Wednesday, March 26, 2014

YOU CAN DO IT, BUT WILL YOU?

What our health and happiness come down are choices.  I make a choice each day to eat healthy, exercise, and respond to life the best way I can as a Christian woman.  I am not perfect, do not claim to be, and my goals in life are about progress and never the “P” for perfection word.  I struggle with things just like you do, have had my share of crap in this journey of life, emotionally and physically, and I have come out the other side learning and growing in a positive direction.

I will always be a work in progress, and we are all that in this life.  I enjoy writing which is why I Blog and what better way to provide motivation than to share me with you.  You will either like me or not, and that is a choice as well.  Reading my Blog gives you a small glimpse of me, although I try to be thorough, it is not the same as developing a close “friend” relationship chatting up a topic of conversation.  As an internet personality, I have had and do get my share of “haters” as the net likes to call them, but also a great number of supporters, but through this process, my goal and intention is to reach out and get people thinking about their health, making CHOICES to change and adapt healthier ways of living, and ultimately a healthy lifestyle. 



I am a trainer and coach who is passionate about helping people, and I do walk the talk of my mission.  I do not accept excuses or reasons why health is not made a priority and that is not called being unreasonable, it is being truthful.  I am not talking about reasons such as an upcoming surgery, injury, or illness that has unfortunately put a person in a position of inability to exercise.  I have suffered that journey and understand the frustrations, and emotions of dealing with such a crisis.  I am addressing the everyday person walking around with so much created busyness that they “think” that they just can’t fit in an hour of exercise at least 3 days per week, or prepare healthy meals. 

YOU CAN DO IT….BUT WILL YOU?  That is the question of the Blog and each of us has a conscience controlled decision to make when it comes to taking care of our health in all aspects.  We choose to exercise, eat healthy, be happy, and let go of pointless drama that is out of our control.  We choose how we spend the precious minutes gifted to each of us daily, and how we respond to the situations of this life.  I motivate YOU with “YOU CAN DO IT” because you can, and this coming from one busy business woman, wife, mother, grandmother, who is basically fifty and experiencing the throws of menopausal symptoms and existing injuries.  There are times that I feel like I can’t do it, and that is the honest truth.  It is in those moments, that I have to dig deep inside me and pull out the strong, and hope that the motivation kicks in mid workout.  YES, I am just like you, but the choice of “WILL YOU” is always mine and yours. 



This is not about comparison of me to you, but a straight up calling you out on the carpet and asking “WILL YOU start a healthy lifestyle?” and if not, WHY?  I will tell you that YOU CAN DO IT, but it will take the action of YOU to make it happen.  If you feel this is coming on strong, then I have accomplished a goal of getting you to think, maybe even creating some feelings that have been stuffed inside yourself too long and it is time to cleanse that body emotionally and physically.  Are you angry, bitter, frustrated, unhappy, and using the “too busy” title or other reasons to not address those things.  If that is the case, time for some internal cleaning of house, and time to get healthy.  YOU CAN DO IT…BUT WILL YOU?

Thanks for stopping by my Blog, hope you enjoy the content, and if you have not become a follower yet, I would love to see your face on my friend's list.  If you are inspired, LIKE my entry, leave a comment and I look forward to responding!



Darla

Monday, March 17, 2014

REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS


My last post dealt with my struggle through illness, and I must confess that at three weeks out, I am still dealing with residual upper respiratory issues and decreased energy.  My body definitely dictated my abilities and limitations and there was no way I was going to be able to return to high intensity workouts and my favorite HIIT routines have been taking a back seat for the moment.  This is all part of “realistic expectations” and although I may want something right now, it just is not going to happen.  Sadly, there is no such thing as here today and gone tomorrow, and patience is very important on our journey to health and fitness. I will share that it is frustrating though and it is OK to feel like that.  I am happy to be feeling better, working with my fabulous clients, and able to be social with family and friends.



My “Realistic Workouts” post illness started with no more than a six minute warm up, and basic large muscle movements like squats, lunges, pull-ups, light chest press, and core approximately ten reps and two sets for a total of thirty minutes.  Believe me, that was taxing enough and I was ready to stretch.  Today was my first twenty minute ARC trainer warm up and it felt pretty good, but I can still feel the lag on the energy.  It is so important to pay attention to what the body is saying, and it will scream when I have had enough. 

Realistic expectations involve creating plans that are reasonable, and obtainable.  Going into something with the wrong mindset, and with the expectation of achieving a goal that is impossible will cause feelings of discouragement, and often times the “give-up” decision is made before seeing any positive progress.  All effort toward weight loss and muscle gain is progress and it does not matter how long it takes, as long as the work is consistent and dedication to the program becomes a lifestyle.  Results happen when perseverance is put into place and healthy eating and consistent exercise is a lifestyle.  There is no magic pill that is going to create this lifestyle, but it is a wanting to be “REAL” about what it will take to obtain a healthy body and being patient through the process. We all want things to happen quicker than they do whether that be to look and feel healthier, have a better job, more money, new car or things, but the key is PATIENCE and REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS. 

Rushing into a seemingly healthier body using unhealthy means, making a quick job decision that does not feel good, or grabbing that credit card to satisfy the “things” itch are all unhealthy ways of obtaining our wants without patience, and not being “realistic” or healthy with our choices overall.  Unhealthy choices like these are the cause of “yo-yo” diet frustration and gaining back even more weight, create an unhappy personal and job life, and open the door to credit card debt that leaves a person stressed to the financial max.  I have this saying that goes “Nothing Good Happens Fast” as it relates to these topics, and it really can be applied to many things in life.  Taking care of ourselves is about a healthy lifestyle, and the choices we make each day that keep us progressing in a healthy direction.  We all have the ability to get healthy and become our BEST self at any age, and any circumstance.  It is keeping our “Realistic Expectations” front and center in our life to make that happen. 





Gearing up for my fabulous fifty in May!

Thanks for stopping by my Blog, hope you enjoy the content, and if you have not become a follower yet, I would love to see your face on my friend's list.  If you are inspired, LIKE my entry, leave a comment and I look forward to responding!


Darla