Words to live By

Cut out soda and caffeine. Drinks with caffeine are diuretics – meaning they speed up the rate of urine production. Hence, these drinks do not contribute to your 8 glasses of water/day requirement – they actually take away from it! Furthermore, soda is unhealthy, causes weight gain, is an artificial stimulant, among other reasons. Ditch your soda and go for plain water or fresh fruit juices instead!

Don’t drink alcohol. Like caffeine, alcohol is a diuretic. Not only that, alcohol is repeatedly proven to have negative effects on our body and health – impacting the proper functioning of our brain, liver, lungs, and other major organs. If you drink alcohol regularly, it’s time to cut it out.

Prepare your meals. Lately I’m beginning to appreciate the value of preparing my own meals. When you prepare your meals, you control what goes into them. No more being in a dilemma between eating healthy  and choosing between the sub-optimal food choices. Get some quality kitchen equipment – these will be your best investments ever.

Learn to say no. Don’t feel like you’ve to eat just because you’re out with your friends, or because other people offer you food. Simply say no and say you’re not hungry if you don’t feel like eating.

Bring a water bottle when you go out. That way, you can replenish your fluids whenever you want to. It saves you money as well and you don’t need to subject yourself to poor alternatives like soda, which increases your fluid outtake instead.

               Have A Happy Healthy Day! 

My Sister

 

My Sister just graduated from UNR with her bachelors. She will be moving on to complete her masters in occupational therapy this fall. I am unbelievably proud of her. Watching her over the years work with disabled children, I know this is the correct path for her. She is incredibly kind and compassionate towards them. She has already touched so many lives and I am very excited to see where life will take her.

 As sisters do; we have a close relationship. Despite the fact that there has been times where we didn't talk for months. (usually do to my stubbornness) We get along and understand each other like no one else does. She can be moody, I can be self-centered. She can be bossy, I can be unforgiving. But we also can be loving, generous, thoughtful, and kind. I will miss seeing her in person for the next two years. She will be going to school in another state. She will be close to our grandparents and our older brother so that make us worry less. She will still have people close by her who love her.

 My sister loves her nieces and nephews like crazy! They adore her too :) My sister is just a big kid at heart. Children are drawn to her and trust her. That is part of what will make her so great in the occupational therapy community.

So little sister :D Go out and conquer the world! You have quite and adventure ahead of you. Keep fighting for your dreams! You can do anything and I am SO PROUD of you!

A Purposeful Healthy Life

 Live a life with purpose. Positive health starts from within! Are you living a life of meaning? Are you living in line with your purpose?

Say no to oily food. Reduce your intake of fast food, fries, doughnuts, chips,  and foods that have been deep fried. Not only are they very fattening (1 tablespoon of oil is 120 calories), deep fried food contains acrylamide, a potential cancer-causing chemical. An ordinary bag of chips may contain up to 500 times more of the substance than the top level allowed in drinking water by the World Health Organization (WHO). I personally find that when I consume oily foods, I feel sluggish. There are better alternatives, such as grilled, steamed, stir-fried or even raw food.


Cut out sugary foods. These are your candy bars, your pastries, chocolate, cookies, cakes and jelly donuts. Not only do they not fill you, they trigger you to eat more due to the sugar rush they cause. Go for healthy snacks instead - you’ll be more satisfied and happy.


Go organic. Organic foods are foods produced without “synthetic inputs such as pesticides and chemical fertilizers, do not contain genetically modified organisms, and are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives”. (Wiki) The organic movement is slowly catching on, with more supermarkets, especially in US, offering organic options. Organic food tends to cost more, but hey – would you rather save some money and feed your body with pesticides or pay a few extra dollars for a cleaner, healthier body?


Improve your posture. Good posture improves your breathing and makes you look more smarter and more attractive. 

             Have A Happy Healthy Day!

I Am UNSTOPPABLE

Just say it out loud... "I am unstoppable... Today is MY day, if I can't run I will walk, if I can't walk I will crawl, BUT whatever I do I will keep moving forward because failure is not falling... it is refusing to get back up! I will FIND time for healthy eating because I REFUSE to make time for illness later" 

Try it again, I can't hear you.... Words are a powerful thing!!!!

As I read these words and  I remember all the times I let my self fail because things might have been too hard or uncomfortable. I let myself believe that maybe I wasn't good enough to succeed. I let myself stay in a pattern of just stopping shy of reaching my goal because I was compertable there. I knew what to expect. Breaking through that threshold to success was scary!

Fast forward a few months and I am conquering my fears. My fears of failure, of not living up to others exceptions, of working really hard and failing anyway. I am facing my fears head on and NOT letting them stop me.

Moral of the story? GET OUT OF YOU OWN WAY and enjoy your life!!! You do deserve to be happy!

Have a Happy Healthy day!

Food advice I try to live by

Avoid trigger foods. Trigger foods are the foods that make you go berserk and binge like crazy after you eat them. Everyone’s trigger foods are different, generally trigger foods are candy bars, chocolate, confectionery, chips, cookies, or anything with high level of refined sugar, salt, fat or flour. These foods cause a blood sugar imbalance, hence triggering one to eat more. What are your trigger foods? Identify them and remove them from your diet.

Address emotional eating issues. Emotional eating is eating to fill an emotion, rather than real hunger. Do you eat when you feel stressed out, down or frustrated? Do you reach out for food when you hit a block at work? Chances are, you’re emotional eating. However, emotional eating will never make you feel happy, because you’re trying to fill a void that has nothing to do with food. Food doesn’t give you love or happiness; it’s just food. Why do you reach out for food when you’re down? How can you address it?

Eat small meals. Choose several small meals over a few big meals a day. This balances out your energy distribution throughout the day. In general, eat when you feel hungry, and stop when you’re full. You don’t need to wait until official meal times before you start eating. Listen to your body and what it tells you.

Stop eating when you feel full. Many of us rely on external cues to tell when we’re full, such as whether everyone has finished eating, whether your plate was empty or not. These are irrelevant – you should look at internal cues, such as whether your stomach feels full or not. Don’t feel obligated to eat just because there’s still food at the plate. Personally I like to stop when I feel about 3/4 full – if I eat till I’m totally full, I feel uncomfortable as my digestive system goes into overdrive. Use your gut as your indicator (literally).

Go for brown carbs vs. white carbs. White carbs are refined grains like white rice, pasta, white bread, crackers, noodles, tortillas, wraps, anything with white flour and breading. The nutrients have been removed in the production process, leaving them rich in calories but low in nutrients. They also cause unhealthy spikes in our sugar levels. Go for brown carbs (unrefined complex carbs) instead, like brown rice, whole grain, oats, oatmeal, legumes, nuts. These come with nutrients and vitamins intact. 

               Have A Happy Healthy Day! 

My Journey Thus far.......

Why is it the older I get the more I realize I know very little? This is not necessarily a bad thing. As I mature I am learning something new everyday about myself, my children, my friends, my family, and the world around me.  What is it about being young that makes you think you know everything? I remember feeling invincible. I remember wondering why some adults couldn't or wouldn't take me serious. I had a voice, I had thoughts and I needed to be heard!

Senior year of High school

 Fast forward a few years and I don't need to be heard quite so much. I am pretty comfortable with the woman  I am becoming. I am changing and growing. I certainly don't know everything!

What I do Know:

I am human, thus flawed. I am jealous, self centered, cranky, and rude.
I also try to love to the best of my ability.
I try not to hurt others, although sometimes it does happen.
 I adore my husband, and love the fact that he loves me "warts and all"

 My children are my greatest teachers. They have taught me patience, love, how to play, how to giggle with reckless abandon.

They have taught me to forgive my own parents. Who believe it or not they are just human too! (and did a fabulous job by the way. Just took me a while to figure it out)

I thank you for letting me just be human on my journey thus far...... I will try my best to let you be human too :)

7 Important Reasons to Strength Train

■Improves your ability to do everyday activities: The stronger your muscles, the easier it is to get groceries out of the car, get a package off of the top cabinet shelf, push the lawnmower?..the list goes on and on!

 

■Improves your balance and stability: The stronger and more resilient your muscles, the more balance is sturdier. This will help you with daily activities and decreases the risk of falls or accidents as you age.
 

■Builds muscle strength: Adults lose between five and seven pounds of muscle every decade after age 20. Strength training will help prevent this muscle loss, and rebuild what you may have lost.
 

■Decreases your risk of osteoporosis: Inactivity can lead to a decrease in bone density, leading to brittleness. Studies have shown that consistent strength training can increase bone density and prevent osteoporosis.
 

■Reduces blood pressure: Strength training can be beneficial for the prevention and treatment of high blood pressure by strengthening the heart, allowing it to beat more efficiently.
 

■Increases calorie burn: Strength training increases the body's metabolic rate, causing the body to burn more calories throughout the day. This aids significantly in long term weight loss (and weight maintenance).
 

■Reduces low back pain: Research has shown that strength training can increase low back strength and alleviate low back pain.

 I have to say one of my favorite exercises is strength training. While cardio will physically exhaust me, strength training will leave me with that feeling of being strong and powerful. (I call it the She-ra effect) I am getting very proud of my biceps. Each time I workout my arms they just get stronger. Yes, I would love well defined abs someday, BUT it is my arms I have always wanted to see the muscle definition. I still have a ways to go, but I am far from what I once was!

 

                  Have A Happy Healthy Day!!

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Mothers Day!

 I have been blessed to have two mothers. They each have brought something unique and special to my life. I am incredibly thankful for them both.

The best part of mothers day is celebrating my two children. I love them dearly and they are my life! They give my life purpose and I wouldn't give them up for anything!

So to all the women in my life weather you are a "Mother" to children, pets, plants, or classrooms full of kids. You are Amazing! I am blessed to know you!

Happy Mothers Day!

Working out at home

 I feel blessed that  I can work out at home. Although sometimes that workout has to be after the kids go to bed. It is nice to know That I have a library full of workouts so I don't get bored. Workouts at home can be challenging with my kids. But I make the best of it and don't let them stop me. Most of the time they like to join in!

The best thing I did was get them their own workout DVDs. Here they are trying out Tony Horton's "Tony and the Kids" for the first time. We put in this DVD at lest once a week and the wave and wiggle is there favorite move :)

So get off the coach and just push play!!!

Have a Happy Healthy Day!!

Angry Bird Pizza

In a quest to make a healthier pizza for my family, I found this picture while googling pizza recipes.

I asked on My facebook page for some suggestions on how to make it healthier. There were some great suggestions and that how the cauliflower crusted pizza came about.  I ended up using a whole wheat pizza crust, tomato sauce with spices added, low fat mozzarella cheese, turkey pepperoni, olives,mushrooms and a yellow bell pepper. The funnest part was having the kids help me :)

 They took their job of assembling the pizza very seriously..... with a few olives and pepperonis dissapearing :D

 Anticipation is building........

 They can't wait to make other Angry bird foods. I found some other inspirations below. I am excited to see what else we can make.

Have a Happy Healthy Day!!

Are You putting these things into your Body?

Eat more fruits. Fruits are a plethora of vitamins and minerals. Do you know that oranges offer more health benefits than Vitamin C pills? Taking in synthetic supplements are not the same as consuming the foods direct from nature. Fill your palate with these 10 most nutritious fruits: Watermelon, Apricots, Avocado, Apple, Cantaloupe, Grapefruit, Kiwi, Guava, Papaya, Strawberries.

Eat more vegetables. Like fruits, vegetables are important for the well being of our health. Experts suggest that we should have 5-9 servings of fruits/vegetables, and unfortunately most people don’t even have at least 5 servings! Some of my favorite vegetables include: Kidney beans, black beans, asparagus, long beans, french beans, sprouts,  and carrots. What are your favorite vegetables and how can you include more of them in your diet today?

Pick bright colored foods. Fruits and vegetables with bright colors are usually high in anti-oxidants. Anti-oxidants are good for health because they remove free radicals in our body that damage our cells. So get your fill of fruits/vegetables of different colors: White (Bananas, Mushroom), Yellow (Pineapples, Mango), Orange (Orange, Papaya), Red (Apple, Strawberries, Tomatoes, Watermelon), Green (Guava, Avocados,  Cucumber, Lettuce, Celery), Purple/Blue (Blackberries, Eggplant, Prunes). Here’s a full list under the color wheel.

Cut down on processed food. Processed foods are not good because (1) most nutritional value is lost (2) the preservatives added are bad for our health.  Many processed foods contain a high amount of salt content, which leads to higher blood pressure and heart disease. Processed foods are anything that are not in their raw form. In general, most of the food in supermarket are processed – the more the ingredients on the label (especially the ones ending with ‘ite’ or ‘ate’), the more processed they are. Watch out for those with salt/sugar as the first 5 ingredients and go for natural foods as much as possible.

               Have A Happy Healthy Day!