Questioning Your Self-Image:

Why do we only see the negative in our lives and ourselves? Why do we feel only the negative? Constantly obsessing with what’s wrong with our bodies, our aches and our pains. We all know someone who has memorized the date and time of every injury and when exactly his/her body started to fall apart. Why do they then have to tell us when we hit that date and time, our body will do the same? Does this sound familiar? “I started gaining weight when I turned 40. Nothing you can do about it. It’s in the family genes?” I aske you, who’s jeans are you wearing? Last time I checked, I was wearing my own. They fit no one but me.

Do you know someone who always blames others for the negatives in their life? It was their parent’s fault or a sibling who was thinner and made them hate themselves? Or better yet, their brother beat them up and made them a wimp. Why do we blame others? Why not take responsibility for our own actions. Who poured the milk in the cereal this morning? Or was it a donut or McDonald's that you ate. You ultimately make every decision on what enters your mouth. Or better yet, what comes out of it verbally. Speak positive over your life. It's the only one you have.

Did you realize that words are seed in your life. Think about what seed you are planting in your body. Seeds of health or seeds of death? What is growing and flourishing within? Constantly complaining about every ache and pain, remember when they started and convincing yourself surgery is the only way…….if so, I will see you at the hospital. You have now planted seeds of sickness, doubt, and negative reinforcement. You cannot live by aches and pains.

Lets try something totally new for one week and see how you do. Every time something creeps up and you feel the “pains of getting older, or being unhealthy” think in your mind, I am whole and healthy. Next time you want to remember when your thyroid gave out, don’t. Stop blaming others and take responsibility for what you do with your body and what you eat. Remember, it’s your fork that enters into your mouth. No one is holding your wrist prying your mouth open, and shoving the food in. Make wise decisions. Get your Calorie King book and watch those calories. I am not perfect and have plenty of weak moments. We are in this together. It's a constant to make those right choices.

This next one comes from the bottom of my heart as I live it everyday. I plea you never do this again. When you see someone who is skinny don’t assume they were born that way or they don’t make the same sacrifices you are in dieting and trying to be healthy. When you are at work and a coworker is serving cake at 8:30 AM and the skinny person passes on a slice, please don’t make a big deal about it. Don’t heckle them and tell them they can "afford" to have a piece. Maybe they can’t. You don’t know the sacrifices they make or the will power it may takes for them. Why do you think THEY are skinny and you are not. Maybe next time, sit with them and talk, follow their example, and wave the next piece of cake on by.

Go be positive, stop complaining, stop blaming, and make friends with the skinny people. :)

Basal Matabolic Rate - BMR

What is a Basal Metabolic Rate or BMR? These are calories simply burned by sitting on the couch, at your computer, breathing, repairing cells, heart pumping, sleeping and just… living. This is what you burn to survive. “The amount of fuel used to run the body varies from person to person as does the resting heart rate. The BMR is the amount of energy required by the resting body to stay alive.” (quoted from The Eat Clean Diet by Tosca Reno www.eatcleandiet.com )

Want to figure out your BMR? Follow the calculator below (taken from the book Making The Cut by Jillian Michaels www.crownpublishing.com .

Women: 655+(4.35xweight in pounds) + (4.7xheight in inches) – (4.7 x age in years) = _______.
Men: 66+(6.23xweight in pounds) + (12.7xheight in inches) – (6.8 x age in years) = _______.

This is what you need to eat daily to MAINTAIN the body weight you are currently. To lose weight, you will need to cut this number and add exercise.

Suggested calorie for weight loss Women: non-active between 1000-1200; active 1000-1500. Men: non-active between 1200-1500 and active 1200-1800 and Teenagers 1200-1800. (Taken from Calorie King 2008 edition, highly recommend to keep yourself on track) www.calorieking.com

Caloric intake over your BMR, is storing fat, thus gaining weight every day. So make sure to add that exercise and lower your caloric intake to fit your personal BMR numbers. Suggestion: Follow the suggested calories listed above for a few weeks as a test. If no difference is seen you may need to adjust your numbers. Please feel free to contact me directly at taylorhappyheart(@)gmail(dot)com so I can help you with your numbers. Let me know what your height, weight, age is and we can go from there.

Another aspect of unhealthy eating is not eating enough. Your body goes into starvation mode and stores extra fat. This could even be you simply skipping meals all day long and getting your caloric intake in for the day in your last meal. You can't just count calories, but must learn to balance them throughout your day.

Watch your calorie intake for one week and remember to keep journaling. Since we are all creatures of habit, we tend to eat the same foods. Keeping track of calories should not be difficult. After a while you just know what the caloric intake is of the foods you eat. This will come easier to you the more you do it, like anything in life. It takes time and practice.

Let me know what you think of the BMR calculator by leaving your comments below. I love to hear from you.

PS. Thanks for all the prayers on the diagnosis of scoliosis that I received a few months back. As of this week, I have permission to start working out again. I got a "Hmmm....I have never seen this before" from my chiropractor. Who doesn't want to hear that? Praise God! He does things that man will never understand. And I am 100% willing to be on this ride.

So let's get working out together. Keep motivated anyway you can. I am here to help you as much as you are here for me.

Be Blessed.

Supportive Spouse?

Let's talk about eating healthy with a spouse who isn't in total agreement with your new way of life. Are you all alone in your new adventure of health? Like the loan apple, that watches what they eat, while their spouse brings home the bacon. Literally. This can be a huge problem. Perfect example: We have seen time and time again the spouse that puts on sympathy weight during the wife's pregnancy. This is very common as well when one spouse wants to lose weight and the other still wants to go to McDonald's. The one trying to lose weight looses motivation instead. How do we stop the unsupport and either get them on board with you, or to at least not tempt you with their bad eating habits. Communication is the key. You MUST sit down with the spouse and tell them what your goals are in losing weight/eating healthy. Tell them you are not forcing them to change with you. Also, you would love to have them start eating healthier, but it's a decision they need to make themselves, as you have for yourself. Write out your health goals and share them with your spouse so they know your motivation and can be in agreement with you. If they do not wish to change with you, you may have to do two sets of grocery lists. One with the items that please them and veggies and fruit that you need. If your spouse is into lots of sweets, ask them to put everything in a cupboard in which you don't have access too, and only eat the sweets when you are not present. Jillian Michaels put it best on one of her radio shows, that "you must let the spouse know just because you are trying to lose weight does not mean you are losing interest in them or out to find a newer thinner spouse". This does go through their minds. Most couples stay heavy together as they are comfortable and afraid if one loses weight the other is left behind. Also remember your body is your responsibility and no one else's. You MUST make an effort to be healthy today.
If you are lucky and your spouse wants to lose weight with you or workout with you, this is the best option for your family. Not only will this strengthen your relationship but you will be on the same page when it comes to groceries. It's OK if you don't enjoy the same workout DVD's or regimen, as long as you are doing what makes you happy. You can each take time to workout with what works for you and then finish with a healthy dinner together. If you and your spouse can workout lifting weights and learn to spot each other, this can also be fun. When I was bigger into weights (and will be again soon) my husband was (and still is) my best supporter and encourager. In this situation make sure you communicate openly about what you want to get out of your workout. One spouse can think they are being supportive and in the end be pushy. Set goals together and know if you mess up for a day or two, it's OK and just get back in and continue to love each other no matter what.

I have to give a shout out to my husband who has been so supportive during my back/neck injury, as I heal up and get into fitness again slowly. I can't wait till the day I am rocking it out with my weights and weight bench. There is nothing like pushing through a rep when you just don't think you have it in you anymore, to only surprise yourself with a "Yes I do."

So this week, set up a date with your spouse. Maybe a meal out at a restaurant and test your skills on picking something healthy. Make sure the room/restaurant is quiet and without distractions (kids or needy pets). Talk about your goals and see if you are on the same page. If not, let them know you are going to continue on without them, but will also continue to love them for who their are.

Send me your comments on how this "talk" went and you will receive a free gift in the mail. Make sure you include your email address for contact from me on your mailing address. Be Blessed and keep being healthy.

#2 - Workout Routines: What’s Right For You?

In article #1 an outline was done of different Yoga practices, instructors and DVD’s to help you make right choices in picking a Yoga style. I have a few other workouts I would like to take the time to go over, for all of you who decided Yoga is not right for Your Happy Hearts.

Oxygen Fitness Magazine is a fantastic magazine for women at all levels of fitness. Subscribe to their magazine and follow their regimen outlined for you. As each month shows you something new, there’s no getting bored. Honestly, I can’t wait to get the magazine in my mailbox and half the time, the husband has it in his hands first. It’s very motivational with real women’s stories of success. I think this is a MUST for those trying to change their lifestyle into that of one with health and fitness. Just when you lose interest in working out, blam, there’s a new magazine at your door reminding you to keep going. You can subscribe by selecting the magazine in the Amazon list on the right. I have all my magazines saved (three years worth) as you can refer back to them whenever you choose.

Several months ago I ordered the Fit-Stick by oxygenfit (created by Oxygen Magazine) and it’s an amazing piece of equipment. It’s compact, portable and small enough to fit in a gym bag or suitcase. You receive the Fit-Stick, five resistant toners (different resistant levels), door anchor attachment, body sculpting workout DVD, and a fitness lifestyle manual. The (Fit-Stick), or pull up bar, is designed so the ends unscrew (slide-snap-and-lock) and the handles of the bands slide into the Fit-Stick. With your feet over the resistance band, you can then use the Fit-Stick for bicep curls, arm raises or extensions, bar squats, and several other movements. This is something I highly recommend. Check out their site www.oxygenfit.com for more details. Leave me a comment on what you think of this crazy awesome invention. The best comment or new subscription to this blog, just may receive a special something in the mail. http://oxygenfit.com/products_fitstik.php for a direct link to the fitstick.


Remember: eat your greens, count your calories, and get some form of exercise in everyday. If you are a subscriber or subscribe new today, you will forever be entered in my bloggy giveaways. More to come…….

Upcoming:
I have had questions on protein powders and bars, so I am working on putting something together for you very shortly.