week 8: separation anxiety

i have the pure and utter joy of watching my girlfriend’s little girl every now and then when momma & daddy need a night to themselves.  this little 13-month old bundle of joy makes me smile even on the most stressed of days.  babies just have a way of reminding you what life is all about – they’re just pretty darn happy.  most of the time that is.  just last week i went over to watch the little critter and my girlfriend warned me that the past week had been a rough one because the little one had entered the stage of separation anxiety, meaning my girlfriend had definitely earned her night out.  which left me at home with the baby, screaming…all out screaming.  let me preface this with the fact that this is not a bratty child.  it was obvious that the only problem was that she missed her momma and was NOT happy about the fact that she was gone.  so i’m trying to feed her dinner, all the while dodging flying sweet potatoes and flinging bottles. i then attempted to bathe her which was all too interesting.  finally about an hour-and-a-half later, it was her bedtime and still not wanting to be coddled, rocked, or soothed, i gave up and laid her in her crib hoping she’d worn herself out.  sure enough – she was out.  poor little thing: she didn’t like change and just wanted momma!

so how, you might ask, does that have anything to do with my life?  other than the fact that i’ve temporarily lost all hearing in my left ear, oddly enough i could relate totally with the wee little one.  sometimes life changes and we just don’t like it. we get out of our routine, things happen that we’re not used to, and sometimes i know that i probably deal with life just about like she did….kicking and screaming.  what i have learned though, is to learn to embrace change instead of fight it and in the meantime, i’ve learned more about myself than i ever knew possible.  just to give a little example, case in point: last week.  it was a crazy week which started with flying up north to my meeting with 24 hour on monday, getting in a mini-fight with the GPS system because the lady kept telling me to turn/exit until after i’d passed it, cruising every possible freeway in northern california until finally arriving late at night.  i too had a little episode of separation anxiety since amidst the chaos i forgot my fitbook (i know – shocking) and of course the workout facility at the hotel only had a treadmill and an elliptical so strength training was out of the question and my workout consisted of incline walking and pushups.  then i had my meeting that morning (which went fantastic by the way!), then hit the road again and flew back home that night.  the next day i had a girlfriend/colleague (ms. fitness & spice) fly into town and from the moment she got here we had back-to-back meetings.  we then headed down to san diego for more meetings, but did find time to get a workout in on the beach (at sunset – gorgeous) and while i did work, i must admit that my “office” was a view of palm trees and the ocean so i can’t ask for too much pity. then we turned around and headed back to orange county, stranded on the 5 freeway for 3 1/2 hours.  we then met up with my girlfriends that night, which meant 3 nights in a row out for me – this coming from the girl who’s usually in bed by 10.  point being: the week was amazingly fun, yet hectic and completely not routine for me at all.

here are a few of my aha! moments by getting knocked out of my routine and being forced to deal with the unexpected:

1. since i forgot my fitbook on both trips (i can’t believe i’m admitting this!), i took a mini-vacay from writing down my food and workouts.  mind you, i’ve done this religiously for years now so i was surprised what a little time away from it did for me.  by just going with the flow for a few days and focusing on when i was hungry or if i really felt like working out, i was able to listen to my body.  while i am eager to get back to planning the coming week, i must say that it was refreshing to take a little break to really realize that sometimes i might eat a snack because it’s been 3 hours, instead of really thinking about if i’m hungry, or hitting the gym to get in my workout instead of just jogging on the beach so i can still be active but it also does wonders for de-stressing.  so while i’m not recommending everyone bail on the fitbook (heaven forbid!), i must admit that by getting out of my routine just for a few days allowed me to really listen to my body instead of just going through the motions.
2. i love what i do.  fitlosophy is my true love.  but what i did realize is that sometimes, whether it be a relationship with your family or your job, if we don’t take time to take care of ourselves, those relationships suffer. sometimes i get a little anxious when i’m not working, constantly checking email, or thinking about what needs to be done.  this past week was a good wake up call for me because i still got work done, but i took out time to re-energize and that only made me more effective while i was working.  sometimes i piddle around and get caught up in the non-important, but when i was only working here and there maybe even only an hour at a time, i was forced to focus only on the most-pressing items and be ultra-productive.  this week helped me realize that now more than ever i need to focus in order to get the most bang for my buck when i’m working, which will leave more time for me to relax and refresh.
3. life is short. while i may get caught up in going and doing, i made the effort to fit in time with friends and really spend quality time with them.  not only is it good for me to do that, but it keeps me in check when i get so stressed.  girlfriends (or friends in general i suppose) have a way of putting everything in perspective and what it did for me was to remind me that i work to live…not live to work.  we are only given one life and in the end we will not be judged on what size jeans we wore, how many hours we logged in the gym, or how many sales we closed…but we will be remembered for the moments that we touched other’s lives. relationships are just built over time and so this week was complete because i took the time out to invest in those things that make life truly worth living.

oddly enough, BLOG YOUR HEART OUT in week 8 is all about managing stress…and life.   if you find yourself stressed out, here are some amazing tips from the american heart association to get back on the path to health and effective living:

• keep moving! regular physical activity is one of the best ways to burn off stress.
• fuel your body with healthy foods and drink plenty of water to fight fatigue. know how stress affects your eating choices, and keep emotional eating under control.
• get plenty of sleep on a regular basis. don’t bring your stress into the bedroom. set a curfew on computers, television, work and anything else that may interfere with sleep.
• practice deep breathing and relaxation exercises to keep your body from living in a constant state of alert. take 2 minutes to slow down your breathing and unwind.
• take small stretching breaks throughout the day to lengthen and relax tense muscles.
• keep a journal to help you identify those tasks and daily demands that are sources of stress.  keep a notepad beside your bed to jot down the worries that creep in as you try to sleep.
• unplug and take a break from technology. set aside time each day to focus your mind without distractions.

so i’m off to plan my week in my poor, neglected little fitbook; however a little time off has me appreciating the lil’ thing more than ever, and i can now approach it with a refreshed view and renewed ideas on what my goals are.  only one week until i launch the 12 weeks to a beach body challenge so gear up and get ready to join me.
itty-bitty-bikini…here i come!

week 7: know your limits

every sunday afternoon i start to get a bit antsy in preparation for the coming week…not stressed, just anxious thinking about what needs to get done and what the upcoming week looks like.  well this sunday afternoon is no different – except i’m fully aware that the next 2 weeks of my life are going to be non-stop.  so while setting my goals this week i just took  a step back and tried to keep myself in check.  it may come as no surprise that i am your typical, type-a, perfectionist – which is quite silly because i’m far from it.  but i am hard on myself most of the time and push myself to always do better and be more.  while it’s served me well most of the time, sometimes i exhaust myself and have to take a step back and realize that there’s only so much time in a day and i can only do so much.  so this is one of those weeks!  fly out monday for meetings with 24 hour fitness on tuesday (um…excited!!), fly back tuesday night, then my girlfriend-slash-business-partner-in-crime (ms. fitness & spice) is flying into town wednesday in which a slew of meetings ensues upon her arrival, followed by a trek to san diego for more meetings and some much-needed play time at the beach, back up to orange county on friday in preparation for not one, but two nights out with the girls on friday and saturday (this coming from the girl that’s usually in bed by 11!).  sunday = rest & recover.  ok i’m exhausted just thinking about it.  but as i set my goals i have to realize that yes, i’ll get my workouts in of course, but they may not be as intense…or because i’ll be eating out more than usual, i probably won’t eat exactly as clean as i usually do when i cook at home.  but then i realize – that’s life.  and instead of get stressed about it, i just have to take it one day at a time, know that i may not get as much work done as i’d like all week, but i just need to get the most important things covered, take it one day at a time, and rest-assured, the work will still be waiting for me when i come up for air.  we are often so hard on ourselves (speaking from experience) – but the truth is, all we do is exhaust ourself for no reason at all.  so my goal this week: know my limits and that i can only do so much in a day….get my workouts in bright and early in the morning, focus 100% so when i am working i’m super-efficient & productive, enjoy my time with friends, and try and still get some sleep so i’m not completely dragging come sunday.  life is short – and if all i do is run around “doing” and don’t take time to just relax and “be”, i’m afraid i’ll wake up one day and my life will have passed me by.  oh – that’s might deep for a sunday…i digress.

speaking of ‘knowing your limits’, the betterU program this week from go red for women was all about knowing your cholesterol and then taking steps to improve it.  how many people know the ideal cholesterol levels?  ah – i’m here to educate you!

• <100 mg/dL                     optimal
• 100-129 mg/dL               near optimal/above optimal
• 130-159 mg/dL               borderline high
• 160-189 mg/dL               high
• 190+ mg/dL                     very high

i remember going to my doctor and he told my my cholesterol was very low (118) and i asked him if  it was too low.  he said he had a professor in med school that always told the students: “you can never have too much money or too low of cholesterol.”  ok so 1 of 2 isn’t too shabby!  few things to understand though about cholesterol is high cholesterol can be hereditary – so that you cannot change.  BUT do not use that as an excuse because there are plenty of other factors you CAN change, such as:

1. lifestyle: don’t smoke (at all!) or drink excessively
2. maintain a healthy weight, being overweight/obese increases your cholesterol and your risk of heart disease
3. be active!  it can lower cholesterol and also result in a healthy body weight (see point #2!)…kill 2 birds with 1 stone here and get moving!
4. avoid eating foods high in saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol [check out this little handy eating guide from the american heart association]

while i may not have a cholesterol issue – there is research showing that stress is a major contributor to heart disease.  so what’s the point of eating healthy and working out all the time if i’m stressing out about it?  my reward this week: relax by the pool on sunday with a magazine in this lovely 80 degree california weather we’re having to recover from a busy week.  relaxing is equally important as getting in those grueling morning workouts, but for some reason much harder for me to do!  ok if i must i will force myself to lay like brocolli in the sun (with sunscreen of course).  know your limits this week – not just how hard you push yourself, but get that cholesterol in check too.

off to relax before the craziness of the week begins!

angela

weeks 5 + 6: know your numbers

BLOG YOUR HEART OUT is officially half-way done!  this lil blog post is a combo-post of weeks 5 and 6 since“somebody” forgot to blog last week.  hmm.  anywho…my apologies, but i really got some great info from betteru that i’m excited to share – but actually it’s more of a challenge.  aside from all the numbers you should know already (cholesterol, blood pressure, etc.), here are 3 numbers you should know to live a healthy, active lifestyle:

1) know your BMI
the american heart association defines BMI (Body Mass Index) as “a numerical value of your weight in relation to your height.”  this value is an indicator of healthy or unhealthy weights for adult men and women, regardless of body frame size. BMIs under 25 are considered healthy, while higher BMIs are associated with significantly increased health risks.  BMI values from 18.5 to 24.9 are healthy. A BMI between 25 and 30 is considered overweight and a BMI above 30 is considered obese. don’t know yours?  find out your BMI here!

2) know how active you should be
you all know you should move – but do you know how much?  don’t let the scale be your only measure of heart health! experts recommend all adults engage in 2 ½ hours of moderately intense aerobic (endurance) activity each week, which is about 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.  not enough time?  exercise at a higher intensity and you can do 75 minutes of vigorous activity instead.  this is the recommended amount to achieve significant health benefits including heart health.

3) know your calorie intake
ok so you don’t necessarily have to count calories, but you should have an idea of how many calories you should be taking in each day – otherwise the pounds can creep on and that can affect your heart health too!  check out what your calorie intake should be.  my motto: enjoy all things in moderation.  the american heart association made a point this week to point out to “recognize emotional triggers” so you can control your food choices.  emotions and stress can sometimes affect our ability to control our food intake.  they recommend keeping a food log to gain insight into patterns!

so take 10m out of your day to know your numbers and be that much closer to reaching your goals.  one of the recommended rewards this week for the betteru program was to reward yourself with a “beautifully designed journal to track your progress.”  i have to take this opportunity to plug fitbook obviously!  it’s a great time to get one given that we have only about 12 short weeks before it’s time to don the beachwear.  i’m gearing up to launch a 12-week beach body challenge in our newsletter next week so if you aren’t already, subscribe to our eNewsletter so you can get a gift with your fitbook purchase and be in-the-know-for our 12 week challenge!

signing off so i can go get in a run before the sun goes down – thank goodness for daylight savings time (although i was NOT saying that when the alarm went off this morning!).  make it a fabulous week!

angela