A whole new YOU in 2012!

It’s been a while since I posted a blog.  But while I’ve been laid up in bed right through New Years, I had alot of time to think and see life from a different perspective.  I’ve spent the last year taking care of everyone else and loving every minute of it. I love what I do and my co-workers are the best!! *smile*  But we all need to also take care of ourselves.  I guess I had been slacking in that department.  In more ways than one!!  The angels have a way of slowing us down when we deplete ourselves.  And while I had started having energy sessions done on me to make sure Im in tip top shape energetically, that wasn’t enough. But this I knew.  I’ve struggled with the yo-yo syndrome for many years now and this year was a challenge with the work I do.  But I’ve learned soooooo much!

When you do energy work, your body uses up alot of vitamins and minerals.  And when I say alot, this is an understatement.  We must keep ourselves replenished at all times. And water is HUGE! Drinking 8 glasses of water a day is the norm but not with what I do.  10+ at least.  And I hadn’t been doing this.  I had been trying to learn what the best food for my body is with this work, and how best to keep my “stores” at full capacity.  It’s been a challenge to say the least.  Migraines were a challenge till I remembered that I had stopped taking my supplements (Omega’s and super antioxidents, plus vitamin and minerals) for 6 months!!!  I got lazy!  Well, my body decided to show me what lazy does!!  It was not fun.  But I figured it out and all is good in that department now. 🙂

I hadn’t quite got a handle on the rest though.  And by that I mean proper nutrition and exercise.  When we dont take care of ourselves, we not only put on weight, but our body will start to break down physically.  When that happens, it puts us out of commission for a while.  I was in tip top shape just a year ago, hiking a 100 miles a month.  But when winter hit last year, I hadn’t learned how to dress for the colder temps, and I started to sweat and freeze.  Hiking groups wouldn’t even allow you to go with them if you weren’t dressed right.  Dressed right????? I was like.. huh?  Apparently NO COTTON is allowed in the winter months.  It allows for sweat and then getting cold and eventually if the hike is long enough, hypothermia. Again, not fun!  So in my unknowing, I let it go for the winter… but hadn’t found a replacement exercise.  This led to letting go of other healthy habits. (Sound familiar to anyone?)

Soooo, needless to say a year later, after not getting back on the trails when I could and not getting back into my healthy routine, my body started to break down.  Nothing serious, but enough that if I let it go it would be very serious!!  That is not how I want to live my life.  So as with everyone in their new years resolutions… I found myself with a body begging to be taken care of on many levels.  Im not hugely out of shape, but enough to say, “HEY, WHAT ABOUT ME?”

So for this post I welcome all of you who would like to join me… and to also hold me accountable if you would like.  This year is about healthy changes.  Not just for a few months, or for an event. But for life.  It will be my biggest challenge yet!  But I know we all can do it.  It’s just a matter of finding out what foods work for you and which do not.  And to always live in moderation.  You cannot go the rest of your life without your favorite foods. But you can have them now and then without backtracking.  What has worked for me for years is very low carbs and high protein.  The protein keeps you full, and when you remove the carbs (for the most part) you dont get the cravings for the foods you THINK you want.  It’s amazing. I challenge you to give it 2 weeks. Heck, give it a week. But 2 is better.  You will see how the cravings stop!! I never thought I could live without carbs, but after not having them for 5 days… I noticed I didn’t think about them.  No cravings at all.  Most people dont know this.  When you eat carbs, you crave more carbs a short time later. It’s a tough cycle. But when you remove them, as hard as those first 5 days are, after you are through it, it’s wonderful!!!  (Trust me you wont be hungry.. the protein will take care of that, as you have plenty to eat)

One of the most do-able programs I’ve worked with that is normal eating, and NO fat free stuff, is the Belly Fat Cure by Jorge Cruise.  It’s a great program of NORMAL foods.  3 years ago I had lost 100 lbs. eating meats, bacon, cheddar cheese, butter, low sugar items…  I didn’t have to count calories or fat.  And while I kept the carbs away and got myself moving in some way 3-4 times a week, the weight literally fell off!!! Ask anyone that eliminates carbs… they’ll say the same thing. I found BFC AFTER I lost the weight and had put some back on and it was nearly identical to what I was doing. Woot! Woot! Below is a pic of the BFC book, and my friend Amber who used the program and became somewhat famous from the blog she wrote about it. It’s truly a great blog!! She’s got recipes, testimonials, all the information you could possibly ever want. She’s even been featured in a few magazines due to her success. She’s done amazing and can show you how to work the program. As I said, it’s the closest to normal eating. The only difference is that you actually pay attention to what you eat. But it’s all NORMAL FOOD!!! She’s got a recipe for an amazing cauliflower crust pizza that has gotten rave reviews about! She’s got a BFC following on twitter if you’re interested. just follow “meandjorge” and you have access to all her posts. Her website and blog can be found at http://www.meandjorge.com/.

Now keep in mind.. you dont have to join a gym, but you can if that is your passion.  I had back then, but then fell in love with hiking and being out in the woods.  It worked the same.  There are also some great workout videos for home.  And as long as you are sweating, it’s working!!  I sometimes use Leslie Sansone’s walking videos.  She incorporates lots of movement, plus some videos even have small weights to work the upper body.. and let me tell you, YOU WILL SWEAT!!!  They are simple and give a great workout!  You can go anywhere from 20 min. to 90 min.  It’s up to you.  Video’s work if you use them.   Even if you only get outside and walk 1/2 a mile each day, then you feel so good that you increase it to 1 mile a day… then surprise yoruself with 1.5, then 2… (Trust me it’ll happen)  It’s amazing what you feel you can do when you just start and see yourself doing it.  But you have to take that first step.  And do it for YOU!  You are so worth it!