When we are no longer able to change a situation — we are challenged to change ourselves.  

— Victor E. Frank

~@l

so after yesterdays unvailing of my blog…sending it to family and friends…i was told by someone that I have made a lot of excuses for NOT going to the gym.

here is my point of view on the whole thing:

YES, i have said that i was planning on going ot the gym….but INSTEAD i chose to do some other form of activity. It still required me to be active for at lease 30 minutes and got my heart rate up. You see, I am trying to show that you don’t JUST have to go to the gym…you can do other things to excersize!

walk the dog
take a walk
rollerblade
DVD workout
tennis
swimming
jump rope
playing catch
volleyball
baseball
wiffle ball
etc etc etc

the point is:

MOVE and STAY MOVING FOR AT LEAST 30 MINUTES!!!!
GET YOUR HEART RATE UP!
SWEAT!

within the past week, i have taken a walk, played tennis, walked my dogs, and did an ab work out at home. I also walk every day on my lunch break.
I am planning on rollerblading this weekend! I can’t wait! I love rollerblading and haven’t done it in soo long!

keep movin’

~@

Wake Up to the Importance of Exercise

Working Out Improves Sleep Patterns

– By Rebecca Pratt, Staff Writer

You stayed up late last night to finish a project, woke up groggy only to realize that you’d slept through the alarm clock, skipped breakfast, then almost fell asleep in the middle of an important morning meeting. It’s now mid-afternoon and, as you’re having yet another cup of coffee to stifle yet another yawn, you realize you’re seemingly sleep walking through your days.

You’re not the only one. Nightly sleep for the average American has dropped from 10 hours (before the invention of the lightbulb) to 6.9 hours, with a third of adults now getting even less than that! In fact, nearly half of all adults admit they sleep less so they can work (or play) more, according to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF). Although most experts agree that the average adult needs eight hours, most of us have burned our candle at both ends.

But how do you get off this “sleep deficit” merry-go-round? It’s easy to say, “get more sleep” but what if you’re simply spending frustrating hours tossing and turning, and having trouble finding deep slumber?

First, it’s important to be aware that sleep is not a passive activity. Healthy sleep is every bit as valuable to your overall well-being as exercise and good nutrition. Research shows that a lack of deep sleep (as opposed to irregular or fragmented sleep) undermines the body’s ability to fight off disease. Perpetual sleepiness can reduce the quality and quantity of your work by a third, according to the NSF. In fact, if you’re sleep-deprived you’re likely to have higher concentrations of sugar in your blood, which could contribute to development of a pre-diabetic condition.

By Rebecca Pratt, Staff Writer

If you’re having major problems in your sleep life, you probably should consult a doctor. But for most of us who are having trouble sleeping, there’s a simple cure: exercise. Working out regularly has been shown to reduce episodes of insomnia. What’s more, it promotes improved sleep quality by producing smoother, more regular transitions between the cycles and phases of sleep.

Moderate exercise lasting 20 to 30 minutes three or four times a week generally results in better sleep and more energy. You may have to find your own exercise rhythm-– some people can exercise any time, while others do better if they work out in the morning or afternoon, not near bedtime. But, vigorous exercise during the day and mild exercise before bedtime will not only help you fall asleep and stay asleep more easily, but will increase the amount of time you spend in deepest sleep phase (Stage 4 sleep).

In fact, in a study on sleep patterns of adults aged 55 to 75 who were sedentary and troubled by insomnia, exercise was shown to play a key role. Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine asked these adults to exercise 20 to 30 minutes every other day in the afternoon by walking, engaging in low-impact aerobics, and riding a stationary bicycle. The result? Time required to fall asleep was reduced by half, and total sleep time increased by almost one hour.

What’s more, exercise offers many other mental benefits:

• Reduces stress by helping to dissipate the lactic acid that accumulates in your blood
• Sharpens your brain by increasing the amount of oxygen available
• Eases built-up muscular tension
• Strengthens and stimulates your heart and lungs
• Stimulates your nervous system
• Increases your production of endorphins— those little substances which create a sense of well-being and increase your body’s resistance to pain
• Stimulates release of epinephrine, a hormone that creates a sense of happiness and excitement
• Increases deep sleep, as the brain compensates for physical stress

Shakespeare didn’t know about sleep studies when he wrote about “sleep that knits up the raveled sleeve of care,” but it seems he did know one thing—there’s nothing better than a good night’s sleep!

this article was taken from www.sparkpeople.com

so i was planing on going to the gym after work today.
i was modivated and ready to kick my own ass!
i got home went upstairs to get my gym clothes told myself “just do it”
 then my friend Sandi called…she was going to the beach with her dogs to take them for a swim.
what do i do? do i say no and take my fat butt to the gym?? or do i walk with my dogs who need the excercize too..and i get to see sandi.
I chose to go to the beach with the dogs.
it was a good time!
we must have done about 2 miles and with the dogs dragging us we weren’t walking along all relaxed..it was hard work!
i felt my heart rate go up and stay up for a while!!! we were walking pretty fast!!! kinda like when you are on the treadmill and you can onl say a fw sentences before being out of breath.

i’m happy that i went.
it barely felt like excercizing!!!! that’s the best part!!!

my dogs got a good work out too!

when i got home katie and i walked to jimmys and picked up our dinners and walked back

I had salmon with spinach and a little risotto

soo good!
i ate pretty light today so the resotto was ok.
i had a smoothie for breakfast with a coffee
lunch i had a HUGE salad with lots of veggie on it and low far dressing
i had a snack of some cheerios chex mix
plenty of water
so i was ok to have the risotto

i’m gonna go grab a skinny cow right now! mmm

i also have taken up walking on my lunch break…even if it’s for 20 mins it’s still something!!

i’ve been feeling pretty good!
even on my off days!

audra just told me over dinner that she’s very impressed with my modivation
she’s never seen me so modivated.

i just want to be healthy and not have restrictions!!
i have enough restrictions weight doesnt need to be my issue.

and besides….i have so many clothes that i want to fit into AGAIN…it excites me!!!

blogLater
~@

Chocolate: A Not-So-Guilty Pleasure

A Love Affair with Good Reason

– By Rebecca Pratt, Staff Writer

For years, you’ve tried to break it off. You’re certain this relationship is wrong, even sinful. But try as you might, you just can’t end it—your willpower inevitably crumbles, and you always go back for more.

We’re talking of course about your love affair with CHOCOLATE— that dark seducer even more likely to attract as you’re surrounded by heart-shaped displays. Long thought to be an aphrodisiac, chocolate has been inextricably linked to Cupid and lovers since it was discovered among the ancient Aztecs and carried to the Old World.

The New World likes it too: the United States is the top importer of cocoa beans, averaging 559,600 metric tons of cocoa beans or cocoa products each year between 1993 and 1997—almost one-quarter of the world’s cocoa! While 75% of chocolate purchases are made by women, the tables are turned during the days and minutes before Valentine’s Day. $1 billion worth of chocolate is sold for this holiday—75% of it purchased by men.

But, whether you’re the giver or receiver, just how sinful is chocolate? The Aztecs and their neighbors, the Mayans, believed chocolate transmitted knowledge and power to those who consumed it. While there’s no evidence to support that idea, there is mounting evidence showing some health benefits to eating it in moderation. Studies have found that dark chocolate helps prevent heart disease and cancer, and has also been shown to improve mood by boosting the brain chemical serotonin. Some even consider chocolate an effective diet food, claiming that a chunk of chocolate before meals diminishes your appetite.

Made up of about 300 chemicals—some of which in theory have mood-altering effects – chocolate contains negligible amounts of the stimulant caffeine, as well as theobromine (which stimulates the heart and the nervous system) and phenyethylamine (an amphetamine-like substance said to simulate the feeling of falling in love). A University of Michigan study says chocolate causes the brain to release b-endorphin, a naturally occurring chemical similar to opium, which dulls pain and increases your sense of well-being.

Chocolate contains a wide assortment of vitamins and minerals that the body needs, including potassium, sodium, iron, fluorine and vitamins A, B1, C, D, and E. In fact, researchers at Harvard University believe chocolate may help people live longer! A study tracking older men found that those who ate chocolate lived almost a year longer than those who didn’t.

Researchers believe this has something to do with the fact that chocolate contains flavonoids(compounds that may lower the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer while slowing the aging process) and stearic acid, a heart-friendly fatty acid that doesn’t promote cholesterol increases.

But a University of Pennsylvania study testing so-called chocoholics found that the cravings may not lie in chemistry at all, but the melt-in-your-mouth texture of chocolate. Subjects in the study were found to prefer chocolate bars, even white chocolate bars which didn’t actually contain any chocolate at all, over capsules of cocoa powder full of chocolate’s active ingredients.

The bottom line: Chocolate may be getting a bad rap as a sinful food. On the other hand—as always—moderation may be the key. If you simply must indulge, here are some tips for controlling your chocolate cravings and consumption:

• Choose dark chocolate over milk chocolate. Studies based on dark chocolate tend to show benefits that milk chocolate does not.
• Partner your chocolate with nutrient-rich foods, like chocolate covered strawberries, apple slices or bananas. Add a few chocolate chips in your berry-nut trail mix. Try a refreshing glass of chocolate-flavored milk or soymilk.
• Buy smaller sizes of chocolate bars or hot fudge sundaes, since research shows you tend to eat the entire amount you’re served.
• Order fruit for dessert, with a small chocolate truffle on the side.
• Savor, don’t chew, your chocolate. Sit down, take your time, and focus on the taste in your mouth. Enjoy it thoroughly. If you pop it in your mouth while you are driving, watching TV, or talking on the phone, you’re likely to keep reaching for more.
• Give in to your chocolate cravings! Every try to stifle a craving by eating something else? You usually just end up eating more and more foods, eventually giving in to your original desire anyway. Save yourself the calories and the torment! A small portion may be all you need for satisfaction.
• this article was taken from www.sparkpeople.com
• blog soon,
• ~@

“I will do what I need to do, in order to do what I want to do.”

If that means getting up at 5:45 a.m. then so be it. I want to be healthy for a long time. I’ve got a long list of reasons why. I like to feel good and feel good about myself. I like the way exercise and eating well make me feel. I want to be around and have a long, healthy life. I want to have kids and be able to wrestle with them and laugh and play and see them grow up and maybe even give me grandkids and great-grandkids one day! I want to have a healthy kidney and be on the lowest amount of medications.

I will do what I need to do (exercise and eat right) in order to do what I want to do (live a full life).

I’ll tell you something I don’t want though. I don’t want to cheat myself out of precious time because I didn’t do the things I should have to live that long life. I don’t want to rob my family of years they could have with me. I don’t want to stare at the ceiling in a hospital room one day thinking, “I wish I would have taken better care of myself and not allowed this to happen.” 

I want to encourage others to do what they need to do to be healthy.That’s part of why I am doing this blog thing, for me AND for you. I want to encourage you to stay in the fight and not give into the excuses.

Nike still has the best excuse-buster I can think of: Just Do It!
Does it mean getting up early even though you’d rather sleep longer? Just do it.
Does it mean staying up later to hit the gym and cook a healthy meal? Just do it.
 Is it hot or cold outside? Just do it.
You name the reason why you shouldn’t do it, and just do it anyway.

The fight will be on again tomorrow. Same time, same place. Wish me luck—no, wish me determination—and I’ll do the same for you! After all, we are in this fight together.

blog soon,
~@

so i’ve been doing pretty good with everything.
my main issue is consistancy.

yesterday me and Duncan and Audra went down to cove and played tennis for about an hour. I switched between them both. so I played for 45+ mins straight!

I was tired and I wanted to go rest…but i knew that that would be giving up too soon.
I am happy that I didn’t give up so easily!
and i really had fun!!

we are planning on going again a few more times a week

i woke up this morning not feeling so well.
so who knows what today will bring.
i’m hoping to at least walk hopper! lol
feel kinda crappy.
but I am focused to do better this week than last.

i made a great roasted chicken last night! super garlicy!
mmmmmm i prolly stink of garlic! ajhaahaha

well not much to write.
i’m doing good…want to do better!

talk soon!
~@

here’s a good little quick qiiz that will help to open your eyes to a 100 calorie snack! post me how you did!

http://www.aolhealth.com/diet/basics/100-calorie-quiz?icid=100214839×1206603213x1200341521 

hey.
so I wrote this great post yesterday and accidentally deleted it like a moron!

so yesterday I knew I was going to be busy, as I was having some friends over for dinner. So during my lunch break I took a 20 minute power walk around all the great parking lots here @ my job ! lol it was good though! i have to stay focused and active!

so I had the following for food yesterday:

breakfast:
oatmeal
glass of oj
large coffee

lunch:
healthy choice wedding soup with spinach( i added water to it b/c of the salt content!!)
1 piece of extra fiber arnolds wheat bread

Snack:
10 mini rice cakes

dinner;
grilled chicken and flank steak fajitas with opnions and peppers guacamole salsa and fat free tortilla

water:
7 glasses
1 glass of arizona iced tea

excercize:
20 minutes of brisk walking

Wed july 23

ok so I was late today and didn’t have time to eat breakfast at home so i did a not so great thing and got a sesame bagel with low fat cream cheese from dunkinD’s
I know I shouldn’thave but it’s better then starving! it won;t happen the rest of this week!

i have a dinner function with  work tonight at an italian restaurant. so I am planning on having a lite lunch.

my 30 mins of active time is gonna be hard today. It’s been raining all morning. so not sure if I can go for a walk on lunch.

i’m feeling good. I am planning on kicking my ass at the gym this weekend. sat and sunday i’m gonna really have a good workout! it’s on!

so I read somewhere this quote that I feel is fitting for this situation

“in 21 days a change becomes a habit” 

hopefully this is true! it definately enspires me to work harder to say that it’s right!

i am doing really well with eating and drinking water so far!
my salad was really good! and filling!
I went to the grocery stor on my lunch break and found 100 calorie m&m and milkyways! mmmm!!
I always just need a little sweet fix…like one piece so I think this will help that!
I also purchased 3 magazines that all have headlines like “walk your self thin!! or lose 10 lbs in 2 weeks” kinda thing
I’m gonna read them tonight and let you know what I think!

so tonight when I get home,

I am going to take hopper for a walk–at least around the block depending on how hot it is. I am going to the grocery store…I am having guests over tomorrow night for dinner…fajitas!!
and I’m going to do an ab workout DVD.
I have a few more glasses of water to drink, and turkey burgers to eat!!
I feel good today.
I think I picked a good day!

when I get home is the hard part though.
i’m always tired from work and just want to relax.
I need to keep that modivation going.
I need to kick my ass!!

~@

well I’ve decided today it the day to start.
I am going to eat right and be sure to be active every day for at least 30 mins EVERY SINGLE DAY!!!!

I am in the process of finding one of those “lose 10 lbs in 2 weeks!!!” kinda things…and sitck to it. but I thougth that I shouldn’t wait until I find one to start being healthy. GOOD ATTITUDE AMANDA!!!!

So, its Monday July 21st.
I weigh: FAT…man i’m not ready to admit that JUST yet.

I can’ tell you that a few things have happened recently that have made me think I might be going crazy…and then i realized “oh no i’m just fat that’s why i’m doing this!”

like…I BOUGHT A PAIR OF MATERNITY PANTS!!! not becasue of any little bundle of joy on it’s way…but more like…becasue it is very unconfortable to wear pants!!! and sit with them!!! OMG!! So my thoughts were…Hey, I’ll buy maternity pants and be soooo comfy (that i’ll never realize how much bigger that will help me become!!)

WHY ON EARTH WHOULD I BUY MATERNITY PANTS!!!! they don’t even look cute!!

oh another thing I did, that I guess is a good thing..is I weighed myself.
it was in the morning before I ate but after I did things in the bathroom if you get my drift….so thats the best time to weigh yourself…true numbers…true scary reality. I hit a number i’ve never EVER in my life been!!!! I cannot believe it!!

I now need to lose 40 lbs for my 30th birthday. that doesn’t sound as cute as 30 by 30!!

i don’t look cute either! I have everything else pretty good in my life! goodplace to live, boyfriend, dogs, family, friends, job etc etc just not happy with how i look.

i watched a video last night of me post sickness, but pre transplant. all i thougth was ” i thought I looked fat there!”
I WISH i looked like that now!!!

so the combo of all of that has made me really ready!
i NEED to do this.
FOR MYSELF.
me.
I need to feel better about myself.
I need to lose weight.
I am concidered out of my BMI
over weight
at risk
fat.

so here goes EVERYTHING!!!!

Breakfast:
1 serving kashi heart healthy cereal
1 serving of 1% milk
1/2 cup watermelon
coffee
water

Lunch:
Salad (lots of lettuce)
topped with
low salt ham, low fat cheese, red onion, butter beans, sugar snap peas, slivered almonds
a few croutons(like 4!) and lite italian dressing
water

Snack:
1 serving quaker oats mini rice cakes in cheddar flavor
1 serving of Sunny D
water

Dinner:
Turkey burger
with swiss cheese and avocado
side of sugar snap peas
water

snack:
skinny cow ice cream sandwich
water

bed:
2 servings of water

EXCERCIZE:
abs with the bender ball(that shit is hard work!!)
walk Hopper

how’s that sound for day 1?

well off to work!
write later with my thoughts of the day!

~@