Wait, I'm a Versatile Blogger?

A couple of weeks ago, I received a message from Claire Holland from A Life in Practice, asking me if she could nominate me for the Versatile Blogging Award… My first immediate reaction was “heck yes! Wait - what is that??” I’d heard about it around the forums I follow on Facebook and always wondered what it was about. After a little research, I found that this award is slightly different than what I’d originally thought – it was created to honor those bloggers who bring something special into your life, by spreading the word in hopes that it may touch the life of someone else. I’m flattered! I was thrilled to spread the love by acknowledging some of my favorite up and coming writers I’ve met in the last five months. I have to say, Claire, thank you!

A Life in Practice showcases the cheery as well as messy sides of parenting and life. Claire is a mom blogger from South East England, who at times second guesses herself but pulls through all of life’s inadequacies and steps out of the struggle, stronger. Her nomination message was quite moving, actually…

“I've had a chance to look at your blog, I had my second baby in January and was very unhappy with my weight, so I crafted my own diet and exercise routine and managed to lose 2st[28lbs]! so obviously I was interested to see the theme of your blog! I'd like to nominate you for the Versatile Bloggers Award!”

I personally do not understand a mother’s daily struggle, as I don’t have children, BUT I know some of you do. One of my favorite posts of hers is called, “My Journey of Self-Recognition: From Postpartum Body To The Old ME Again” – where she talks about body dysmorphia and how she lost the weight after her second child. I think a lot of us struggle with what we see in the mirror, like I’ve said before in How to be Enough. Claire mentions, “At the end of the day, no matter how big or small a difference physically, it will shine through you as you grow more confident and feel more energetic. It will surround you as you find the strength you’d lost and start to recognize yourself in the mirror again. In the end, your journey is for you, as mine was for me. I now stand taller, smile wider and step lighter, not because I lost weight, but because I gained back what I had misplaced along the way. Myself.” I love your insight, Claire! Check out and subscribe to her site – A Life in Practice! 🙂

If you want to check out the post that she wrote in nomination, you can find it here.

Janalyn from The Soaring Swine has an inspiring story. Her blog about her weight loss success combines weight loss tips, exercise advice, diet advice and affirmative body image support with a positive outlook. I found her post ‘How to be enough‘ very thoughtful and relatable. Go have a read!

Now. The difficult part! Finding 10 other bloggers who share a spark of madness AND sharing seven facts about myself that a lot of people don’t already know… The finding ten people I admire is easy – the part where they accept and share the love was NOT. I contacted ten people, but only received acceptances from three! It’s hard on a blogger when they’re busy, but here are my best three!

Kristin is a vivacious 23 year old part time blogger from the East Coast. She writes, aiming her articles towards the budget savvy, cosmetic aficionado, and fitness minded individual. Her lifestyle blog just felt familiar. I struggle and feel all of the things she writes about, and aren’t we all here just trying to relate to one another? I loved “getting to know” her in the Coffee Break post, and found “Thinking of Skipping Breakfast? Don’t!” extremely informative and something I completely agree with. Definitely follow her on Instagram.

A food blogger, I’ve found Vy's Healthy Eating and Living quite a resource for tasty and nutritious recipes. With all of the things I’ve been searching via Pinterest for meals and scrumptious bites, this blog is one I’ll keep in my back pocket. One of my favorites is her Gluten Free Strawberry Tart. Visit her site for more or follow her on Facebook or Instagram.

Mary is a health and wellness coach for those looking to get Fit Over 50! Her blog consists of recipes, nutritional advice, fitness tips and motivational articles for those who are over or at the young age of 50! Her article Are The Words “Better Health” Even In Your Vocabulary? Really resonated with me – a lot of people I know don’t even consider it an issue, let alone take initiative to watch their health for the future. She mentions that we sometimes take our health for granted, and that amidst the other seemingly important details of life, it gets lost and thrown to the back burner. Check her out here or on Twitter.

A Little More About me… Well, what have I not already shared with you guys?

1.  I have a HUGE travel bucket list. I want to go everywhere before I'm physically unable. Among several states that I can remember (like Georgia, Florida, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, and Colorado), so far, I've been to England (Newcastle Upon Tyne, London), Scotland (Edinburgh),  Ireland (Dublin, Cork), France (Paris), and Mexico. I've been on one cruise through Catalina Island and Ensenada, even though I get motion sick. 
2. I have an obsession with Corgis. I own a Pembroke Welsh named Brody and he's just as feisty as his Momma. My names for him are "Bro-dor", Face, and short stuff.
3. I'm alumnae from California State University, Northridge as well as the Beta Beta chapter of Delta Delta Delta. (I chose this for # 3 on purpose ;) D <3 haha)
4. I'm usually up for new adventures. Whether it's trying out a new recipe, signing up for a run, or even starting this blog, I'm normally pretty game for any challenge that comes my way... Although it scares me, it's usually worth it in the end and has shaped who I am.
5. Helping others achieve their goals keeps me on course for my own. Seeing how much positive impact I've had recharges my batteries and acts as the best high, second only to a good workout.
6. Ive been to several three-day music festivals. Coachella (2015, 2016) Life is Beautiful (2015, 2026), and BottleRock (2016). I have dreams of going to Firefly, Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, OutsideLands, and the two big ones in Europe - Glastonbury and Tomorrowland. I love the environment, and must say that my experiences this far have been all positive ones (aside from some minor setbacks of camp equipment or too much alcohol).
7. I like big groups and am the quintessential social butterfly. I am perfectly fine being by myself, however, I find life much more enjoyable with friends and in a group setting. Just this weekend my friend from out of town said she believes I am the glue that keeps people and friends together - I couldn't have been more flattered to hear that. I enjoy making other happy, laughing and having a good time... Don't you? 

Do me a favor and check out some of these fabulous finds

I'm honored and so grateful I followed my ambitions to start The Soaring Swine and write. I have a tremendous wealth of support from friends, family, and the bloggers I've met in such a short time!

7 Habits Affecting Your Progress

As someone who has seriously been struggling to regain gym motivation and solid determination, I’ve been trying to find any muse I can. I was reading an article about the things we all do while trying to get healthier or stronger, and how we get in our own way sometimes.

I’ve been having the worst time with balancing finances, personal & work stress, meal prepping and making a commitment to find time for my workout routines. All on top of being able to write about it. It’s not easy to multi-task while being and Empath (see last week’s post here). I take a lot of my problems head on, but lately, I’ve felt lazy. That’s really all there is to it. I could sit here and explain why or what’s going on to provide excuses, but it’s sheer laziness. I’ve become tired. I’ve hit plateaus before, but never like this. Even the times I do get to the gym, or meal prep for a week, I am finding myself discouraged and lacking the drive to keep it up.

The 6 Bad Habits that Prevent You from Seeing Results outlined a lot of key things for busy individuals that are mindful yet at times, preoccupied with other life tasks. It outlines the following:

Eating Too Little

They say in the article that estrogen levels in women tend to protect the loss of stored energy, decreasing the metabolism to keep the energy sustained from your food intake. “When resources (calories) are scarce, the body prioritizes essential functions (like respiration, and regulating body temperature and blood pressure) over things like rebuilding muscle tissue. Inadequate food intake makes it nearly impossible to increase muscle strength or size, and the energy deficit can seriously weaken your power in training sessions in general.” Basically, the less you eat, the more your body preserves and the more your functional systems shut down.

Not Eating Enough Protein

Protein helps replace the amino acids used during cardio, such as a significant run, or helps fatigued muscles repair themselves after weightlifting in the gym. Under eating sabotages recovery. Period.

Doing Too Much Cardio

It makes you feel productive, but produces cortisol as a reaction to stress, which is essentially what you’re doing to your body. The best way to do cardio, if you do it at all, is to make sure you’re utilizing the interval method. Even if it’s simply one or two times a week, it’s better for overall fitness and body composition goals than a straight and steady hour of the same pace.

Fasting

Eating provides fuel… an old trainer of mine said you wouldn’t go on a road trip without filling up your car’s gas tank, right? So why is your body any different? Eating beforehand helps burn fat more efficiently, according to Determinants of resting lipid oxidation in response to a prior bout of endurance exercise. Just as well, not eating after a gym session is frowned upon too – you need to replenish your exhausted resources. The same article states that women don’t use as much glycogen as men and both proteins and carbs are great post-workout snacks.

Succumbing to the Scale

First of all, that number is ONLY your relation to gravity; not a reflection of your worth. All weight fluctuates on a scale, regardless of who it is. Weight fluctuates in a female body by about one to two pounds within a given day, and muscle weighs and displaces different than fat would on the body. What matters is the feeling when you put on a shirt that used to be tight.

Taking your Body for Granted

You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for. We are our biggest critics when it comes to our bodies. Look at where you started – and look at how far you’ve come since then! Even if it hasn’t been that long on your journey, you’re lapping people who AREN’T doing something about it. You are a powerhouse, and you need to know it.

I’d also like to add a 7th: Drinking ANY kind of Alcohol

Drinking causes ANY and all Fat or Sugar burning to cease. Your metabolism goes the opposite of what we all want – it flips the fat storing switch to the ‘on’ position, as well as the liver and muscles not being able to store sugars as glycerin for later. For any ladies using hormonal contraceptives – and I JUST found this out – issues with alcohol and your plateau are correlational. It’s said that supplementing with B6 should be a daily requirement.

When I read this, I was like, “OMG I’m currently doing all of those things!” No wonder, I’ve slipped back into the ‘comfy’ mindset and have gradually relaxed on half of the habits I’d taken so long to build.

It’s hard to eat healthy and create or foster a positive environment for yourself when you don’t share that lifestyle with your partner or are struggling with the demands of grocery shopping and what that costs, either through time or money.

I’m not weighing and measuring my food consistently, I’m fasting or eating too little during the days at work, and binging on whatever I have at home after I’m off work and in my comfy pants. I weigh myself each day, and as the scale goes up, my motivation and demeanor goes down. No wonder I’m stressed!

The thing I have to realize (and you should, too) is that we are creating a self-fulfilling prophecy if we continue to talk to ourselves like we're‘losing’ at losing weight. It’s not about that. It’s about consistency; it’s about changing our mind set and making positive “self-talk”. My inner dialogue, as a co-worker said to me today, needs to have the negativity-weed plucked out from my positive-thought-garden and get back to what’s important – nurturing and watering the seed of enhancements of my health, my relationship with food and my body-positive self-image.

Yours Too.

Why “You’re Too Sensitive” is a Cop Out

I’ve been reading up a lot lately about body-shaming and how to stop caring what other people think. It’s a household conversation for my boyfriend and I and it’s something I’ve been struggling with most of my life.  As I’ve said in a lot of my posts, my reoccurring theme it seems, is to love yourself and to accept yourself for who you are – that way, other people’s perceptions (or OPP, coined by the wonderful Dr. V) don’t affect you so much.

I recently watched this video: How To Stop Caring What People Think of You | 3 Simple Steps. In it, the narrator outlines three steps to get you on your way to accepting yourself, requiring NO validation from others and to help with these issues we all seem to share. He goes on to talk about how this is an innate personal trait of all of us, and explains that some of us are more susceptible to feeling like we require more validation.  The steps are: 

Step 1: Brainwash Yourself/Build Confidence
Step 2: Tune Out Disapproving People/Stay Away
Step 3: Apply It – Be Who You Are

The main principle of this video is obviously for self-help, but a part of me felt like I was being told I’m too needy for having issues with liking to be liked, or with my body image. It IS an inherent need in all people to be liked and for ANYONE to say that those feelings are TOO SENSITIVE or TOO MUCH is NOT good therapy. For those of you who have gone to therapy or are in careers where you’ve studied the basic principles of Psychology and Sociology, you know this already. For someone to be called “too sensitive” or “too needy” for expressing themselves or sharing thoughts with a trusted individual is what we in the school system would call “bullying”.

Frankly, I’m tired of it. I’ve been socially taught over the years to be ashamed of my body, my emotions, or generally of things that make those around me ‘uncomfortable’. I’m supposed to be ashamed of wanting to be liked? Those feelings occur naturally and without will!

“Why are you letting it get to you?”
 “You should really learn to control your emotions?”
 “C’mon, Jayce, build up your Teflon!”

All of these statements were things that insinuated that I was the offender in a conversation meant to help me. I was told that the reason I am so sensitive is because I ALLOW it to affect me, pointing the finger of blame at me, where those bullies don’t get punished or reprimanded for acting rude or arrogant for being intentionally spiteful.

The concept that people should take criticisms (especially ones of someone’s physical shape) with a grain of salt can be true, to a degree – a stranger can call me a name or look at me and say "you're fat" and YES, I have the power to either allow it to fester and water the seed they’ve planted OR I can choose to write it off as “that opinion doesn’t matter”. What happens, though, when it’s someone you care about? When it’s someone who’s opinion you respect and value it’s a little bit more difficult than that. The video goes on to explain that there’s a correlation between the personalities that don’t need validation, and those who do, relative to the amount of validation they receive; “the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.”

Why is it that as a society, we shame those who need something, and praise the ones who don’t? Being an “easy target” shouldn’t be the true offender’s excuse, and it’s not moral to say that people who are “needy” should be looked down upon. If someone in your home was hungry and asked you for food, you’d give it to them – right? Not starve them… Unless you’re a selfish jerk. Same thing with this concept.

I also believe that we’ve become a country focused on not offending anyone. Which, is cumbersome yes, but it’s also relative to how many F@#$ we don’t give about being kind anymore. The sheer fact that our first reaction to hurting someone’s feelings suggests that it is the responsibility of the victim to accept the label and hurtful behavior rather than resist it. Instead of the “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” attitude, I’ve seen it become more and more now the “what can you do for me” or “hit me and I’ll hit you back” more selfish attitude. How have we resorted to 5th grade behaviors? Remember being called names in grade school? The bully always said “I was just kidding” or “they’re too sensitive”. Weren’t we taught back then that “It’s just a joke” wasn’t acceptable – so why are we still saying it now, as adults?

To me, that response shows that the bully became embarrassed or contradicted by a negative response towards their own vie for others approval of their joke. Since these bullies are not empaths or cannot hold the emotional range of what it felt like in a reverse role, they couldn’t appreciate the refusal to ignore the situation. They claim then that the victim is audacious to feel negative in response to it. THEY, then, were NOT validated either… Makes you think.

The third and final point of this video is really the only thing worthwhile for a teachable moment here. It says:

"Be as weird as you are. Be as crazy as you are, HOWEVER you are. When you’re yourself, you’re no longer straining to put on a mask… If you’re trying to be someone you’re not just to please people, you’ll begin to lose confidence in yourself…”

The whole video then becomes contradictory, as it says “There’s no use trying to… ‘fake it ‘til you make it’ or trying to fit in somewhere you clearly don’t belong”. That is the point I want you to take from my post. One of my favorite quotes about this is by Maria MacLachlan of Think Humanism. “Although it isn’t possible to know what it really feels like to be a different person or live in different circumstances and have different life experiences, it isn’t difficult for most of us to imagine what would cause us suffering and to try to avoid causing suffering to others.”

Philosopher Immanuel Kant said that a lot of what’s wrong with the Utilitarian ideas such as “do unto others” and our laws are simply because they rely on subjective morals. If some are only concerned with their own positive outcome, then maximization of the “good outcomes” for the great many become irrelevant.

Essentially, the basis of my rant on this topic was to show that if we could all simply be more accepting of people AS THEMSELVES then we wouldn’t need these videos that repeat cliché things labeled as “self-help” for those “who value the opinion of others too much”. We would all be genuinely more kind human beings, and accepting of all of our unique personality traits. What makes this world great – what makes this country great – is that we have so many unique people in it, from all areas of life with different experiences and different thought patterns than our own.

I'm PROUD of being "too sensitive"; it means I'm kind and cautious with other people's feelings and don't want to be hurtful on purpose. 

The bottom line? Don’t be a jerk.

Using your Phone at the Gym: Yes or No?

This morning I read an article that went into great detail about the single most annoying habit among gym users. Think you might know what it might be?

YOU, GLUED TO YOUR CELLPHONE

I was taken aback at first… “what?? but it plays my music!”

Among the excuses listed, that and “I have a routine I want to follow, and an iBook for exercises” are the most common reasons laid out in the article, and to be honest, they were my first true responses to such a criticism. It's not uncommon now-a-days in gyms to see people with their head phones on, and perhaps an arm band showcasing a possible playlist for the hour. What this article goes on to say is that we're too connected - we don't have enough time on our cell phones as it is already? We're constantly logged on and plugged in... but I'm an advocate of it as I use it for other things. Like I said about my own personal excuses: 

I listen to music and sometimes look at exercises that I haven't memorized. 

I think it isn’t too big of an issue if you’re not texting, occupying a machine while someone is waiting for it, or simply need to learn techniques to advance yourself in the gym. I work at a community college – in the Athletics department to boot – and there are TONS of new exercises I've been able to rotate to keep things fresh and new so I don't get bored and quit. Stepping into the gym alone is daunting, and if you're like me, embarrassing. Remember what it's like to start something you'd never done for the first time? If you’re new to it, you’re afraid to look like an idiot in front of those people who know what they’re doing. That’s how I felt at least… I STILL feel that way, and I've been consistently hitting the gym for three years.

Before work, I won’t go into the weight room here at school if I see students in class using it. I get self-conscious, and fiddling with my phone, makes me feel like I have a backup plan for what exercises I want to do that day. I don’t know everything, nor do I pretend to, but I’ll be damned if having something in my pocket to help me isn’t just that.

If you’re texting or talking on the phone, then YES, of course, you need to remember why you’re there. I’m not a huge fan of those folks who come to use the gym as a social hour. That’s not what it’s for.

I have pet peeves of my own, but I don't believe your cell phone should be one of those things not allowed. There are MANY other things in the gym to be annoyed with... Check it out. I found the video to the left hilarious. Thanks BodyBuilding Tips & Tricks for giving me a laugh.

How to Cut Out Sugar

I love sweets… I know, I know. But Jaycie, you can’t really indulge in sweets when you’re trying to be healthy, can you?”

I’m here today to tell you that you CAN

While on a ‘diet’ you cut out sugar, you restrict yourself and make yourself miserable. Like I said in a previous post How To Be Enough, we become slaves to our diets, rather than making it a lifestyle change and reconstructing our mind’s perception of what taste is and how that affects our waist holds a correlation.

We’re allowed whatever we want – IN MODERATION. That right there is the key to success, people. Moderation is my most successful piece of advice. I allow myself to indulge, and yet I still find that I’m healthy and have the energy to persist and my progress keeps moving forward, one day and pound at a time. I'm 100% positive that sugar is my downfall. That's why I made the suggestion for Bon Affair two weeks ago... and if you HAVE to have it, at least substitute is with natural sugars in fruits or substitute it with something that will satiate the craving. Don't deprive yourself. You've done that and it hasn't worked... at least, not well anyway.

If you restrict yourself, you find that you crave it that much more, then when your ‘diet’ is over and you become tired of it, you can’t control yourself, overindulge and then you’ve lost all headway. Once you adopt the lifestyle and realize that habits need to change forever, that’s when you can truly attain the goal you set out to achieve.

What I’m getting at here, folks:

I have ice cream at least once a week. I drink wine... more than I want to publicly admit ha ha. A friend of mine told me about this great ice cream brand called Arctic Zero. The two I decided to purchase were the pint of Vanilla Maple Ice Cream and the Chocolate covered Salted Caramel Popsicle, pictured left

They're flavorful, and gives you just the right amount of satiation to your sweets craving.

Like I said, though, always in moderation. If you eat all six bars from the box, it’s not going to do much service towards the lifestyle you’re trying to adopt and will set you back.

It’s a treat. That’s all.

Click this link here to see my personal favorite substitutions for sugar and what I eat when I crave it!  For more info like this, join my e-mail list HERE!

Check out Running on Happy's Citrus Salad!

How to Be 'Enough'

Last Wednesday, I watched a video online shared by Love What Matters on Facebook and it really hit home. A lot of people see my weight loss and have mentioned how much happier I seem and how much healthier I’ve become. All of those things are true, but there’s still a lot of unearthed emotions and issues that are still deep down. I'm not 100% happy with myself and haven't been for a long time. It's an on-going lesson I teach myself every day, and I know there's never going to be a full-fledged recovery of my mental body image.

The woman in the video is Lesley Miller. In it, she goes on to describe her experiences, stating that at various ages of her existence she has had social and other self-inflicted obstacles that were charged with negative connotative emotions. She exudes confidence by exclaiming in her video that she's basically DONE putting her life on hold because she hasn't met her *unrealistic* goals of being a size she could physically never be. She explains such with one keyword: ENOUGH. That she’s never felt “thin enough, happy enough, confident enough”, and how it’s affected her in her 21 years. For anyone who has let the exact same things get to them... who's spent a majority of their lives hating and waiting, this post is for you.

I struggle with all of these things

No, I've never cut myself due to my body image, BUT internal self-degradation is the kind of cut that goes deeper than skin - it may not show a physical scar, but it most certainly leaves one, and one that doesn't scab and heal. It is absolutely empowering to see someone who I identify so closely with and seem to share all fears and self-doubts with be so incandescent with their self-worth.

My girlfriends and I were talking about it last Thursday, and we all agreed. Being your healthy self - you can spend that moment and be concerned, or you can BE and LIVE. It was said in that conversation "what you're trying to achieve will NOT make up" for the lost time of self-loathing you've put yourself through. Back in April, our friend group went to the Coachella Valley Music and Art Festival, and I was audacious with bringing an ElectricStyles light up bra. I was excited to wear it, but was deathly afraid to take off my sheer over shirt because of my extra skin. I'm standing there, and I'm clearly uncomfortable with the idea, deliberating whether or not to commit to it... and a friend says "Did you buy it for this?" Yes. "Do you have a boyfriend who supports you?" Uh... yeah. "Then that's all that matters - he sees you, all your imperfection, and it doesn't matter to him. It shouldn't matter to you then. So relax and have some confidence."

You have one life, and you're going to put off outings and scenarios because you don't look good in a bathing suit? It's more than that - it's about being healthy and making healthy choices or steps in the right direction at the end of the day. That's why my personal trainer used to say to toss my bathroom scale and to go by how you feel, how your body reacts to physical fitness and gauging your energy levels.

It inspires me

I hope this post does what this video did for me, and inspires you. I hope it shows you that there’s a whole reason to continue to do what makes you happy as it’s healthy and sustains a life worthwhile. It’s never been about the number on the scale anyway… at least not at this point of my life. It’s about being healthy. There is absolutely NO reason to be ashamed of scars, physical or emotional. It’s made you stronger and has brought you to where you are today.

Yes, it's a struggle to love the skin you're in - it's a daily one for me, but our bodies are the only ones we will ever get. Love it. In all its tender imperfection.

How Bon Affair Can Help Your Diet

We all have read many posts or articles telling us exactly what we should and shouldn’t be eating or drinking if we’re attempting to be on the healthy track… and all of those suggestions say to cut out unnecessary calories and sugar that is ever present in alcohol. For those of you that don’t know, I hear my fellow wine-o’s groaning and throwing their drink at me, virtually. However, now we have a reason to rejoice! Or so I think...

If anyone is great at replacing “fatty” foods with alternatives, it’s me. I’ve turned my vices into staples; my love of mashed potatoes into Cauliflower Mash, and my passion for pasta into Zoodles. So… “Jaycie, what about wine?!”

WAIT - Did somebody say wine???

ANY of my friends could tell you, I drink a butt-load of wine (ha ha)! Or at least I do when I indulge. Otherwise, a favorite alternative of mine is Bon Affair.

I’m not sure if you all are fans of the television show Shark Tank, but I used to watch it a lot. It’s basically about struggling start-up businesses that walk in to a room with a panel of wealthy entrepreneurs and pitch their ideas for sponsorship or stake in their business. On one of its episodes, a woman walked in asking for help with her low-calorie wine business (Check it out HERE if you want to watch the excerpt).

My friends Jeannette, Lola and Francois enjoying the Semi-Sweet White (and some sandwiches).

She pitched her idea, and rattled off facts about how her wine, called Bon Affair, is great for the fitness savvy, active, working woman. She goes on to say that Bon Affair contains zero added sugar, has 6.5% alcohol content, includes grape seed extract, and vegan natural flavors on top of natural minerals and magnesium (or electrolytes). There are two main wines, Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah spritzers (they have also recently come out with two others, the Semi-Sweet White and Red).

I brought both Semi Sweet Red and White bottle to a girl's hike with friends up to a beautiful picnic spot in the Conejo Valley last week. We sampled them with some tasty Goat cheese and Uniekass Robusto Cheese. I’ve become a huge fan, to be honest.

 

Check out these nutrition labels!

Disclaimer from their website: "Bon Affair does not claim to have any health benefits. None. At all. Wine spritzers contain alcohol, not wheat grass.”

It was brought up at my girl's hike, though, that the decrease in it's alcohol content is slightly a deterring factor. In any regular glass of sparkling wine, for comparison at an average of 13%, there's a significant difference in the 6.5% alcohol content as well as it's halving the nutritional values. My girlfriends were discussing if it was worth it to them to supplement the values for the taste and content of enjoyment of the beverage itself. I opted to make a chart to show the difference between similar wines.

After reviewing the facts, they preferred not to exchange one for the other. In every individual's tastes, as well as their ranking of food priorities, there are things many people wouldn't exchange in similar fashion with food items (e.g. my boyfriend won't exchange potatoes for cauliflower) It's simply personal preference at that point.

If you’re looking for a diet-approved glass of wine, look no further! I include it in my daily meal tracker if I choose to indulge in this, and it doesn’t hurt my progress. I have to say, it’s not *REAL* wine, but it’s just as great as an alternative relative to zoodles!

For more info like this, join my e-mail list HERE! I like to think that I have all the best substitutions!

The Fit-Tracking Dilemma: Which Do I Choose?

A couple weeks ago, I read a DOSE article that covered the reliability of heart rate monitors, specifically the FitBit Charge and Surge trackers that measure heart rate and relate to the iPhone and Android apps the intensity of your workout. As a fit girl myself, I’d been looking into a new tracker after my last one died/became discontinued (Jawbone UP24). I started looking further into them, and I was disheartened with what I saw!

If anyone can tell you one of the toils of trying to lose weight/become healthy, finding a tracker that helps you, uh, keep track is definitely an overwhelming task. There are definitely too many to choose from, and they all vary in price point. The ever present question “how can I choose the right one?” becomes the worst struggle. Based on this article, and the study associated with it from CalPoly, it seems that FitBit isn’t as accurate in measuring heart rate as they say they are. Here’s why:

The study included free and gym specific exercises in their control and experimental groups and based on their analysis the conclusion was that the Charge and Surge monitors do not provide valid measure of rate, off by a measure of 25 beats per minute. The devices are inconsistent and “cannot be used to provide a meaningful estimate of a user’s heart rate”.

Anyone who is new to fitness should know that your target heart rate needs to fit within a specific range for best results, and overall positive health steps. If these Fitbits are off by as much as the study shows, you may be over or under exerting yourself. Even more so, people with heart conditions or are obese could damage any progress they might have had with the inaccuracy. I, for one, don’t necessarily believe that ANY of the trackers we’ve used or are available to consumers are any better in reporting the most accurate of data. Why? Because I’ve worn three at one time, and they all came back with different results, or miscalculated steps. I read a secondary article, How Accurate Are Fitness Monitors, because I was torn over the Fitbit – at this point I really wanted the newer Blaze that looks similar to the Apple watch. I’d been researching and used the Best Fitness Trackers of 2016 as a guide after the Jawbone Up24 I had died (after 3 years, it’s a great product but they discontinued it). It was interesting what the articles points were.

Dr. Meckes, a previous researcher at Arizona State University, “gathered 16 adult volunteers and fitted each with three different monitors, two worn on the hip and one around the arm.” They wore apparatuses that monitored their oxygen intake and energy output. The director of the Healthy Lifestyles Research Center at Arizona State University in Phoenix, Dr. Glenn Gaesser, who oversaw the study says inaccuracies in heart rate of any fitness tracker “doesn’t mean you should stash yours in a drawer - they may not be accurate for counting calories… but for many people, they’re inspirational, and if using one gets someone to move more, then as far as I’m concerned, it’s serving a good purpose.”

So... That's a 'no' to buying a Fitbit?

Wait - That's not what I said! If you want an accurate heart rate monitor, then maybe dont go with the Charge or the Surge... BUT they still get steps, they still motivate you to get up and keep moving. At the end of the day, Fitbits are a great buy if you're interested in keeping track of how many flights of stairs or steps you took to reach the recommended daily exercise goal. If you want, buy it! I did!

I ended up purchasing the Fitbit Blaze watch anyway, like I’d originally wanted. I figure, if it’s off by any amount, at least the steps are accurate and that’s what counts. Plus, it will sync to the scale and provide other details to MyFitnessPal. Oh, and I also bought the Aria (a scale that measures weight, body fat percentage and BMI). What can I say, I love gadgets!

Find out which one is best for you with this matrix HERE.

Why Playing PokemonGo is a GOOD Thing

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that Nintendo released its smartphone app, PokemonGo, on Thursday July 7th. If you don’t know what that is, it’s an app where people can join and collect fictitious Japanese cartoon creatures with special abilities. It combines a digital experience of bird-watching, geocaching, trophy-hunting and for the generation I grew up in, some nostalgia for the late 1990’s and elementary school games.

If you’ve seen groups of people out and about, glued to their smartphones, it hasn’t been for text messages, Facebook or for e-mails… it’s been to catch these creatures with what they call “PokeBalls”, similar to the smallest digital ski ball game ever made. Unlike other IOS, android, computer and handheld console games, this particular game makes the user go outside in the world, walk to and from GPS location hotspots to make advances in the game.

The result?

People who never used to get much physical activity playing video games are now getting more exercise than ever!

Brunch with my boyfriend (and Pikachu!) at Villa, Woodland Hills

From personal experience, I downloaded the game the morning after it came out. My boyfriend and I went out, found a hub of what they call Pokestops, became engulfed in the game and ended up walking 30+ miles over the duration of the weekend to hatch Pokemon eggs!

The average gamer, if they work a full-time job, can spend about 35-40 hours a week sitting in front of a screen, if not more. Any medical journal, textbook or study can confirm how detrimental to the physical fitness of any human body that can be. Based on the recent studies done of those who sit for long periods of time, research shows that it contributes to risks of heart attack, stroke, and metabolic syndrome. Sitting decreases life expectancy increases the size of your booty (even though it's probably already bootylicious) and slows your metabolism. 

A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine recently found that “adults who sat 11 or more hours per day had a 40% increased risk of dying in the next three years compared with those who sat for fewer than four hours a day. This was after taking into account their physical activity, weight and health status.”

Given the nature of our work environments and the nature of the gamer’s ideal surroundings, there is very often little that can be changed or even would want to be changed. My boyfriend is a fan of sitting at his computer for roughly six hours after work. Including the 8 he spends at work as well as the hour to and fro commute he spends sitting in his car, that’s 14 hours sedentary a day.

This new app has revolutionized the gamer’s lack of fitness in their routine and has, since Thursday, turned their proverbial wind-up key in order to get them moving again – all while providing intrinsically motivating rewards through the app itself! The more you walk, the more poke eggs you can hatch, thus you have more and more of the creatures! 

The eggs require you to walk (so no cheating by using a car!) to hatch these eggs, varying in distances of 2km, 5km, and 10km. That's anywhere from just over a mile to over six!

One of my favorite memes for walking/hatching Pokemon eggs...

Not only is it rewarding for fitness, but the users are able to connect and interact face to face socially with other gamers.

During the most recent times of extreme dissension in the media about violence and civil issues, the world has seemed in desperate need of something positive. Not only has Nintendo provided us with a game, it's done so with positive benefits of fitness AND social reconstruction.

With the app, we’ve been able to come back to the positivity of unifying the human interaction.

Instead of worrying about being judged for being "nerds", many users are feeling comfort in knowing that there's something bigger at hand here – having a love of something that brings people together instead of daily tribulations that are attempting to tear us apart.

Just a Little Extra

Like I said in my last post, Independence, it’s easy for those of us who have been a little thick to *heavily* criticize ourselves. I was scrolling through Facebook a few weeks ago, and something a friend liked stood out to me. It was this amazingly fit, gorgeous woman lamenting over a common issue among those of us striving to be stronger, healthier versions of ourselves. She said:

"My body does not look like all the other…‪ female athletes with crazy ripped abs and zero body fat on their stomachs. I wish I could look like that, but I've come to the realization that this is my body. I work my ass off in training every day. I eat clean for the most part, but am human and love to indulge in dessert every now and then. I'm in the best shape of my life and still don't have a six-pack. Not even close to a 4 lol. Some of it is genetics and the other part is I could eat fewer calories to try to look like everyone else. But the bottom line is I need to eat to perform. I can't worry about trying to look like a "Games" athlete because having a six pack doesn't always make for the best athlete. So for anyone who thinks they need to look a certain way to be a Regionals or Games competitor, you don't. Stay on the grind and keep doing you!" —Jamie Hagiya - CrossFit Athlete

I don't know about you, but it seems like we all have something we think is holding us back. I mean, Alessia Cara put out a song called "Scars to your Beautiful" and an incredibly moving music video about it (check out the video, I'm not kidding - it's incredible!)! We ALL feel some way about something on our bodies. It's completely normal, and if we all have something we want different, we all have that in common.

For some, it's the muscle formation on their bodies; for others, it's simply the constant feeling of being winded or tired. For me, I've had a rough time with accountability. I was reading an article of all the things that make someone successful in this whole journey, and one of the points really made me think: 

Recruit someone who will hold you accountable

"Accountabili-buddies"! Duh! No wonder I'm dying on the vine here. I haven't recently had anyone in my life who has encouraged me by offering to join me. It made sense why I've been so lazy lately. My significant other doesn't find general fitness or eating right a current priority in his life. That's not a problem, but what I need to remember is that there are others who do. The article I read just this morning goes on to say that "an accountability buddy doesn't necessarily need to be a workout buddy, but they do need to be someone you can talk to when you're feeling unmotivated and who can remind you of your original goal"... Ding ding ding! Light bulb!  Of course! That's when I was carefully measuring my portions and meal-prepping, and my consistency at the gym. Right now, I get so preoccupied at work with my tasks and the stress, I don't even take advantage of the gym across the hallway from my office as the most simple form of stress-relief. 

My point is, motivation is hard to come by, even for me. Don't get discouraged with your figure or lack of progress simply because you don't look the way you want to just yet.  Even Jamie Hagiya, doesn't look like the 'typical' cross-fitter.

It's hard as hell to keep going forward. You have to remember that as you trudge on - Remember how far it is that you've come.

Don't quit now, just to have come this far.