --Tony Robbins

"Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” Schweitzer

The myths we tell ourselves:
I have come to find out that starting my fitness routine is easy for me. The more challenging thing is to stick with it. I will get excited about something for a few weeks, then the challenge will wear off or the results won't happen right away. This is not uncommon among mommies across the board. I have done the research it takes to have a fitness site. The saturation in the diet and fitness market is LOADED with quick weight loss pills, teas, 'supplements' and detoxes. Sure, it works for some people because of the placebo effect, but at the same time, it can be dangerous, and don't forget costly! I've done Alli, Jillian Michaels weight loss pills, bodybugg, and many other supplements out there. I am one of you. America is great at making money off of hope, and we can see that it works! Let's just try to work from ourselves: from within, shall we? (Besides, It's FREE on Mommies Who Love Fitness! I vow right now this will never be a pay-site.)

Wrap your Mind around Fitness for a moment:
What I propose for the members of this group is to get real. Get down to the brass tacks of why we haven't started yet. What is it? Lack of goals? Too lofty of a goal? Well, 'there's no such thing as too lofty a goal' you say. That may be true, and I applaud you for saying it! But have you considered that too high a goal (at first) can actually do the opposite for your motivation?

Many Mommies do it. We get excited about what our bods could look like and how we could feel, and then we count calories during the day, (then applaud ourselves for doing so) or don't eat altogether, then at the end of the evening, we wind up binging to make up for our lack of nutrients, perhaps gaining more weight than previously! How do you feel right now? Let's drop the guilt, shall we? Let's just start over.

Start with small goals. Make small changes. Your body will change gradually, and for good:
Along with putting an end to the hype and BS that comes with dieting and starvation and binging, I'd like to address the way *most* people set goals. We HAVE to talk about this as mommies, because our children are watching. They learn from us how to live their lives and become healthy people, no?

We have to set realistic goals, and goals that resonate. If we don't align our mind and heart with our goals, those goals won't mean much. I've discovered that if we don't feel gratitude along the way for what we do have or what we have accomplished... then we are shortchanging ourselves of the happiness we deserve!

One Thing:
What I propose for us is to create a challenge where we take One Thing. One thing we can change and commit ourselves to that is realistic and smart, measurable and tangible. Is it to weigh a certain amount before summer? Dig deeper. Is it to fit into a smaller size jeans? Dig deeper. Make sure that One Thing hits your pride: hits your ego: hits your heart. Make that One Thing you change about yourself be that you are a better mother to your kids because you are a great example and have enough energy to sustain yourself for a lifetime.

So let's explore: what One Thing will you change in your life and make you proud, daily, to say you've done so? Take this One Thing and commit to it, such as limiting your sugar, taking your kids on walks once a day, not sitting down after you get home from work, commute to work by bicycle, not eating past 7pm, cutting out pasta, drinking 8 glasses of water a day, waking up before everyone and doing some yoga/running...what is YOUR One Thing?

After you commit to yourself you'll do it, you will know what intrinsic worth is. Intrinsic worth is what fuels the fire of anything you encounter, and is the driving force of this group. One day it could be cutting your sugar. The next thing you know, your one thing could be walking a mile every day. Or running five miles. You get my point. Hit your pride. Climb that ladder. Make it grow. Walk tall, even if (especially if!) you're 300 lbs. Walk tall, and make that One Change. It will give you the loveliest of consequences: a long healthy life of a Strong Woman who made the right decision.

What is your One Thing?

Health Advantages of Tea

Do not believe we are simply what these eyes can see.

….Now we are music together,

sharing one cup and an armful of roses….

Let the beauty we love be what we do! --Rumi






I’ve quit drinking coffee. Yes, I've finally done it. How, you ask? It was obvious I needed to stop. My body was not responding, and I was requiring more to get that warm buzz, and I could tell I was ruining this Gift I've been given, which is my physical form! Strongly put, you say? When's the last time you have thanked your body for breathing, for walking, for seeing and reading? I hadn't in a long time, and now I do.

As a result of this new-found gratitude, I’ve switched to tea as a form of comfort and soothing as I go through my daily routine. It's better for my body as it doesn't throw my pH out of whack as coffee did. That wasn't all though. I had another reason to quit coffee: As a metaphor for life, I want to show my children how to cultivate manners and etiquette through the form of tea time. When they get older and raise kids of their own, I want this time to be a positive memory where they learned to act out their imagination and learn social grace with whomever they choose to keep company.

Studies show that green tea contains antioxidants, fighting off free-radicals in your body. Depending on which tea you choose, if you have an ailment, a custom blend may help ease your pain, or heal you altogether. For as long as easterners have been drinking tea, a leaf from the stevia plant has been included. Stevia is a natural sweetener and has been found to not affect insulin levels in diabetics, and when used on it's own in a tincture it's been touted as a healing agent and an agent to keep infection away.

Another advantage to drinking tea over, say, soda is the effects of warm liquids vs. cold liquids on the body. Warm tea opens the valves in the body more and aids in digestion and cleansing in the body during detoxification. Cold fluids tend to restrict body response and take more energy from food breakdown during digestion. Besides, there's just something so soothing to drinking warm tea.

For my personal gain, however, I am curious about the culture of tea in the Orient. In China, the Buddhist tea ceremony could spur a form of Grace through mindful routine. By mindful, I mean down to the way one stirs their tea. Check out these two forms of teatime, and see if you can't help but embrace some of the ideas brought out by these two cultures!

Check out a charming interpretation of the history of tea here.

Tea Ceremony History

The evolution of the Tea Ceremony mirrors the growth and importance of tea within Chinese culture. In the beginning, tea was cultivated and used solely as herbal medicine mostly within temples. Monks began to use tea to teach a respect for nature, humility and an overall sense of peace and calm. In fact, the spirit of the Tea Ceremony is described as he, jing, yi, zhen which translates to peace, quiet, enjoyment and truth. Monks felt they could illustrate deep philosophical concepts through tea service. It is for that reason that the underlying philosophies of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism blend together through the Tea Ceremony. Over time, people recognized the health benefits of tea but also its overall enjoyment. Tea ceremonies could be seen in memorial celebrations for both emperors and family ancestors.

The first written account of tea ceremonies was during the Tang Dynasty over 1200 years ago. The term to describe the serving of tea was initially called cha dao or the way of tea. Japanese monks traveling through China during this period began to learn tea and tea culture. After bringing this knowledge back to Japan, tea ceremonies evolved in Japan as it blended with Japanese culture resulting in the well-known Japanese Tea Ceremony and is still called cha dao. Although cha dao originated in China, many felt a new term was needed to distinguish between Japanese and Chinese tea ceremonies. In 1970, a Taiwanese tea master Lu Zi Kuang coined the term cha yi or art of tea, to represent current Chinese tea ceremonies.

There are six major aspects to consider when performing a Tea Ceremony. The following is a summary of both the technical knowledge and subtle skills for a successful ceremony.

1. Attitude – The attitude of the person performing the ceremony should reflect both a happy and confident demeanor. The performer should exude a calm and relaxed manner to create a peaceful and enjoyable tea ceremony.
2. Tea Selection – There are many considerations when selecting the right tea. In addition to fragrance, shape and taste, the tea should have a beautiful story and name.
3. Water Selection – The best quality tea leaves will have poor taste if bad quality water is used. Therefore, select pure, light and clean water to ensure a wonderful tasting tea.
4. Teaware Selection – It is important to select the correct teaware for brewing your tea leaves. In addition, allow your participants to fully appreciate the teaware by selecting both useful and beautiful items.
5. Ambiance – A peaceful and calm environment can be created with a clean, comfortable and quiet room. Artwork can be used to enhance the overall atmosphere of the space.
6. Technique – The basic skills for brewing tea are needed but also a graceful manner reflected through hand movements, facial expressions and clothing.

Teatime in Tibet

“Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis
on which the world earth revolves - slowly, evenly, without
rushing toward the future. Live the actual moment.
Only this moment is life.” -Thich Nhat Hanh

Tibet's Tea History

The Chinese had introduced tea to Tibet by the dawn of the 9th century. Tibet's rugged climate and rocky terrain made cultivation of their own plants difficult, so tea had to be imported from China via yak caravan. The long, tiring journey into Tibet by yak took nearly one year and was threatened not only by the dramatic terrain of some of the highest mountains in the world, but by tea-seeking thieves and pirates. To keep up with the high Tibetan tea demand, nearly two to three hundred tea-laden yaks entered the country daily.

Tea became so popular in Tibet and the surrounding areas that it was used as a form of currency. Compressed tea was a common form of payment for almost anything, and workers and servants were routinely paid in this way.

Traditional Tibetan Tea
Traditionally, Tibetan tea is made by boiling the leaf for about half an hour before passing the liquid through a strainer made of horsehair (sometimes today made of plastic) into a long wooden container. Traditionally, yak butter and salt are added to the tea and churned until emulsified. These additives help replace the fat and salt lost by those living in the high-altitude regions of the Himalayan Mountains. Younger generations of Tibetans sometimes drink a variation of Indian Chai.

A Tibetan Staple
Tea remains a Tibetan staple, with per-person consumption of up to 40 cups or more daily. Tibetan etiquette dictates that no guest should go without tea and that his or her cup can never be empty.

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