As you all know I'm not big on New Years resolutions. We all make big grand gestures that we will get in shape, loose weight, yada yada yada. You all know the drill, we all do. Funny thing, my dear sweet husband got me an amazing gift 2 years in a row, a fit bit. Now you all must be thinking.. "what message is he sending to his wife?" I asked him for them both times. My first fit bit bit the the dust I used it every day, I even broke the strap and had to tape the poor thing to hold it together so it would stay on my wrist. In the end it had a recall and broke. I was so lost with out it. My wrist felt naked. So, I asked my dear hubby to get me a new and improved one and even gave him the code so he could get a discount on my one. (This is a testament on how much I love my fit bit.)
So surprise, surprise on Christmas morning I open a wonderful and very thoughtful gift from Dear Hubby. Gave him a big old hug and kiss and charged it right away. Most of my friends think I am bit nutty about my new gift and wanting to wear it right away. I look at it as a hot date. Yes your read correctly, a hot date. I love my dates I have with my Fit Bit. There is something about making yourself accountable for your health and well being. My main goal every day is to make my 10,000 steps each and every day. If I don't and there are days it just doesn't happen ( Saturdays my lazy day) it drives me a bit crazy. I feel like I've let myself down. I know it's not true at all, we all need a rest day.
I'm not going to lie, I love instant gratification that I get from it as well. I look down, see the time, how many steps I've taken so far, how many miles I've walked, how many calories I've burned and stairs I've taken. I want those 10,000 steps. This drives and moves me to be a better, healthier me. In the end, don't we all want that? My gym is the out doors, my walks with my dog Stella, my night walks with my dear husband and my weekends with my kids and my walks to work. We can't inspire our children to be healthy and out doors, if in fact we are not willing do the that very thing ourselves.
So have a hot date with our self and your choice of pedometer. There are so many to choose from in the market place. Find what if right for you and your life style. You will be glad you did.
Thursday, 15 January 2015
Wednesday, 7 January 2015
The old saying," One foot in front of the other." Walking, it's good for you.
So it's a new year and with a new year comes resolutions. Some of the most popular are Quit Smoking, Loose weight, Start running, Go to gym, Eat better, Drink less alcohol, etc. I have been one of these people, we all have been and some still are. This year I've made a resolution to not make any new years resolutions. I'm in my 40's now and it's time to make things real and tangible. Now back in the day I was a runner, a figure skater, played volleyball, basketball, skied, hiked. Most of these activities I did in my Teens and 20's before kids. Now it's hiking, skiing, some yoga & Pilates, shooting hoops with my 13 yr old son and the most " uncool-est" form of exercise..... WALKING.
Now don't get me wrong walking is great for you and it is the easiest thing to do, most of us do it daily and take for-granted this very basic human function. We first learn to crawl and then walk. It's what gets us around. We all see that group of uber healthy people running on the sidewalk or down the beach. We all want to be and we all envy those people, look at how healthy they must be. Guess what, you can be just like them with walking. I read an article the other day 62% of Americans are now walking 10 minutes a day or more to get some exercise. That is great news. It's a start. My goal is to walk 1/2 hr a day. Now some may say," That's not enough" I say it is as long as you are enjoying your self and your view of your walk and are walking at a good pace. I am not going to lie I've tried running again and even jogging, but I found that I enjoy a good long walk much more than pounding the pavement with running/ jogging.
My dear hubby and I over the years have be come the dreaded couch potatoes you hear about. ( hence part of my weight yoyoing over the years since I've had my kids) So we have a new puppy who gets me out walking every day. She may not be the fastest puppy as she loves to stop and look around, sniff and do her private business, however she is making my walks more enjoyable. My family is going out for walks more often too. I love walking at the beach or in a park. Most of my walking is in my very neighborhood where we have a path in a green space between all the subdivisions and it's very nice to be around greenery all year round and see the seasons change and meet new people with their dogs.
You see walking you also get to be sociable. This is the time I get to reconnect with my hubby after a long day and just be us and let it all out. Some times we just walk in silence and hold hands, but that is just as nice as I know we just need quite from all the noise in our lives. Walking with a friend over coffee is also very enjoyable, I do this mostly in the spring to fall months. If find people hibernate in the winter months and come out fresh in the spring ready to take on the world after their new years resolutions have come and gone. So with that I'm sticking to the old adage, " One foot in front of the other." So with being true to myself, walking for me will do just fine.
Today's walk on a cold, damp west coast winter morning.
Stella our new Yorkie/Havanese puppy at the beach.
Now don't get me wrong walking is great for you and it is the easiest thing to do, most of us do it daily and take for-granted this very basic human function. We first learn to crawl and then walk. It's what gets us around. We all see that group of uber healthy people running on the sidewalk or down the beach. We all want to be and we all envy those people, look at how healthy they must be. Guess what, you can be just like them with walking. I read an article the other day 62% of Americans are now walking 10 minutes a day or more to get some exercise. That is great news. It's a start. My goal is to walk 1/2 hr a day. Now some may say," That's not enough" I say it is as long as you are enjoying your self and your view of your walk and are walking at a good pace. I am not going to lie I've tried running again and even jogging, but I found that I enjoy a good long walk much more than pounding the pavement with running/ jogging.
My dear hubby and I over the years have be come the dreaded couch potatoes you hear about. ( hence part of my weight yoyoing over the years since I've had my kids) So we have a new puppy who gets me out walking every day. She may not be the fastest puppy as she loves to stop and look around, sniff and do her private business, however she is making my walks more enjoyable. My family is going out for walks more often too. I love walking at the beach or in a park. Most of my walking is in my very neighborhood where we have a path in a green space between all the subdivisions and it's very nice to be around greenery all year round and see the seasons change and meet new people with their dogs.
You see walking you also get to be sociable. This is the time I get to reconnect with my hubby after a long day and just be us and let it all out. Some times we just walk in silence and hold hands, but that is just as nice as I know we just need quite from all the noise in our lives. Walking with a friend over coffee is also very enjoyable, I do this mostly in the spring to fall months. If find people hibernate in the winter months and come out fresh in the spring ready to take on the world after their new years resolutions have come and gone. So with that I'm sticking to the old adage, " One foot in front of the other." So with being true to myself, walking for me will do just fine.
Saturday, 3 January 2015
My Mission for my Blog.
I have a two beautiful children a son and a daughter. Both are the lights of my life and cherish every moment I have with them as one day they are going to grow up and move on in the world. So while i have them under my wing I want to empower them with positive self body image, both mentally and physically. Today you turn on the TV, the internet, a magazine and see what the media tells as well shows us what it considered to be " Normal" body types. The average woman in North America is a size 14 and is the height of 5' 8", not size 0-2 and the height of 5'11".
I want for my son to know that what he sees in a magazine is all airbrushed women. For him to love his partner for who she truly is. I want him to have a health out look on life physically and mentally. I want for my daughter to have a healthy body image to know it's ok to not be " perfect" and that the women in the magazine has flaws too, its just they have have been airbrushed to that they look " flawless" and that its not the real them in the photo. For her to say," Thank you" when someone pays her a complement. I want for her to be empowered and full of positive knowledge and for her to see & love her true self.
My goal is to promote healthy body image, to embrace what you would consider to be "flaws" be it a scar, birth mark, those few extra pesky pounds. We are all beautiful women and girls. We need to learn to love the skin we are in, to see our True Self. Women on the whole are very harsh on our selves. We will give positive feed back to our friends when they feel down, however we will talk ourselves down in the privacy of our own homes when we look in a mirror. How can we compete with an image that is " false" as we all know the photos in a magazine have been touched up.
We are so hard and critical, more self love is needed. If you are not truly happy with who you are, then take the steps to make yourself a happier person. I am one of these very people I speak about. I as a young teen was very athletic and healthy. As I've gotten older and had my children my body changed, I put on weight and it's still there after many failed attempts to loose weight and be a healthier me. I've changed my dialog at home around my kids. I no longer call myself, FAT, I NEED TO GO ON A DIET, I'M UGLY. How can I teach my kids positive self image if I don't have one of myself. About 5 yrs ago that all changed for me. Those words a NOT aloud in my home.
So I hope you will join me on my journey of my True Self and the women I will interview. Share you own story about your path to your True Self and lets spread the word around the world that we are beautiful just the way we are. Change can happen by just one person at a time.
Love,
Sandra
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I want for my son to know that what he sees in a magazine is all airbrushed women. For him to love his partner for who she truly is. I want him to have a health out look on life physically and mentally. I want for my daughter to have a healthy body image to know it's ok to not be " perfect" and that the women in the magazine has flaws too, its just they have have been airbrushed to that they look " flawless" and that its not the real them in the photo. For her to say," Thank you" when someone pays her a complement. I want for her to be empowered and full of positive knowledge and for her to see & love her true self.
My goal is to promote healthy body image, to embrace what you would consider to be "flaws" be it a scar, birth mark, those few extra pesky pounds. We are all beautiful women and girls. We need to learn to love the skin we are in, to see our True Self. Women on the whole are very harsh on our selves. We will give positive feed back to our friends when they feel down, however we will talk ourselves down in the privacy of our own homes when we look in a mirror. How can we compete with an image that is " false" as we all know the photos in a magazine have been touched up.
We are so hard and critical, more self love is needed. If you are not truly happy with who you are, then take the steps to make yourself a happier person. I am one of these very people I speak about. I as a young teen was very athletic and healthy. As I've gotten older and had my children my body changed, I put on weight and it's still there after many failed attempts to loose weight and be a healthier me. I've changed my dialog at home around my kids. I no longer call myself, FAT, I NEED TO GO ON A DIET, I'M UGLY. How can I teach my kids positive self image if I don't have one of myself. About 5 yrs ago that all changed for me. Those words a NOT aloud in my home.
So I hope you will join me on my journey of my True Self and the women I will interview. Share you own story about your path to your True Self and lets spread the word around the world that we are beautiful just the way we are. Change can happen by just one person at a time.
Love,
Sandra
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