Back In The Game

I'm back! Guess who's blogging again? I've been so busy these past couple of months that I haven't been able to sit down and gather my thoughts to post anything new. I am proud to say I'm an ACE certified group fitness instructor now! I studied my butt off and it felt like torture reviewing anatomy all over again but it's worth it. I'm working at an all women's boxing gym named Striking Beauties teaching my favorite workout, barre! I'm sure all of you who have followed me know my obsession with barre. I'm glad to be able to teach it myself and motivate others to live a healthier lifestyle. It's a fun new journey for me along with my nursing career as a labor and delivery nurse. I am very fortunate to have the jobs I have and I'm very passionate about them.
I just taught my first barre class tonight. I'm excited that it went really well and I began to feel comfortable leading the group a few songs in. I understand like all things it takes time and improvement will occur with patience and dedication. We all make mistakes but we continue to be the best person we can possibly be. My goal is to use this blog as a source of motivation to others by posting cool new recipes, workouts, positive quotes and a place where people can share their expertise and knowledge about nutrition, and exercise. Please let me know what you would enjoy seeing or reading about! Have a great Friday and weekend everyone. Xo

My Latest Obsessions

Good afternoon friends, I hope you are starting off your week on a good note and a positive attitude. Today is my day off and I spent this early afternoon with my mother and grandmother trying out Wildflour Vegan Bakery and Juice Bar. I love trying new bakeries, cafes, and restaurants for that matter. I've been experimenting with vegan and organic products and I'm becoming addicted. It's great being addicted to healthy stuff! My mother was adventurous with me today and tried the Dino smoothie with me. It's made with spinach, kale, banana, blueberries, almond butter, and almond milk. I thought it was delicious, mom had to warm up to it but ending up enjoying it. My grandmother on the other hand wanted nothing to do with Wildflour, thank God there was a Dunkin Donuts next door for her! We ended up bringing our drinks and my vegetarian chili over to Dunkin Donuts so we could sit down together.

My mom at first sip

Now that's better!

Vovo happy with her Dunkin Donuts

My lunch

The cute little bakery we didn't end up eating in

So, I thought today that I would comprise a list of my favorite things and latest obsessions and share it with you. It was fun putting these photos together and appreciating all the little things in life.

My Latest Obsessions

Almond milk by Blue Diamond and Green Goodness by Bolthouse Farms. This pre-made green smoothie is super good and can be bought at practically any supermarket in the organic isle. Also, try the green tea soy latte while you are at it. Almond milk tastes so good and is so good for you. My favorite is the unsweetened vanilla at only 40 calories.

   

Barre class! I love it, period. I can't stress how much of a full body workout it gives you. It tightens and tones you all around. I've noticed incredible results and the workouts are a lot fun!

The Tone It Up workout plan. Karena and Katrina share great recipes, cool new workouts to try each week, and they are fun and motivating to watch. Their YouTube videos go into detail with each move and you can work out with them right in your living room!

The MCM Guided Meditation Album. Perfect for a nice relaxing morning and/or evening in your favorite space with a lighted candle, feeling the loving energy surround you and envelop you with your new thoughts.

Positive and Encouraging K-Love! I was never a fan of Christian music, but I was also never a fan of Country music and now I love it. I ran across the station a few weeks ago and figured maybe it'd help me feel a little more positive and relaxed. It did help and now I listen to it in my car, when I'm doing errands around the house, or just when I need something inspiring to listen to. I get the songs stuck in my head even when I'm not listening to the station!

Dave Ramsey's debt payoff plan. My husband and I are knocking off our debts one by one by tightening our budgets, reducing costs of our bills, trading in our car due to its huge monthly payment, and just using common sense. I have to say, I was not on board with this plan when Johnny first presented it to me and still may not fully be there yet but I love seeing our payments lowered and saying goodbye to unnecessary loans! I mean, I love spending and shopping, who doesn't? I also know that we cannot afford big spending right now or else we wouldn't have any debt. When we can pay everything in cash and have no loans, well that's a different story.

Pinterest. This site is extremely addicting. I can be on for hours at a time, re-pinning and posting cool new ideas and fitness quotes. From fashion, recipes, decorating, gardening, you name it, and you'll find it. I know you feel the same way!

Pretty Little Liars. I'm only on Season 2 but I'm hooked. Seriously, who is Alison's killer? Someone please tell me! Ok, don't but it's driving me nuts.... I need to take a vacation to watch up to the last aired episode. I had always thought this show was for young teens but it's really for anyone looking for a good suspenseful drama.

Market Basket. This supermarket rocks! I didn't realize how much we could save from switching supermarkets. Stop & Shop is so overpriced. You think you're saving big with their sales but oh are they deceiving you. Market Basket has quality food and name brands for a substantially lower cost. Plus, their Market Basket brand in almost everything tastes great too.

Faith.Beauty.Inspiration. This blog is awesome, right? Haha. I'm so hooked to blogging and reading blogs. I can stand in front of the computer all day going through my reading list. I feel like I know some of these authors so well from following their stories each week. I find awesome workouts, advice, and stress relieving tools, all from people just like myself.

That concludes my favorite and latest obsessions. Feel free to comment below and share your favorites. I also attached the newest quote posted up at work from the one and only Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I love how they pertain to my readings from MCM. Have a wonderful week!

Live In Each Moment

I woke up this morning with only 1 to 2 hours of sleep, feeling overwhelmed and anxious. "How can I make it through the day on that little sleep? I have to work tonight!" Lately I've been facing a battle with insomnia. I haven't received a night of adequate sleep in over a week. Thoughts tend to race through my head
when I lay my head down to rest. I'm working on letting go of the day's events the best I can but it's worse to beat yourself up over it the next day. It's a new day I remind myself and I will live in the moment and be the best person I can be. I almost said "screw it," I'm not working out today, I'm just going to lay in bed and relax. The thing is I wouldn't be relaxed, I would feel sorry for myself and be miserable. Even though I got up at 11:30 from bed, I used that time to meditate and I thanked God for the day. Then I got up and worked out for a half hour and it helped! I showered, had my protein shake and I felt better knowing that I did something for myself today. Now I will try to share this positive energy at work and allow my inner guide and God to lead the way. Live in each moment and do something for yourself every day. Have a good weekend!

The Daily Love

For all of you that want to receive an extra dose of inspiration sent straight to your mailbox, sign up for The Daily Love. Mastin Kipp shares relationship and love advice and the site is full of inspirational quotes and stories. Mastin Kipp is featured on Oprah's Super Soul Sunday with other motivational speakers like Gabrielle Bernstein and Marie Forleo. His last blog post focuses on self-love and letting go of all resentment, perfect to go along with my last few posts. I encourage you to check it out and sign up!

Believe In Yourself

Yesterday I brought up some tough stuff about me growing up. I never really expressed to anyone about my struggle with IBS and my weight issues. I decided to bring it up because I feel comfortable with myself now and hope that it will encourage you to do the same. Your true friends will not judge you, they will support and love you for the true person you are. It's not fun to live in fear and worry about how the world sees you. We are all unique but we share the same true feeling of wanting to be loved and the need to love one another. Wouldn't it be nice to have all that weight lifted off your back whenever you're around a large crowd, new people, or just hanging out with some close friends? There is no pressure to be someone you are not, just believe in yourself and share all those jokes and stories that you know you want to share. Let's learn to forgive those who don't love you for you and then simply move on. Holding on to resentment and jealousy only makes us weaker and frustrated with ourselves. When you have a moment of judgment toward someone, recognize it, forgive yourself for thinking of it, and then choose to see love instead. I've practiced this process with "May Cause Miracles" and I promise you, it really does work! Enjoy the weekend everyone, I love you all.

Body Image and Self Perception

It's a beautiful cold day in New England. Temperatures have been dropping to single digits the past couple of days. We have snow on the ground and lots of ice patches. This is typical winter weather for us, not the strange luck we had last year with record breaking warm averages. Ginger and I are staying warm today until I hit the studio later this evening with the lovely inspiring Heather. I am thankful to have this day and tomorrow off work to catch up around the house, there's always so much to do! I hope the work week is going well for everyone and if you have it off then I hope you are enjoying it to the max.

Brrr...

Ginger loving the snow.

My other dog Prince, not so much. He prefers cuddling in the cold. 

Cuddling and reading a good book is my favorite in this weather.

Today I would like to discuss body image and talk a little about myself and the ways I had neglected my body by listening to the ego and denying my self-worth. I mean, we all have things that we are not happy with our bodies and would like to change but it's important to make that change for ourselves. If we change for someone else we still feel the emptiness inside, that void needs to be filled. Change has to be empowering and mind-body connected. When we work with our mind and love our bodies, we treat our bodies like a temple and then we can work on making ourselves more whole. 

For me, growing up it was my acne and the way IBS affected me. I always had really bad outbreaks and I still use medication twice a day for my face. Of course when you are in high school and the pressure is all around you to look hot and popular, acne is a definite no-no. I was embarrassed to look at people in their eyes because I thought they were always looking at my face and thinking how awful I looked. I mean, I still struggle with this from time to time. My face looks clearer but I have acne scars and it's a force of habit to turn away from people because they way I think they perceive me. It's easy to think you are not good or pretty enough, your ego wants you to believe that! When you wake up each morning, remind yourself that you are beautiful, no one is perfect, we are all the same, and we are all God's children. We shouldn't shy away from our looks, we have to change our perception about our body image and show it to the world with pride.

So, I also mentioned about IBS. "Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a disorder that leads to abdominal pain and cramping, changes in bowel movements, and other symptoms .About 1 in 6 people in the U.S. have symptoms of IBS. It is the most common intestinal problem that causes patients to be referred to a bowel specialist." (NCBI) I started with IBS in my first year of high school after I finished Accutane to help treat my acne. IBS made me feel bloated, uncomfortable, shy to be around people, and it left me in pain physically and emotionally. In high school, it's awful to have to turn away from parties or friends because you are embarrassed of your symptoms. My stomach would look huge when bloated and then all my body image disturbances would rise up to the surface again. I have learned to deal with my symptoms much better now even though I still have flare ups. I have learned my triggers and avoid them as much as possible. Stress is one of the biggest triggers, it's major how the physical body connects with the mind. It's all connected! I love my body even with IBS, having this illness makes me listen more closely to my body and gets me to fulfill it's needs.

Mind-body Interaction

I also dealt with weight issues growing up. I think we all go through that phase, thinking we are not skinny or good looking enough. The media is full of these tooth pick models and it subconsciously arises in our brains that we have to look like that to be popular. In the United States, 20 million women and 10 million men suffer from a clinically significant eating disorder at some time in their life, including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, or an eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS) (Wade, Keski-Rahkonen, & Hudson, 2011) Over one-half of teenage girls and nearly one-third of teenage boys use unhealthy weight control behaviors such as skipping meals, fasting, smoking cigarettes, vomiting, and taking laxatives (Neumark-Sztainer, 2005). I always thought myself as chubby when I looked into the mirror, even though I only weighed 90 lbs soaking wet! I used my IBS as a way to make myself thin since I was constantly in the bathroom. This was unhealthy behavior but this is what the majority of our adolescents are going through today! It's so important to relay healthy body image quotes and mantras to each other and pass on the message of making yourself healthy for you, no one else. Your body does not need dieting or starving, it needs whole foods and exercise so you can have energy and feel great! 

Push your mind and I promise you'll see results.

So true... be the lion in the mirror. Fierce, strong, and confident :)

Love this! We should always live in BEASTMODE.

My beastmode! Feeling great about my body after the work I've put in, physically and spiritually. Being fit and healthy is a way of life for me.

Starting off my breakfast right with some fruit oatmeal and a green tea macha shake.

That concludes my post for today, I hope you found this information helpful and inspiring. I'll try to post more frequently and cover some different topics. If there is anything you would like to see on this blog please share your ideas with me. I will be happy to hear your comments. Thank you, God bless. XOXO

Self-love and Positive Thinking

Hi everyone! I'm so excited to have the weekend off work and I hope all of you are able to enjoy it too and get everything done you want accomplished. It was a late start to my Saturday morning, I was finally able to sleep until 9:30! All this week I've been wide awake since 6 am when my husband gets up for work, not fun since my shift is 3-11:30. Anyways, this morning felt refreshing and I am trying to convince my husband to workout with me at the gym when he leaves his job. I did some reading on MCM (which I totally recommend) and prepared myself for today with some guided meditation. I'm really trying to start my day off right with some reflecting, focusing on positive mantras and prayer. I remind myself of these mantras throughout the day and focus on shifting my perception of negative thoughts into positive ones.

I saw this hung up in several places at work yesterday and thought it was absolutely perfect. Work can be extremely stressful and really affect us emotionally but by showing it, everyone around you gets affected.  Being negative does not help yourself or others. We must always look into the bright side of every situation. We work to help others and create an awesome impact. If everyone tries to shift their perspective into positive energy, the workplace can be a comforting and supporting place to be. 

Studies show positive emotions contribute to better health and longer life and is stronger than that of linking obesity to reduced longevity. Optimism and positive emotion provide protection against cardiovascular disease and slows progression of heart disease. It reduces the risk of experiencing a cardiovascular event such as a heart attack by 50 percent. (Harvard School of Public Health) This was shared by a co-worker through a positive email to all staff. Thanks Melanie!

I found the "Ten thoughts on Happiness" on Sweet Ordinary Life's blog. It's so important to remind ourselves of the simple things that make us happy and to treat ourselves to them. Self-love is empowering and without achieving this, we are unable to make others happy.

Banish all negative self-talk and doubt that your ego presents you. They are false illusions, you are fearless and relentless. Treat your body to good health, stay strong and work hard. You deserve it and are worth it.

Healthy Chick's blog post focuses on 10 mantras to break free of diet obsessed living. Sometimes we focus too much on diets and over exercising that we forget to take good care of our bodies emotionally. Instead of treating ourselves with wholesome foods, we look at sugar free products and assume they must be best. We forget the food pyramid and the importance of taking vitamins. We may focus on losing weight but have no energy. Honor your bodies and exercise to feel amazing afterward, whether it be yoga, pilates, running, etc. Pick the right workout for you!

A nice healthy chicken ceasar salad and veggie juice made me feel great after lunch yesterday.

P57 is a whole body workout and I feel so amazing afterwards.

Ginger prefers yoga.

She also enjoys making my workouts harder. When doing planks and pushups she hangs out on top of me chewing her toys!

Loving every moment with this crazy puggle.

So I hope you all enjoyed this post, have a great weekend! I'm looking forward to having Championship Sunday at our house tomorrow. I need to do some cleaning and grocery shopping at some point today. I must attend to Ginger now, she is pounding on the blinds and I know she wants me to walk with her but its sooo windy outside. Take care everyone. XOXO