Question: Praying for what we dont want!

(it’s like Jeopardy up in herre today!)

Answer:

What is worrying?

(Get it right? Please to bestow upon yerself the prize of skipping this post & have a happy zen-filled FRET-FREE Thursday)

Years ago, at a yoga instructor certification course, a woman made the above comment to me when I expressed concern about a situation.

For me the sentence was life altering.

I wasnt an active worrier, but was already a big believer in the law of attraction.

It made perfect sense to me that by focusing on precisely what I did not desire (Please dont let my plane be delayed. I need to get home.  Ive a deadline to nail) I was essentially praying (or attracting if youre not one for prayer) for the event to transpire.

And, when I say life altering moment, I mean it from my core.

Ive had relatively few of these AhHas! (this was another) & this one 100% shifted my life-view.

The conundrum was I still had lottsa frets & worries in my head and I needed something productive to do with them.

I give you MizFit’s Top Two Tips to Avoid Praying For What You Do Not Want.

Ask yourself if the worry is helpful or productive?

Is this a worry where you can take action and mitigate it?

Is this a fret where your attention could bring about a ‘better’ outcome?

Indeed worry and then ACT. 

Is this a fear-based worry where the matter is out of your hands (this is/are the majority of mine)?

Make 2012 the year where you work the muscle of LETTING GO of what you can not control. For some this is let go let G-d for others it’s merely letting go.  Use trial and error to find what works for you.

Create a dedicated worry place or time.

While this sounds silly (& against the whole notion of the law of attraction) it works for me.

I found, like any major life change, my ability to let go of worrying was a process not an overnight!success!

As a result I needed to create a way to manage my frets until I could (can? tomato tomaaaahto) re-train my brain to release them in general.

Some find dedicating a specific amount of time per day to addressing worries translates into the frets not invading the other 23.5 hours (or however long you choose).

For me a more tangible approach was needed.

Until I re-trained my brain to fret-less as a habit, I wore a necklace pouch. (The sort more earthy types carry crystals in.) During the day, when a worry threatened to derail my thinking, I wrote it on a small piece of paper & placed it in the pouch.

Not only was I able to ‘let the fret go’ it served as a tangible indicator, as the weeks progressed & the pouch was less full at days end, of my new way of thinking becoming a habit.

(Takes a moment, focuses & does not let herself worry if anyone is still reading)

confession: Most of my posts start out longlong & only make it to my blog after being trimmed down so much they resemble insert joke here about newly shockingly skinny celebrity. This post began as even longer & this version is indeed the Kelly Osborne Post-Dancing With the Stars revision.  That’s how life-altering this concept was for me.

And you?

Are you a worrier who has already experienced the AH HA! of setting the frets free?  What tactics/approaches work for you?

Are you Miz or MizTer Footloose & Fancyfree? How on earth did you ever git this way do you maintain your outlook on life?

The above is, indeed, a flashback to another MizFit post.  I had a fresh-from-the-oven post slotted, but since worrying about a loved one is threatening to take over up in herre (& Im focusing on the above concept with the Tornado right.this.very.moment) I decided to share this instead.

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A Bipolar Wednesday Weigh In

Still holding steady even after my excursion to Seattle. I’m feeling a little bipolar at the moment.

Part of me feels fabulous where I am. I’ve been maintaing a healthy weight for months –a feat for anyone with my yo-yo dieting history. I’m active. My diet contains lots of fresh unprocessed foods. Frankly, I’m doing the best I can and as I age, I’m confident enough to know that’s all that matters. <-- Totally makes all the fine lines and wrinkles worth it.

However, there's another part of me that wants to "diet" just to lose these last 5 lbs. Some clothes in my closet that used to fit perfectly are still a little snug. The scale is showing numbers that made me cringe in high school. These are the same numbers that drove me down a path of yo-yo dieting and weight gain through my teens and 20s. I wasn’t fat then and I’m not fat now, but try to tell that to the 16 year old version of me. She’s not hearing it.

I don’t need a lecture. I know I’m not fat. I know I’m in my healthy range. I know I don’t need to diet. I just wish my brain would stop mulling it over and over and over again.

*sigh*

I have to admit, it felt good to get all that out of my head.

On another note, I’m looking forward to starting up my training again for that, umm, little event in September. I also have a 10 miler on Saturday I’m totally not prepared for. ugh.

I’m craving a schedule and a consistent time to work out. It helps keep me sane. Not to mention, it silences the irrational side of my brain that insists on telling rational side that I need to be thinner just to see a stupid number on a stupid scale.

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Weight Doesn't Disappear When It's Gone

In October 2007, I had the good fortune to meet a very sweet and inspirational man: David Elmore Smith.
David is in the white sweatshirt.David was sexually molested as a child and lost his mother when he was 17. Yet, at 650 pounds, he found the courage to lose 400 pounds and he told his story to the world. David and I met when we were on Oprah, and he went on to do many other TV appearances, including the TLC documentary, “650-Pound Virgin.”
David has been out of the spotlight for a few years, but he resurfaced on the Today show Wednesday, having gained 300 pounds. In this Huffington Post article, there is a link to the Today video, and below is an excerpt of his sad, yet very honest, truth.
"All my life I was this monster in my head and all of a sudden to be this good looking guy, it blew my mind away, I didn't know how to deal with it," he said. Smith also felt like "a terrible mess" on the inside, and eventually turned to alcohol and drugs to cope, "Today" reports.

When those outlets didn't help, he turned once again to food. "A lot of people were counting on me to be inspiring, and I didn't want to let anybody down. But I just felt so bad, I didn't know how to cope," he says.


Weight doesn’t disappear. It hides, waiting for you to feed it your fear. David’s gain put me face-to-face with my own 20-pound gain and the 150 other pounds lurking in the dark recesses of my mind.

I’ve searched (not as desperately as I think I have) for a reason for my gain. Something outside me I can blame. But the truth lies not in what I eat or my reluctance to move or the pain of arthritis or perimenopause. The truth is deep inside me and buried in mistrust, and David’s truth has nudged me to at least admit that (lately) I’ve been walking – zombie-like – down the path I swerved to avoid seven years ago. When school/family/friends/love and all its ensuing conflict/euphoria/worry/obligation piled up and I couldn’t sort through it all like laundry, I looked longingly back, like Lot’s wife, at the path of “How I Used To Live” and turned into a 20-pound pillar of salt, with the very real potential of adding 150 more.

Losing weight and, more importantly, keeping it off, takes a lot of concentration. Yeah, yeah…it takes determination and motivation and inspiration and all the other “tions” you can name, but first and foremost it takes concentration.

Distractions, however, deactivate concentration, and when it comes to weight loss and maintenance, the distractions that deactivate concentration aren’t simple things like the lure of an ice cream cone on a hot summer day. They are deep-seeded emotional issues or family issues or work issues that not only distract, but cause a reaction that is counter to what our concentrated self would “approve” of.

David didn’t consciously gain 300 pounds back. Nothing in him said, “I want to be morbidly obese again.” I didn’t consciously gain 20 pounds. And nothing in my mind is saying, “I want to be 300 pounds again.”

A lot of people were counting on me to be inspiring… 

I want to inspire, but I’m as vulnerable and flawed as anyone on this path, including David. And that truth in and of itself is inspiring. I wish David all the love and self-care he can find as he works through his “terrible mess,” and I hope he finds the truth that lies beneath, the one I could see in his smile and in his eyes when I met him: kindness, sincerity, and a strong desire to live.

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Parting is such sweet, 100% egg white, sorrow.

Ahh people.  The time hath come to bid Egg Beaters 100% Egg Whites a fond fond farewell.

Up in herre I mean.

And, even being a misfit who turns down 76.77% of brand-partnership opportunities because they are *not* an organic fit, this has been one of my fave.partnerships.ever.

I celebrated when they picked me because I’d been chasing them for eons always been interested in partnering with them.

Id eaten them for years.  They work for me. 

My body thrives on protein (yours may too!*).  I feel better, more energetic, and less prone to mood swings.

I adore how easy Egg Beaters 100% egg whites are to slip into my meals, snacks & car (when the Tornado was little the number of eggs I broke trying to carry *her* and my groceries are immeasurable).

All that said, Im celebrating one.big.thing. even as this brand partnership comes to a close:

It has reminded me yet again how when we practice what we preach–there’s nary a need to say a word.

Ren Man now makes a Meal in a Mug for breakfast each morning and to say this is a ginormous change for the healthy would be a dramatic understatement.

The Tornado had *already* noticed Egg Beaters were my fave food (as per the picture below):

(upper-right corner)

And apparently had a ‘moment’ with her teacher over my Mothers Day card when she insisted I liked my eggs from a “box” and they did NOT have the yellow middle:

(Please dont tell Tornado what they look like.)

I also adore how many stranger-friends now associate me with Egg Beaters.  Reason #19478347 why I never align with a brand I do not fully embrace:

I loved. I loved.

Blather blather love love aside—I wanted to take a moment during this last post and share with you something WE are loving right now:

"The Poach Pod"

(the pod was a gift but Id imagine a google-search would turn up the source? Id also imagine if youre a true “cook” you already know how to poach without needing said pod)

We’ve been poaching the EB whites non-stop around here because it’s something the Tornado can do (practically) by herself and also something she can get utterly creative with.

She’s tried adding cheese, crumbled sausage, veggies, salsa & a few other items (fruit alert! fruit alert!) which didnt go over so well in her mouth.

She pours in the E.B.Whites...

Our breakfast, snack, lunch, whatevers is ready to be topped served:

Voila.

And that’s where we are on this Wednesday.

Saying farewell, poaching up a storm, and remembering when we practice what we preach theres nary a need to say a word.

And you?

Have you noticed, when you live authentically & act in accordance to your mission/beliefs, people around you cant help but follow?

Have you any tips for the Tornado for her poach-toppings?

Please to hit us up in the comments below.

*Studies are increasingly showing it is PROTEIN which serves to keep us awake & fight the mid-day slump not sugars.

This post is sponsored by Egg Beaters 100% egg whites. As always the rest of the mishegas is all my own.

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My workouts.

Back on this post a few of you asked for specifics on my 20 minute workout.

Let's pretend this isnt blurry, ok?

It’s also a question I get pretty frequently by email.  It seems you wanna know what, exactly, I do for my weights routine, how frequently I lift etc.  You crazy.

The thing is, ala the We dont need no STINKIN’ HOOK! post, it almost doesn’t matter what *I* do.

It’s taken close to 43 years for me to find what works for this bod & one thing I do know is it isnt necessarily what will work for anyone else.

That said, I entirely get your frustration when that’s my response.

That said, I entirely OWN the fact it would piss me off be a bit irksome if I asked about someone’s workout plan & they merely said it might not work for me.

Id wanna decide that last piece for myself.

As a result, I give you my workout routine in three different forms so you may consume the one which works best for you.

In 86 seconds of rhyme:

In 107 seconds of (more) serious yammering:

And, finally, in terse bullet points:

Far more important than what my workouts consist of is the fact they are consistent.  ZERO  fits and starts.  When you’re consistently healthy–almost 19 years in the house!–no single day needs to be “perfect.”Im soft of core.  My training is for functional fitness not competition. When I’m lifting in a traditional fashion (read: not PLAYouts) I break down the body parts so my sessions never exceed 20 minutes.  As I say in the silly rhyme video: chest, back, legs, biceps, triceps, shoulders.  All individual workouts.

And thats me.

And precisely why Ive never blogged about my workout routine as methinks this could replace Ambien as sleep inducer.

Now you.

Does your workout routine resemble mine? Care to share?

Is your training schedule not at all like mine? Wanna divulge?

Anyone else care to vlog their exercise approach in rhyme or rap? Ill link! Ill link!

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Weight Loss and Financial Debt Reduction Require the Same Strategies for Success. Here’s How.

So, yeah. Weight loss and financial debt reduction definitely go hand and hand.

Got any debt? A little bit or a lot?  Then keep reading…

Take a look at the pic to the right. That right there is a screenshot of the final online payment I made today on my (closed) Macy’s card. Hurrah!

As you can see, my final payment was only $154.57, but back when I started the debt reduction plan for this credit card, the balance was pushing very close to $3,000. “Ewww. Dat’s nasty.”

I paid off the balance in about a year by using the same exact strategies we use to lose weight. 

Strategy #1: Just like the extra weight I used to carry around, I got sick and tired of carrying the Macy’s debt. I refused to accept that I had to live that way. It was a thorn in my side and enough was enough.

Strategy #2: I shut down the card (closed it) to prevent further spending while the balance was still almost $3,000. This is the same as making the decision to shut down crappy habits. But it wasn’t an easy decision. The Macy’s card offered me convenience and many spending pleasures, much like over-indulgence in food offers temporary happiness and instant gratification, but giving into these kinds of temptations is what got me into trouble in the first place, so I activated Strategy #2 — I shut them both down.

Strategy #3: I envisioned the day when the balance would be zero, and used that as the driving force to keep me motivated and on track with my plan. I needed this most on those days when I felt like that damn credit card bill was barely moving downward despite the effort of the extra payments I was making. The balance was still so freaking high, and that really sucked. Staying motivated to slowly chisel away at your debt is no different than staying motivated to whittle down your weight.

Strategy #4: Side road ditches and long detours couldn’t stop me, so they can’t stop YOU either. There are plenty of the times when unexpected stuff came up; when the extra funds set aside to pay down the debt sadly had to be diverted to other things instead. For instance, several times I planned on hitting the balance hard with a $300 payment, but then the stupid water heater died or some rogue mystery bill arrived in the mail. These situations meant no big lump sum to pay down the card, but even if I could throw an extra $5 or $10 extra towards killing the balance (anything but just paying the minimum due for God’s sake!), I knew I was still in active motion towards my goal. As for your weight loss, my point here is this: Life happens. Stuff will slow you down, but you can NOT stop with even the smallest daily actions towards your fitness progress. If you can’t run today, then walk. If you can’t walk, then stand up a little longer. If you can’t stand, then lay your ass down and lift your legs up 10 tens. Ya got me? There is always something you can be doing even when the unexpected throws up on you.

Had I never closed the Macy’s card, I would’ve kept spending. Had I never thirsted for a zero balance, I’d still be making minimum payments and spending the extra money on stupid stuff. When you want something bad enough you make it happen. End of story. It doesn’t matter if it’s debt reduction or weight loss or a career change or whatever. The same strategies and principles pretty much apply to every situation.

Once this blog post is old ‘n crusty, and dried up and hidden in the back pages, I wanna hear stories about YOU succeeding at whatever it is you set your hands to do. But if anything, hopefully I’ll hear about your awesome weight loss with a side dish of debt reduction? Do we haz a deal?

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Delicious Quinoa Tabbouleh Recipe (guest post).

First let me just say that I met Carla in person at a recent Fitness Magazine event in New York City; and saying that her passion and energy are remarkable would be an understatement. I blog over at www.Kodjoworkout.com, and similar to Carla, one of my passions is to spread as much knowledge as possible, on health and fitness issues, including healthy eating. So that brings us to the topic du jour, where I’m introducing a delicious quinoa recipe. Hope you enjoy the post, and would love to hear your much anticipated feedback!

As the video above revealed, I was not familiar with quinoa until we shot this segment, so don’t feel bad if you didn’t know anything about quinoa either. In any event, I’m very happy to report that since we shot this video, quinoa has found a full-time home in my kitchen cabinets, and for good reason! So let’s see why we should all take a better look at this delectable seed called quinoa.

Most people believe quinoa is a whole grain, however it is a seed. Short of a better analogy, it is an organic gluten-free and cholesterol-free whole grain. For those who are looking to jump ships from white rice to something much healthier, you should get more quinoa in your diet. Just to give you a sense of what it feels like when fully prepared, quinoa has a fluffy and creamy appearance, and a crunchy taste.

When your schedule involves running around running around all day, quinoa should make it a little less painless in the kitchen, as it is relatively quick to cook (about 15 minutes). The benefits of quinoa do not stop there. This seed contains a large amount of protein (12-15%) and is a source of all 9 essential amino acids. It also contains a healthy amount of manganese, phosphorus, magnesium, fiber, copper and folate.

There is no denying that quinoa is a tasty delight; what makes it even more valuable is the plethora of health benefits it carries; below are just a few:

Quinoa repairs tissues: Thanks to its content of lysine (an amino acid), quinoa helps grow and repair tissues in your body.

Quinoa eases migraine: Migraine is no fun; but what’s even worse are the chemical-loaded, commercial medications used to attempt to ease it. A much healthier way to get rid of your migraine is to switch to a quinoa-rich diet. Thru its content of magnesium quinoa helps relax blood vessels, which in turn eases the pressure from the migraine.

Quinoa makes the heart healthier: When your diet is low in magnesium, your risk of developing heart disease increases significantly. As mentioned above, quinoa provides magnesium to your cells, helping expand the blood vessels, allowing an adequate amount of blood to be channeled to the heart.

Quinoa prevents cell oxidation: Because quinoa is rich in manganese, it slows considerably our cells propensity to oxidize. Cell oxidation causes major degenerative diseases and is the leading source of aging.

Quinoa helps strengthen your bone: Vegans and lactose-intolerant people will certainly appreciate this; quinoa contains calcium, which builds and maintains bones and teeth.

Quinoa Tabbouleh is a delicious recipe that can be served solo, with pita bread, or even as a side dish. If you want all of its flavors to soak in before you eat the quinoa tabbouleh, you may leave it in the fridge for 24 hours.

Ingredients Needed
The below should be able to feed four to six people

-One cup of dry quinoa
-Two cloves garlic
-1/2 red onion
-Two medium tomatoes
-Two cups of parsley
-Mint (about 1/2 cup)
-Eight ounces of feta cheese
-1/4 cup good extra-virgin olive oil
-Two tablespoons of lemon juice
-Extra lemon juice to taste
-Salt to taste

Cooking direction

Make sure to properly rinse your quinoa. Boil 2 cups of water in add the quinoa along with half a teaspoon of salt. Cover it up and let it cook for 15-20 minutes. You know it’s done when the quinoa appears fluffy.

Then dice two medium tomatoes into small pieces (remove the seeds). Also mince in the garlic, mint and parsley finely. In the meantime, dice up half an onion in a bowl of water with salt and set aside.

Remove the cooked quinoa from the pot and let it sit at room temperature. Once it cools down, add some lemon juice, olive oil, and a bit of salt to taste. Also add the parsley, onions, tomatoes mint and garlic and stir the mixture. Spread some feta cheese on top and gently stir again.

That’s it! Your quinoa tabbouleh recipe is officially completed! Congrats

Dinner is ready:

Come join me for dinner for this delicious quinoa tabbouleh, served with Chicken Marbella…Better hurry up because I might just eat it all

About the author: Kodjo is a fitness enthusiast turned health blogger. When he is not tweeting or blogging about home workout and healthy eating, he is likely eating healthy and working out at home. His wish is to contribute as much as possible, to the fight against obesity in America. He recently developed a four-week home workout program to help people exercise in the comfort of their home. Kodjo has more than a hundred thousand loyal Twitter Followers at Kodjoworkout.

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