What's your Happiness?

They say that you attract what you are. I think that is interesting in light of the essay question I had to answer today. I took an assessment test for entering college. So the topic of my essay was happiness. What it means to you and examples of how you try in your life to be happy. Of course my answer was about working out. Actually I couldn't think of a more perfect discussion to explain my reasons for going back to school. I have been a hairdresser for 15 years, and I love my job but..... there is this other desire, this other idea. I talk all day about diet and exercise. I think I talk more about this than I do about hair. I am amazed at how little people understand their bodies. I am shocked that they don't think that what they put in their mouth has any effect on the way they feel. I am not an expert - yet. Food is fuel. Let me say that again FOOD IS FUEL. Its not a reward, or a compensation in your life.

My answer about happiness is that taking care of myself makes me happy. Happiness is a state of mind. You control it. If you think that chocolate cake is going to make you happy, go for it. Working out makes me happy. I love to work out first thing in the morning. I use the time to think about my day, what needs to be done, what needs to be said, how I want to respond to -whatever. I like deciding how I want to be before everything hits me in the face and I'm just a deer in the headlights, ya know? Eating right is easier I think if you work out. When your muscles are sore its hard to think about eating pizza. You tend to think about how much more energy you will have to put out to burn the pizza. A LOT!! TOO MUCH!! Sore muscles help to keep you on track eating the foods that you can use as fuel, not a spare tire.:)

Your Experience

Have you heard the saying "its what you make of it"? I am a big believer of the power of the mind. I was really appreciating the outdoors this morning while out for my morning jog, when I passed this lady who was in agony. "Its sooo hot!" she says to me, out of breath, struggling down the trail. I couldn't help but think she was making it harder than it had to be. Yes, it was warm this morning, but if that is all you can think about while you are working out then your experience kinda sucks. Try thinking about it this way. The time that you spend exercising can be your personal time to mediate about anything you want. Anything. Really anything. I like to obsess over clothes I cant really afford. I think about all the things I want to buy. Actually it really helps me to decide what I really want, I'm really bad about buying stuff I don't need. If I'm thinking about shoes, I'm not thinking about the pain in my quads. Get it? Being angry is really useful for working out, I personally feel really fast when I'm good and pissed. Its very healthy to work out emotional problems with exercise, as with anything else it just takes a little concentration. Have you ever driven to work and when you got there you couldn't really remember driving there? Same thing, you're so busy concentrating on something else you were on autopilot.

Its so important to exercise often, you want to fight it or go with the flow? Its your experience, yours alone. You want to struggle or succeed? I look forward to my time alone with my body and my mind. Do you?

Everyday Life

One of my co-workers recently asked a great question regarding crunches. She has implants and says that traditional crunches are uncomfortable for her. When in a laying position with hands behind the neck actually doing the crunch her chest muscles activate and fight a little with the implant. This is not so difficult to fix. Many people have difficulties with the position of doing crunches. Its easy to use too much neck, chest, and arms, and not enough abs! I recommend she changes position to a lower ab work out. If you belong to a gym they usually have more than one machine to do ab work on. A "Roman Chair" is a metal frame that you hold onto with your upper body while your lower body is free to work. Start with straight legs then bring the knee to the chest and back straight. You wont need to do as many sets, theses are more difficult. Another option is an exercise ball. Its a great way to isolate the abs without any pressure on the spine. I really like Fitnessmagazine.com for looking up exercise routines, check out what they have on exercise balls.

There is ALWAYS more than 1 way to get anything done. Do not let something simple stand in your way. Sales people in training are told that they will get many no's before they get a yes, so dont give up on yourself. Keep trying different things until it works for you. I really believe exercise is a way of life, even if all you are doing is walking around the block. Get some fresh air, get your blood moving, enjoy yourself for just a few minutes - its your experience.

Getting smarter after 30

Soon after turning 30 I was given a trial 2 week membership to Bally's fitness. I had never really worked out before but found that I liked the elliptical machines. I am still a member at Bally's- 8 years later. Once I learned to sweat my weight range came down to 160-170. I still ate fast food. I still binged. I was a smoker from 16 - 37 years old. I partied. I still saw myself as the fat girl inside even though my outsides were more socially acceptable. I wore a size 10 or 12, I had friends that were bigger and were envious of my size.

At 33 years old I was working out and was on the down side of my range (160 lbs) when I came across a female bodybuilder that was a client in the salon where I worked. She offered training at a reasonable rate in her garage. I signed up for 3 months, lost 10 lbs and gained a lot of muscle. I quit when my boyfriend at the time made a comment that my muscles were bigger that his. Of course I fell off the wagon and gained some weight. When I turned 35 I started freaking out that I was old, if I lived to be 70 my life was already half over. Ridiculous, I know, but sometimes Im a little dramatic.

I started walking 3 miles on a local trail 5 days a week. Honestly, I was getting my but kicked by retirees. I walked for a couple of years, religiously. I quit eating fast food after watching "Super size me". I lost 25 lbs between the walking and change in diet. I was weighing 144-147 lbs. There was something happening to my body. The longer I went without bad food the better I felt. When I would eat fattening food at a restaurant I would get sick. My digestive system couldnt handle pasta, large amounts of cheese, or too much bread. So began the love of fresh foods.

In the beginning

Once upon a time I was a fat kid. I was the only child of a single working mom, becoming a latch key kid by the 3rd grade. The eating became a habit when I got home from school, I was bored and just sitting in front of the t.v.. My mom did the best she could to provide for us and no one knew back then that processed foods are not that great for you. Dinner was something like ham steak, mac and cheese, and canned green beans. You gotta give her credit for always wanting to provide a balanced meal for me. Dinner usually came with canned green beans or corn. The years keep passing, now I'm in high school and I weigh 230 lbs.

My favorite breakfast during high school was macaroni and cheese, preferably left overs because its different when you microwave it as opposed to freshly made, and diet pepsi. My favorite lunch and dinner was fast food or restaurants. For a snack after school I would eat a box of wheat thins with a package of american cheese slices and wash it down with a liter of diet pepsi while I watched the end of General Hospital and Oprah. My mom would be home around 6pm to find the front room blinds drawn and me passed out on the couch. She would be mad and and ask why I was so tired. Neither one of us knew it was because of the food I was eating.

My first experience with a diet happened right after high school. We moved to northern California. I saw an ad on t.v. for NutriSystems and asked my mom for the money to start their program. I lost around 50 lbs. Unfortunately it triggered a gallbladder problem, so I got off the program and spent a few years dealing with that. My weight ranged from 170-180 for the majority of my 20's.