Life Wisdom I’ve Learned over the Years

 

Instead of making New Years resolutions this year, which probably like most of you I never seem to keep, I decided to make a list of some of the things I have learned and discovered throughout the years. These are little bits of wisdom and truths that in knowing make my life happier and simpler than it was before I figured these things out. Hopefully most of you can learn from, or at least relate to some of the things I have learned…

1. It really is the small things in life that make the biggest difference. I know this is a saying that most of you are probably quite familiar with, but it is so true. If I am having a bad day and I have a conversation with someone who says something really nice such as telling me how much I mean to them, this small conversation has the immense power of changing my entire outlook for the rest of the day. On the contrary if I am driving and someone flips me off or yells at me for no reason this can have the power to put me in a really bad mood. Whether we like it or not, the people around us and the small things they do have the capability of changing our day. This is why we should be careful in how we react to others in that what we do could make or break someone’s day. I also believe this is why we should not be .shy about letting others know how much they mean to us.

2. Money isn’t everything, but it matters. I am fortunate enough now to have a job where I do not really have to work a lot of hours to make enough to live off of. However, I have discovered several things: (1) When I have extra money it tends to burn a hole in my pocket and I waste it more on frivolous things such as clothes and going out to eat (2) If you are not doing a job you love the money is not enough to make you happy. As I mentioned in a previous blog, my focus is more on grad school and teaching now because I believe this will bring me the most long-term happiness (3) Money matters in that being stressed about money can really impact your entire life. Trust me, I’ve been there. there have been times in my life where I was negative -$500 in my bank account and didn’t know how I was going to be able to make rent that month. This is probably the most stressful feeling in the entire world, and it is hard to enjoy life when you are feeling like this.

3. In order for others to like you, you have to love yourself. This is another cliche saying, but it’s so true. Honestly, there have been times where I’ve not been feeling great about myself, and worked promotions where no one wanted to even talk with me. On the contrary, if I am in a good mood and feeling good about myself it is often contagious. Whatever we put out there is what we get back.

4. Most people don’t know themselves well enough in their early twenties to be in a serious relationship. Before anyone gets mad at me for this one, I would like to say that some people do, but they are the exception to the rule. There are plenty of people who get married in their early twenties and lead perfectly happy and content marriages. However, I don’t think most of us are ready to settle down that early anymore. When I was 20 I was in a serious relationship, and lived with that guy until I was 24. However, at that point in my life I still acted like a kid, and was certainly not ready for marriage or kids of my own. I will state though that people mature at different rates, and that it could be quite possible that I matured slower than a lot of girls.

5. Moderation is the key to life. So cliche, but so true once again. I don’t really deny myself anything (except of course truly harmful things such as illegal drugs), and I think I am a happier person than I was when I was younger because I’ve learned to indulge. I drink coffee on a regular basis, but not more than two cups per day. I drink wine, beer, and occasionally mixed drinks, but usually not more than 1 or 2 in a night and not more than once or twice per week. I eat chocolate and sweets on a daily basis, but again not usually more than a couple of pieces. I am also not afraid to: lose myself in a good book for several hours, occasionally get a professional massage, have an official “movie day” and sit around and watch movies all day, go shopping and splurge on something I’ve been wanting for a long time. I am a firm believer in the notion that life is short, so you should not deny yourself any of the little things that will make you happy, as long as they are within your reach.

6. You can do anything you put your mind to. I’ve always believed that you have as much willpower as you believe you do. If you truly believe you can quit smoking you can. If you believe you can run that half marathon you can. If you believe you can make straight A’s, why the hell not?

7. You shouldn’t care so much about what other people think. When I was younger I cared way too much about what others thought. 3 or 4 years ago when I was doing a promotion if someone was rude to me I would have slapped them right back with a verbal insult. Many people don’t believe this about me, but although I’m ashamed to admit it, it’s true. On the contrary, in the past few years I’ve learned that people are usually rude because of their own insecurities. Either they are trying to get attention from their friends, or they are feeling so bad about themselves they feel they must lash out at someone else in order to try to fill that hole within themselves. I’ve learned that when someone acts in a rude manner towards you it is best to ignore him or her, or even give that person a smile and say something nice in return. Likewise, through doing promotions for so many years I feel I have learned a lot about the psychology of people, and it’s funny how so many people say and do so many of the same things as each other without even realizing it. Most of the insulting things people say or do in trying to be funny are things I’ve heard 100,000,000,000 times before.

8. Everyone lives life on their own timeline. A friend and I were actually discussing this a few days ago, and it is so true. While some people my age are married with several kids, some are single and trying to build flourishing careers, while some are simply dating and searching for Mr. Right, and some are still partying every night like they did in college. Just because all these people are doing things differently, doesn’t mean that one person is more “right” than the next. In fact, all these people might have the same end result twenty years from now. Every person is different, and we all need to make our way through life at different speeds.

9. It is important to have same gendered friends. In my teens and early twenties most of my friends were guys, and most of my relationships centered around whatever guy I was dating at that time. However, within the past several years I have learned how important it is to have a good solid group of female friends. Females are able to listen and give me unbiased advice in a way that men are often not able to. Females are able to offer a good shoulder to cry on without it being awkward. They are able to go shopping with me and truly let me know if my butt looks too big in a certain outfit. May I just say I am very thankful I have learned the beauty of having meaningful friendships with members of the same sex.

 

The Differences of Being in the 2nd Half of your Twenties as Opposed to Early Twenties…

1. This one may seem obvious, but I no longer feel the need to go out to bars or clubs. I’m honestly more content going out to a nice quiet dinner or sitting at home reading a book. Likewise, 3 or 4 years ago all I wanted to do was go out with friends.

2. I no longer make a Christmas list. Everything I want or need I can usually afford myself, as opposed to 4 or 5 years ago when I was making next to nothing working as a server.

3. Although I watch what I eat (sometimes), and work out I am no longer obsessed with the idea of only buying pants in a size 2. In my early twenties, I would not wear pants past a certain  size. Even if they fit perfectly, I could not fathom wearing a bigger size than what I thought was ideal. Now I could care less. I like myself for who I am, and what I look like and pants size is irrelevant.

4. My clothes are mostly INC brand from Macy’s, as opposed to Old Navy. When you get older you realize that it’s okay to splurge on some nice things if it’s going to make you happy.

5. I can no longer sleep in until 1pm. That’s right, for some reason getting older means not being able to sleep as late. I’m not sure why, but it sucks!

6. I’m focusing more on my future as opposed to the present. Yes, when I was 23 I was perfectly content to be making $25 per  hour doing promotions. It’s still nice, but I don’t see it being a long-term goal for me anymore, although it’s a fine long-term goal for some people. Instead my focus is on Grad school and teaching, and not just the immediate cash flow I am bringing in.

7. I’ve mastered the art of going out and only having 1 or 2 drinks. At 22 this was not something I could do, as I would typically have either 5 or 6 drinks, or nothing at all. There was no in-between. I have now learned that moderation is the  key to all things in life.

8. I have learned the importance of working out, and not smoking cigarettes. In my early twenties I did not work out, and smoked. Now that I am older I am more concerned with my future, and feeling much less invincible. I know that if I do not take care of myself now I will pay dearly later.

9. I actually want kids (gasp!). In my early twenties I swore I would never have kids, but now kids are something I can definitely see in my future and am excited about, although I think I will do what my mom did and probably have all my kids in my thirties.

10. I am comfortable talking with people about almost anything. When I was younger I was embarrassed talking about certain topics such as politics, sex, etc. because I feared that I would be judged by others. Now I could care less. The beauty about being older is you are less afraid to share your opinions on the things that matter to you, or that you have an opinion about.

11. I don’t care if others see me as beautiful. When I was younger I worried constantly about what others thought. Now I realize that beauty really is in the eyes of the beholder, and everyone is going to see something different when they look at someone. As long as I find myself attractive, along with the person I am dating, that is all that matters.

12. I have learned to appreciate each and every moment because I know now how quickly things can change, and that nothing on this earth is permanent. This is a concept that I did not firmly grasp until the later half of my twenties.

13. I am less scared of getting old, and 30 doesn’t seem that far away anymore and no longer seems old. I now look forward to my early thirties, where I will likely be starting a new chapter of my life. The numbers that I used to dread are now seeming more and more appealing. As cliche as it sounds, I am aware now that age is just merely a number, as I know 30-year-olds who act and look like they are 22, and 30-year-olds who act and look 42. It’s all about your state of mind, and how you take care of yourself.

14. Finally, I’ve learned to seek advice wisely. I’ve learned if you ask the opinions of 15 different people on a problem you may be having, you will wind up more confused than ever because each person will have a different point of view. Instead, it is more useful to seek the advice of 2 or 3 people you are very close to and trust. You will wind up far less confused.

 

That’s all for today.

 

Happy Holiday’s!

 

Korie

 

Pilates Benefits?

Being that Pilates classes  are a type of exercise I’ve been partaking in for a while, it occurred to me today that I don’t know if the fitness benefits I’ve seen in myself have been a result of Pilates, Body Works Classes, running, or a combination of all three things. I feels as if my core is a bit flatter and stronger than it was before I began Pilates, but I don’t know if this directly correlates to Pilates or something else. Likewise, I decided to do some investigative research and figure out what the true benefits of Pilates actually are.

According to this link, there are many amazing benefits to Pilates. For example, in addition to it being an awesome core exercise,  Pilates provides “full body fitness,” which basically means that your entire body is worked out to the max. Another superb aspect to Pilates, is that it’s beneficial and obtainable to almost anyone, including those who are in tip-top shape, and even aging seniors. This means that Pilates won’t wear you out or be too demanding on your joints if you are elderly, and if you are in great shape you still have plenty to gain from Pilates. What better could you ask for?! Pilates will also make you stronger and leaner without bulking you up, and increase your flexibility at the same time. Who doesn’t want to be lean and flexible?? Pilates will also strengthen and tone your core; which is important for runners who are trying to maintain balance as they are running, for elderly people who might be more likely to lose their balance and fall in their daily routine, and for everyone else in between. As if all that isn’t enough to get you to hightail it to the nearest Pilates studio, Pilates will also improve your posture and increase your energy! Another astonishing benefit is that it will “promote weight loss, and a lean long appearance.” According to this article, Pilates will truly change the way you look by making your muscles long and lean. The last benefit listed is perhaps my favorite, and that is the fact that Pilates creates mind body awareness. This is one aspect of Pilates that I’ve definitely noticed the most in myself, and that is that I am more aware of my body than I ever have been before. I know this doesn’t sound like a big deal, but it’s huge.

Many people compare Pilates to Yoga, but in my opinion they are two totally different sports. Yoga is more focused on relaxation and meditation, while Pilates is more centered on everything mentioned above. After reading this article I’ve realized that the benefits I have received as a result of Pilates have been significant, however, I think they could be increased even more by healthier eating on my part, and by attending classes twice per week instead of once per week. If you want to participate in Pilates, you do not have to buy a membership to one of those ridiculously expensive Pilates studios if you don’t want to. Instead, it would be more worth it to join LA Fitness, where for the $29.99 per month that’s included in your membership, you can attend unlimited gym classes including Pilates, and a myriad of others such as: Yoga, Body Works, Boot Camp, Cycle, Kickboxing, Zumba, Latin Heat, and many others. It is honestly the best $29 that I spend per month. Think about it; you could easily spend that on Starbucks coffee every month. Just some food for thought.

 

Until next time,

 

Korie

 

 

Being Overweight = Cancer?

As I was running on the treadmill this morning while simultaneously watching Dr. Oz, I was faced with some rather disturbing images. While my first instinct was to jump off the treadmill and change the channel, I chose to instead force myself to endure the grotesque images being displayed on TV for the sake of this blog. On Dr. Oz. today, he was dissecting dead bodies of overweight people to portray how even being 5 pounds overweight can dramatically increase your risk of pancreatic, colon, and ovarian cancer. Being that these are some of the most prevalent as well as deadly forms of cancer, I found this to be very pertinent information. Dr. Oz went on to emphasize that as soon as you reach the “overweight” category on a BMI scale, your chance for developing these cancers is greatly increased. (To calculate your BMI click on this link , and I strongly encourage you to do so). The most surprising thing I learned from this episode of Dr. Oz was that 30% of all cancers are caused by smoking, and an additional 30% are also caused by being overweight. It is shocking to me that being overweight is equally as damaging to your body as smoking. I had no clue!

When I could no longer take the gruesome images I was being faced with on Dr. Oz, I changed the channel for the last 10 minutes of my run and began watching The View. Ironically, they were also talking about being overweight on this show, but they were depicting it in a far different light. They were talking about how the comedian from Bridesmaids, Melissa McCarthy refuses to lose weight or change her body for other people, even though she is vastly overweight by society’s standards. The co-hosts of this show were speaking of how they really admire her for this, and how if she did lose weight it would probably hurt her career. While I definitely agree that you should never change your body simply to please other people, and also am a strong advocate of the fact that we are all different, and every body is beautiful in it’s own shape or form, the new information I learned from Dr. Oz was nagging at me as I watched The View. While I still believe that people are beautiful because of who they are on the inside rather than the outside, I do feel that it’s quite important to be mindful of healthy eating habits and daily exercise as to avoid these horrible forms of cancer.

 

Until next time,

 

Korie

Thanksgiving Do’s and Don’t…

When I think of Thanksgiving I envision fond images of warm pumpkin pie, sweet potato casserole, tender turkey drenched in gravy, and stuffing so flavorful you want to eat it for breakfast the next morning.  Thanksgiving is traditionally a day for us to indulge our sweet tooth and our salty tooth at the same time. While this food-centered holiday can often be a death-trap of empty calories, many of us choose to ignore this fact, and instead drink that 2nd glass of egg nog as if it’s the last drop of liquid we will ever taste. While I am all for eating the foods we love on this scrumptious holiday, I have done some research to investigate which Thanksgiving day foods to absolutely avoid at all costs, and which are okay to indulge yourself with every once in a while. Take a look at the list below if you dare.

Calories in pecan pie vs. pumpkin pie: The average slice of pecan pie has 456 calories, as you can see by clicking on this link. Meanwhile, the average slice of pumpkin pie has 323 calories. Clearly the winner between this pie war is the pumpkin pie, which will save you whopping 130 calories.

Sweet potato casserole vs. stuffing: Sweet potato casserole WITH marshmallows contains about 267 calories per serving, whereas stuffing has approximately 150 calories. Likewise, if you are forced to make the choice, stuffing is probably the way to go.

Egg nog: Egg nog is probably something you want to limit around the holidays, being that one single cup of it contains an outrageous 343 calories, and 19 grams of fat!! I would definitely limit this to one cup per day at maximum.

Cranberry Sauce: Feel free to eat as much of this as you want being that is contains a mere 86 calories per serving.

 

That’s all for now. Don’t want to ruin too many of your favorite foods for you.

 

Until next time,

 

Korie

 

 

Holiday Weight Gain (and easy diet tips by a self-proclaimed junk food addict)

With the holidays quickly coming upon us, I’m sure many of you are beginning to worry about the impending weight gain that the holidays seem to impose on a lot of people. Along with all the presents, people are also usually blessed with an extra 5 pounds of fat on their bodies to carry around by Christmas-time. I’m under the impression that excessive consumption of sweets and fattening foods usually begins right around Halloween for many people, and lasts right up until the New Year. And people wonder why they gain weight around the holidays?! Of course if you are eating like a kid in a candy store for more than 2 months straight you are likely to gain a few pounds. Think about it….

As a new exercise/fitness blogger, I feel it is my duty to help prevent all of you from gaining the much-dreaded holiday weight that most people gain every year. While my eating habits are not the best, and I usually indulge in at least some form of chocolate and full fat potato chips every day, I have thought of some easy tips that may be quite constructive to most of you. These are simple tips that even I as a self-proclaimed junk food addict adhere to.

1. Allow yourself no more than one sweet per day. With the holidays about to be in full swing, it is going to be arduous for most of us to resist temptation completely. Therefore I say limit it to one sweet per day, such as a chocolate-chip-cookie, or a small bag of M&M’s. By doing this you will still be able to get a taste of what you are craving and it will keep you from binging later on. Who knows maybe some days you will not even feel like having a sweet. Normally when you deprive yourself of something, you tend to overindulge later on; therefore by allowing yourself one sweet you are virtually eliminating the possibility of this happening.

2. If you eat a super-unhealthy lunch try to compensate by eating a healthier dinner. In other words if you eat 4 slices of pizza for lunch followed by bread-sticks, try to make up for this a little by eating fish and salad for dinner. It’s okay to indulge, I do it every single day, but if you indulge for one meal try to make up for it by eating healthier with another. This way all your calories somewhat balance out.

3. On a similar note, If I order fries at a fast-food joint I will make my best effort to order a grilled sandwich with it. Eating those fries isn’t going to do as much damage if you pair it with a relatively healthy entree.

4. Don’t use the holidays as an excuse to slack off on your exercise. I know, I know. It can be quite demanding to force yourself to head to the gym when family is in town, and especially after you have inhaled leftover turkey and pumpkin pie for 3 days straight, but that is even more reason to. Think about it; not only will going to the gym help relieve the stress that having family in town tends to bring, but it will also help burn off the 12,000 calories you have likely ingested within the past 3 days.

5. Try to avoid drinking your calories. While I am quite fond of drinking egg nog, or some chilled Moscato around the holidays, I try not to drink more than 1-2 glasses per day. The reason is that either of these drinks could easily pile on an extra 500-1000 calories per day if I overindulge, and I would rather spend those calories on pumpkin pie and chocolate truffles.

6. Enjoy yourselves! It’s the holidays, so please don’t count every calorie. The holidays are meant to be a time to indulge, and life is too short not to experience succulent chocolates, and tender turkey. On the other hand, know when enough is enough. Listen to your body, and if you feel exceptionally full, call it quits until you are hungry again. Most importantly, don’t eat when you’re not hungry, and don’t continue to eat when you are full.

Honestly, these are the only diet tips I have ever followed, and I have never had a weight problem as an adult. In fact, I’ve stayed within 5-pounds of the same weight for the past 10 years. I believe that maintaining a healthy weight is all about eating in moderation, and also about not depriving yourself. It’s also about listening to your body and knowing when you are hungry as well as full. I also believe that diets do not work! I’ve watched people on diets bounce back in forth in weight for years, because most diets are something that realistically you will never be able to maintain permanently.

Benefits of Exercise

Vigorous exercise of any type is one of the best feelings in the world to me, and I take great pleasure when I am able to share this feeling with others. As I mentioned in a previous blog, as a teenager I was a smoker, and quite unhealthy overall. As an 18-year-old I wouldn’t think twice about having 2 cigarettes and a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos for dinner. As an 18-year-old I was quite skinny (about 105 pounds), but I certainly didn’t look or feel healthy. I smoked menthol cigarettes, and I remember coming down with a chronic cough every winter, that lasted throughout the entire season. I also recall having trouble sleeping at that age, breaking out, and coming down with Strep throat quite frequently. As difficult as it is to believe, I was not the epitome of health that I tend to be now.

A couple years later, after being a pack-a-day smoker for several years I decided to quit because I didn’t want to start the getting lines on my face that smokers tend to get. Seriously; that was my sole motivation for quitting at the time. Not to feel healthier, not to begin exercising, but because I did not want to risk looking prematurely older than I was,(Good thing I quit, because 2 years ago I got I.d.’d for a rated “R” movie, so I guess it paid off). Anyhow, I went to the nearest CVS, bought The Patch to help me quit, and literally never looked back. At first when I quit I was scared of gaining weight, but that didn’t even happen. My only side-effects were feeling really grumpy the first several days after I quit, and the weird dreams that The Patch caused me to have. I liked the patch, because there were warnings all over it claiming that if you smoked while on the patch, it could cause nicotine overdose, and possibly a fatal heart-attack. I religiously used the patch for 6 weeks, and when I was done my cravings for cigarettes were pretty much gone.

I was still on the patch in February 2006 when I obtained a job at a local gym working in childcare. I really enjoyed my job there, and working with children turned out to be more rewarding than any other job I have had to date. Pretty soon, some of the trainers and other childcare workers began encouraging me to work out. I began working out on the eliptical machine 1-2 days per week, and that was my routine for a while. Eventually people began telling me that I would see better results if I worked out 3-4 days per week instead, and also if I began running. I wholeheartedly began listening to this advice, and thus began my running routine that I still adhere to this very day. I noticed that while I never lost weight by working out (which wasn’t my intention), I felt healthier, looked better, and had a renewed sense of positive energy. I began to look forward to my runs, and the glorious runners’ high that followed.

With as much benefit that exercise has brought to my life, it is something that I like to share with other people. I took pride in getting my sister to run the Peachtree Road Race with me, and getting her to join LA Fitness as well. Yesterday I brought a friend to a Body Works class with me who had never worked out before in her life. That was also a good feeling. When you experience something good in your life such as exercise, it is always nice to share those benefits with other people.

I have attached for you a list of 7 benefits of exercise in this link. Some of these include: combating disease, improving mood, and promoting better sleep. Take a look at the article for yourself, and I guarantee you will be surprised and encouraged by some of the benefits.

 

Until next time,

 

Korie

 

Artificial Sweeteners/ Sports Drinks

 

Up until about 6 months ago I was a hard-core diet coke addict. By hard-core, I mean that I consumed on average of 3-4 diet cokes per day, not to mention the countless packs of sugar-free gum I seemed to plow through. I was on this artificial sweetener kick for almost 10 years of my life, despite countless warnings from friends and family about the dangers of ingesting these poisons into my body.

Around May of this year I began to notice that despite the amount of time I spend in the gym, and despite my relatively healthy eating habits, I was beginning to feel rather unhealthy. I couldn’t figure out why I was suffering from almost daily headaches, and why my once radiant complexion was beginning to look quite dull. I began to wonder why I never seemed to have the amount of energy I used to have when exercising. My health seemed to be on the decline in some aspects, which didn’t seem normal for a 20-something female. Aren’t persistent headaches and lack of energy supposed to be more common problems that women face in their 40′s?

I decided that in order to start feeling healthier it was crucial to analyze my diet first, and perhaps eliminate whatever was plaguing me. Being that I’m a non-smoker, and very rarely drink alcohol I decided to research the dangers of artificial sweeteners such as Aspartame. Through my research I was completely shocked to find that Aspartame is actually a neurotoxin, meaning that it causes brain damage in some users. Frequent headaches, depression, and lack of energy also seemed to point to Aspartame poisoning. I decided to stop drinking diet coke for a while and see where that would lead me.

I remember my first day without drinking diet coke I was on my way to Miami, and instead of looking forward to the beach, I felt almost depressed at the thought of not drinking diet coke. What would I drink as a replacement? Drinking water was not yet the norm at this point in my life, as most of my liquid consumption usually came from diet coke. During this trip I replaced diet coke with regular coke, but it still never felt the same for me. I also realized that if I continued to drink regular coke at this high-speed rate I was likely to gain a good 50 pounds or so.

After a few weeks with no diet coke, a strange phenomena began to occur with me. I actually started to crave water, and really enjoy the taste! I pinpointed this to the fact that now that my body was no longer being drowned by poisons, it was able to crave the things that my body really needed instead. Through drinking strictly water and abstaining from diet coke I began to notice that my headaches were clearing up, and I had a renewed sense of energy that I hadn’t had in a long time. Besides feeling downright healthy, I also noticed that I was thinking much clearer than I was when I was drinking diet coke all the time. While that might sound strange, I researched this, and found that aspartame can actually cause neurological problems such as dizziness, confusion, memory loss, and even personality changes!!! While I obviously wasn’t experiencing side effects this severe, it shocked me that other people were. Check out this link for 92 different side effects that are associated with Aspartame. I guarantee that you will think twice about your next diet coke after you do so. Even better, google the words “aspartame side effects” and see what you come up with. When I did so I came up with 1,050,000 search results!!! All this for a diet drink.

I’m not going to lie to you and say quitting diet coke was easy. I think I was just as addicted to diet coke as some people might be to cigarettes or alcohol. This is no surprise given that my research has depicted to me that Aspartame itself is quite addictive; which is one reason that it is used in diet drinks. However, I was able to quit drinking diet coke with sheer will power because I realized how dangerous it is for your body. While I still literally have dreams about sipping on a diet coke, I am 100% convinced that I made the right decision by kicking this habit.

Some of you may be asking yourselves what this blog entry has to do with running? Well lots. First of all, you have to be careful about what sports drinks you buy, because artificial sweeteners are used in many of them. Second, my stamina has dramatically improved since I stopped drinking diet coke and started drinking more good old fashioned H2O. As crazy as that sounds, I am able to work out much harder and more efficiently now that I have kicked the habit.

Until next time,

Korie

Skinny B****?

Today I thought I’d touch on the subject of nutrition, being that it is a subject that I haven’t visited too much in this blog. That and I’d like to think that proper nutrition is pretty vital towards any exercise program. Let me start by admitting that I’ve never really been on a true diet before, and no I don’t really watch every morsel of food that I put in my mouth. While counting calories is practically a religion for some women, it is something that I haven’t had to do quite yet. Please don’t hate me though because as soon as my Dad turned 35, he went from being able to pretty much eat what he wanted, to gaining a whopping 50 pounds in the matter of a year or so. I’m thinking my metabolism may magically quit on me at around that age also, so eventually I’ll probably need to be much more cognitive about what I eat.

A few years ago I picked up a diet book called Skinny B**** (well the book spelled out the whole B– word, but I don’t really want to do that in my blog as a future teacher!!). Anyhow, I picked up this book mostly out of curiosity, and I could not put it down, partly because it ended up scaring me silly. That book speaks about how meat is dangerous for you because of all the hormones in it, and that no species drinks milk after they are babies besides humans. The book delves into the topic of the unethical treatment of animals and how truly disgusting it is to eat animals as sickly as the ones Americans tend to eat. Skinny B**** goes on to talk about how eating animals will undoubtedly make you fat because of all the hormones that are used to fatten the animals. Needless to say, by the time I was done with this book I was completely opposed to eating animals for a while. In fact, within the first week of reading this book and ceasing to eat meat I lost more than 5 pounds! However, after a few weeks of sticking to this frightening way of eating I started to feel rather sickly and realized that maybe I needed to begin eating meat again. This book also had a similar effect on my sister. She read it, was totally grossed out by meat, and decided to completely eliminate it from her diet. Unfortunately for her, within a week of not eating meat she passed out twice from lack of nutrition (once was at the hospital she works at), and she was quickly forced to start eating meat again. As for me, while I eat meat on somewhat of a regular basis now, the information I read in that book is always in the back of my mind nagging at me, making meat much less enjoyable than it once was.

Apparently I’m not the only one who feels following diet advice such as eliminating meat can be unsafe. According to this Tennessee journalist, the women who wrote this book have no real basis for their information, and in fact much of the book seems to be poorly researched. In addition, this journalist feels that eating this way can be quite dangerous for some women, and in fact she states: “For women who are already insecure with their bodies, this book could literally send them over the edge.”

The entire point of my blog entry is to let all of you know that it’s crucial to be discriminating as to what diet advice you choose to adhere to. Please, please, please don’t just pick up a book and decide to make it your personal diet bible, because this could have quite adverse effects. If you choose to stick to a diet make sure you research it well beforehand. After all, what you put in your body will drastically affect how it operates, and you will not be able to work out like a maniac at the gym with a poor choice of fuel in your body.

 

Until next time,

Korie

 

Body Works and Me

Let me start by saying that there are only 2 Body Works instructors whose classes I go to because it’s hard to find an instructor that you love for any class. Naturally the classes I attend are what I think are the most difficult ones, because I don’t feel challenged by anything less.

 

I first started attending these classes in January 2011 because while I was thin from Pilates and running I definitely was not toned. One frigidly cold Monday afternoon my cousin and I decided to give the class a try, despite the fact that we’d been warned that we would be sore for days to come. That first class was so intense I didn’t think I was going to be able to make it through. I left that day drenched in sweat and gasping for air, knowing that my muscles were going to pay the price for being so underused then suddenly overworked. I was correct in my thinking, as I was barely able to walk for the entire rest of the week. This meant that I was also unable to run or take any more classes for the whole week because I was in so much pain. While I’ve considered myself an athlete for a long time, after that class I realized that there are entire big groups of muscles that I never even use.

Finally, a week after my first Body Works class my muscle pain had subsided, and I was ready to try the class again. To my surprise, the second class was just as grueling, but I found that I got the biggest adrenaline rush after the class was over this time. I felt that I could conquer the world after enduring 60 minutes of what felt like pure torture at the time. After about a month of taking this class approximately 2 times per week, I noticed that my muscles were starting to look really toned, and I no longer noticed any fat jiggling anywhere on my body. The adrenaline rush I got from taking this class, and my startlingly quick results are what kept me coming back for more. This class seemed to get me into better shape than running ever did. Pretty soon I began getting compliments from many friends and family members about how in shape I looked, and I decided that this class is one that is going to remain a regular part of my workout routine.

Astonishingly, that instructor who I first began my Body Works journey with, who once seemed so intimidating, is now too easy for me. I have moved on to another Body Works instructor whose class I can barely make it through. I’ve been taking this particular instructors’ class for about two months now, and despite how long I’ve been regularly doing Body Works for, I STILL get sore from her class. Much to my revelation, I’ve also noticed that since I’ve been taking her class I’m even more in shape than I was before. Likewise, it pays to switch things up every once in a while.

 

I was reading this lady’s blog, and I saw that I’m not the only one who feels this way about Body Works. In her blog, Megan goes into detail about how she began taking the Body Works classes, and what they consist of. She also discusses how she’s noticed all these really toned people coming into her office, and none of them say they got toned from running, but instead from these Body Works type classes. I encourage you to click on the link I provided and check out her blog for more information about Body Works.

 

Lastly, I would like to state for the record that I am definitely NOT trying to say anything bad about running, or even claim that I like Body Works better than running. I know that for my past two blog entries I’ve focused more on strength training, but I think they each serve their own purpose. I love running, and would probably not be where I am today if I hadn’t taken it up as a regular hobby. Running is a way for me to unwind, release any excess energy, improve my mood, and feel good about myself. Body Works is a way for me to tone my muscles and get into good shape. They each serve their own distinct purpose, and I could not do without one or the other.

 

Until next time,

 

Korie