The Balance of Good Health

As if you did not know this already but in case you forgot...hope this helps or reminds you of what to eat:

Unhealthy Foods

• Battered and deep fried foods
• Sugary sodas
• Processed lunch meats
• Greasy snack chips
• White bread and refined pasta
• Most canned spaghetti and ravioli
• Sugary breakfast cereals
• Frozen fried chicken, fish sticks and corn dogs

Healthy Foods

• Green and brightly colored vegetables
• Dark leafy greens and lettuce
• Fresh fruits and berries
• Lean turkey and chicken
• Nuts, dried fruits and healthy snacks
• Whole grain breads and pasta
• Healthy cooking oils like canola and olive oils
• Grass fed beef and bison
• Cold water oily ocean fish
• Low fat milk or soy beverages
• Nuts, seeds, and legumes

Eat most of the unhealthy healthy foods and enjoy!

Happy Tuesday!

Ask Yourself Before You Eat...

Looking at your eating style is important.  It is important to consider these questions before eating in order to help you make wise and healthy food choices. 

• Do you eat because you are bored, sad, or happy?
• Do you snack in front of the TV without even giving it much thought?
• Are most of your meals eaten at home or in restaurants?
• How often do you eat fast food?
• Do you like to cook?
• How often do you grocery shop?
• Do you skip breakfast or lunch, then overeat later in the day?
• How big are the portions you consume?
• Do you crave sweets?
• Are there foods you won't give up?

Good Advice: Post this on the fridge or cupboards to remind you before you eat. 

(All these were found on: http://nutrition.about.com/od/nutrition101/a/keepitsimple.htm)

Losing Weight Fearlessly!

Is there fear in losing the fat? I believe there is.  In my individual case, i am still trying to figure out what it would mean if i lost the thirty pounds and became a healthier me.  Aside from thinking that perhaps i don't deserve to be healthy and fit--the fear which prevents me from making healthy decisions.  I know the positives of losing the fat--i will have a healthy pregnancy in the future and just be healthier overall.  Furthermore, i will not have to worry about illnesses such as diabetes and others. 

I came across this article by Steve Pavlina and this statement resonated with me: Unlike fear of failure and fear of rejection, fear of success can be far more insidious because it’s almost always unconscious. But it’s not fear of success itself that is the problem but rather fear of the side effects of success, many of which may be genuinely unwanted.

Could it be that i have a fear of success? What would it mean for me if i lost all of my thirty pounds?  Am i fearful that i would need to maintain the weight loss and continue to be healthy and fit? Unconsciously have i decided--Why bother since i may be unable to maintain it?  Do i feel as if i don't deserve to be fit?  Knowing that i may have fear of success gives me something to focus on. I need to change my attitude about weight loss and being successful at it consciously.   

The thing with fear is that i can overcome it.  Steve Pavlina says this about fear:  Asking, “What will happen if I succeed?” can solve this problem because it focuses your conscious attention on those fears. Fear has a tendency to shrink under direct examination, making it easier for you to take action.  This helps me to think that i have control over my actions and choices.  I can look at the fear in the eye and stand up against it and help to shrink until it disappears.

I do not have to focus on the fears but at the successes which are before me that i can achieve fearlessly.  I challenge you today to focus on what fears stand in your way as you attempt to meet your fitness goals.  I challenge you, as i do myself, to focus on all the successes that will come with hard work and dedication and kick the fear out the gym and fridge door!

Sharing the Number on the Scale

I feel pretty comfortable sharing my number on the scale.  However i wonder how this would make me accountable to my weight loss goals? 

In order to help others lose weight, i have to be transparent with pounds and kilos.  But i wonder how big the number on the scale should be in the issue of weight loss?  Does the scale make you accountable to lose more weight?

My philosophy is that loss of inches are important when losing weight.  As fat lessens in your body, muscle is built and muscle weights more than fat.  Therefore, someone could lose a lot of fat and gain muscle and the scale may not move.  The persons ends up more discouraged then not which defeats the positive energy that one needs to push themselves to continue working and sweating hard in order to lose the fat!

Therefore, in my effort to harbour positive energy, i will be encouraging future clients to be accountable to themselves and the energy they put into losing inches.  Inches may not show up on the scale in decreased numbers (at all times) however inches does mean fat lost!

For some, the instant gratification of seeing the number on the scale decrease is significant.  However the number on the scale should not be the sole focus on their weight loss plan.  There needs to be attention paid to loss of inches which translates into health and wellness.

People, including myself, should be accoutable to their health and wellness more so than the number on the scale.  But for those of you who like instant gratification:

Current weight: 155lbs. 

Ideal Weight: 125. 

Target Time: One Year.

  However, I will be calculating my inches as well in a few weeks.

Today's Goal!

Step 1:

I love food--chicken, rice, ice cream, chocolate, pizza, popcorn, anything caramel
but...I should love my body more!
And being healthy is something i will learn to appreciate.

In starting a fitness business where i ame not the fit person (the husband is), i am challenging myself to start changing my mind-set.  Being healthy is definitely a mindset.  And in order to merge social work concepts and fitness, i definitely need to change my mind!  The only way i will be able to help others is to live these new ideas hence step 1.

Hubby is a personal trainer, former college football player and generally an active individual!  Since we've been together and married, he has never forced me to become fit.  He is always encouraging but never forceful or degrading.  Mind you i am not "phat" but i could stand to be a little more healthier.  I could stand to lose my love for food...well maybe bad foods like the ones i mentioned above.

Therefore, Step 1 before we even get to fitness is to begin changing my mindset: I love food but i should (will) love my body more in order to be most healthy!

Today's Goal is to remind myself at all times that although i love food, i will love my body being healthy even more!

Partnering in Business..

I was reading an article in the NY Times about becoming a business partner with your spouse. I found it interesting and thought i would share it with you.

Here a few items i took from the article and some the author outlined:
a) Have a meeting of the minds
b) Have complementary strengths and skills

Authors Ideas for Business Partnering:
1) Understand your spouse’s work style--the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator theory of personality type is to help with this--i have done this before so i will definitely get hubby to do this with me.  This will also help to business partners avoid taking things personally

2) Set the ground rules for failure
Learn from your mistakes.  Take chances with all ideas and if it fails, don not blame each other, move on.  Do not play the blame game.

3) Learn How to Shut it Off
Supporting each other.  The line between work and home doesn’t get blurred, it gets obliterated.  You have to love the business but love each other more.

Here is the article if you would like to read it: When Your Spouse is Your Business Partner

In Search Of Self...

I always thought this would be a good title for a self-help book who know that i may write someday. As a social worker married to a fitness trainer/businessman, i have been thinking as of late how can we incorporate our work lives together so that we can someday work together. Yes we both want to be able to work together. I love his line of work and i honestly believe that there is a place for social work concepts in fitness and nutrition. Our minds and bodies work together so what better way to incorporate both of our loves. I am definitely in search of myself and my new career. This blog is the exploration of incorporating the concepts of social work into the world of fitness and helping invididuals love their lives, be fit and when all else fails we can laugh at ourselves and try it all again!

Welcome

Welcome to LoveFitnesLaugh! The goal is when we accept love into our lives, we can reach our fitness level beyond measure. If all else fails, we will laugh but need to try again! Here is an opportunity to join the movement and give yourself all the opportunities available because your life matters!