A Lesson From Ruby, The Dog --Part I - NUTRITION

Diet is important for all of us...

When I remarried at 60 my sweet Yellow Lab, Ruby, had been with me for eight years so she was part of the package deal. My children were both adults, making their life outside my home. But wherever I was, whatever my living situation, Ruby would be with me. So when I made the move to my new husband's home, so did Ruby. Jim had always had dogs. It was true love---I have been known to tease that he married me for my dog. I could not have married someone who wasn't a dog lover anyway.

Ruby was a typical Labrador Retriever in many ways. She was loyal as can be and loved to eat, play, run, and nap. Although I didn't realize it at the time, she was also slightly pleasantly plump. Another way she was not uncommon was she was plagued with ear infections.

Our Curves .... and The Men Who Love Them

 "Cultivate your curves, they may be dangerous but they won’t be avoided”—Mae West

Racquel Welch, Marilyn Monroe, Twiggy, Kim Kardashian. Over the recent decades, these women and many more, have been represented in the media for the curves (or lack-of, in Twiggy’s case) dictated as sexy in the fashion of the day.

Marilyn Monroe

Ladies are we always concerned about our curves? Do we obsess over whether or not we have “too much”, or in some cases “not enough”? Who really dictates the standards by which you measure yourself? Since the beginning of time, or at least since I can remember; through art, fashion, and media women have been left to feel like they are “less than” if they don’t have the right facial features, hair, or body type.

When I grew up in the sixties the ideal image moved from the curves of Marilyn Monroe and Racquel Welch to the waifish stick-figure model “Twiggy”. Suddenly girls who were maturing and developing a shape were made to feel out-of-style if they had curvy hips or any shape other than straight-up-and-down. And with this expectation girls posed on themselves came many extreme diets and eating disorders.

Work in Progress...What's next?

CONSTRUCTION ZONE!

Yes! They say the only thing that is constant is change. If you have been following me for a while you have seen changes in my life and in the title and format of my blog site.

It is still my intention to promote choices that lead to a healthy lifestyle and an attitude that also provides happiness.

My Personal Review of Beachbody Fitness Programs

One of the biggest factors to determine if you will stay with your commitment to a workout is if it fits your interest and fitness level. If you are looking for a fitness program Beachbody is the place to look. There is variety here to suit everyone’s taste.

First I would like to say that what I learned about fitness years ago as a PE major is still true. That is, a well-balanced fitness program contains four elements: cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, and flexibility. 

You will find all four of these components as well as a very well engineered nutrition plan included with every Beachbody fitness program.

I have experienced most of the Beachbody fitness programs personally. Following is a critique of the workouts pretty much in the order I did them, starting in my neighbor’s living room. It may give you a little insight as to what each program has to offer (remember, just my personal opinion):

For Ladies Only... (Let's just have fun!)

Ladies–Try this for a little motivation…

How many calories do you think you would burn? If this doesn’t motivate you at least a little you might want to check your pulse (and see if you have one)

                                      Enlarge your screen    

This is a French commercial for a bottled water, needs no translation. I think they have the right idea if they are selling to women.

Would you be motivated?

Don't Say the "D" Word

In my younger years I had no concept of eating for good health. I knew the term "well-rounded diet". I knew there was a difference between a bowl of ice cream and a bowl of vegetables. But my concern was only focused on the shape of my body in dance wear of a bikini.

 I would jump on the bandwagon of the latest crash diet. Oh yes, this went way beyond Atkins or the South Beach Diet (which wasn’t created yet). I was just reminded the other day of one I tried: The banana, hot dog, egg diet. I heard someone talking about it. Can you imagine? Nine bananas one day, nine hot dogs one day, nine hard boiled eggs one day!!! The point? It did nothing more than show you how to (severely) restrict what you consumed for three days.

As a dance major in the 70s– it is amazing to think of the physical demands placed on our bodies without one course of nutrition required, let alone provided in the program. As I journeyed into the fitness industry, still young, I was still not too concerned with nutrition because I was active enough. Although I was careful I could eat pretty much what I wanted without it affecting my appearance.

 As a mother, from the time my daughter was old enough to understand, I was careful never to use the word “diet” in front of her. Even when I was beginning to worry and slightly unhappy about a few extra pounds finding their way around my middle. I practiced the words (although not necessarily the philosophy) that I “needed to eat healthy”. I didn’t want her to grow up with a warped self-image or with the pressure or the idea that we need to “diet” to look our best. I think many eating disorders or yo-yo diets might possibly be traced back to that attitude.

 So here we are–EATING HEALTHY– not dieting. If you know you need to make changes, consider beginning by focusing on what your body needs to stay healthy and function at its best. Try to think more of what you need to add to your diet instead of what you may need to avoid or take away (I know that can be a tough concept for some). Think of the old 6-8 glasses of water or filling half your plate with vegetables at dinner; that can leave little room on your plate or in your stomach, for the overabundance of protein or processed carbs and refined sugars. Try to keep your choices colorful. When your body is getting what it needs it stops craving what you think it wants.

*I have found SHAKEOLOGY to be very helpful with giving me proper nutrition (daily chocolate for me, my daughter prefers vanilla, my friend prefers vegan strawberry). *

You may be surprised by what happens on the way to getting healthy. Many people approach this backwards, as I did in my younger years, and try unhealthy tactics to look better. In the end their health may suffer and they are not able to keep up with the plan so their waistline eventually suffers too.

 Of course we all want to look our best but that begins by feeling our best. Focusing on our health instead of the size we want to be will eventually accomplish both in a much healthier way (without the “D” word)

DIET IS A FOUR LETTER WORD. Use it only to talk about or plan your healthy diet …and… with a HEALTHY ATTITUDE choose to be

 HEALTHY AND HAPPY!

*for more information visit

www.myshakeology.com/nanciedwards 

#healthyinspiration#motivationtobehealthy#bodyimagevs.health#behealthynotskinny

Zucchini-Cashew Soup

I was first introduced to this recipe on the Beachbody Ultimate Reset.

I love it because it is easy to make, tasty, filling, and versatile.