Happy Monday everybody. I’m not sure why I hear so many- ugh it’s Monday I hate Monday…it’s just another day people and it can be as awesome as Friday (or whatever day you like the most).
Change our perception, change our life.
Check out this awesome new site I found: such great stuff!! Goji berry powder! Awesome.
Sometimes our world becomes very small, what with responsibilities and staying “busy” in our own lives. In starting vitness, my world has become global again.
It is a fantastic and magical experience to connect with fitness professionals from Africa to Australia to America, all with the same goal: to further health and fitness for all people. As individuals our reach is limited, but together we WILL change the world!!
If you would like to join this revolutionary approach to health via live virtual trainings, contact us today!
http://www.vitnesslive.com
Today marks a sad, sad day in my life, one of letting go of 1 of the great loves of my life. It has been a long and sometimes beneficial relationship, one that I have learned much about myself from.
What am I saying goodbye to you ask?…Peanut butter. That’s right: peanut butter, even more specifically natural crunchy peanut butter mixed with muscle milk cookies and cream protein powder, perhaps the most delicious food on Earth. It makes me emotional just saying the words; to think of all the good times we’ve had together, the times it’s gotten me through the day when nothing else could, the times it’s given me comfort as a late night snack and been by my side as pre and post workout small eats. I’m not even sure I’m ready to let go but I simply must for peanut butter is just not serving me well anymore. I have become too attached, too needy, too reliant on it’s succulent deliciousness.
I strongly believe in many of the Buddhist principles. It is the philosophy with which I am most aligned and one of the primary ideas is that of non-attachment, to experience things- emotion, etc. without attaching to it. I can no longer do this with peanut butter. It’s difficult to admit to myself, but once I start eating I can not (make that choose not) stop eating it. I would choose peanut butter over all other sustenance if that was an option, and sometimes I am ashamed to say I have done it throughout the day.
There are many foods I’ve had to cut out of my diet because of my struggles with binge eating and food addiction throughout my life. I’ve known for a long time that my love affair with peanut butter needed to end but lately it’s becoming too glaringly clear to ignore. And so, with moist eyes and a heavy heart, I say goodbye to you peanut butter, perhaps forever. Maybe some day I will be able to enjoy you without becoming dependent on you or using you too much. Just for today, however, I have to say goodbye.
It is at these times in life when I learn a lot about myself. While the tone of this writing is comedic, on a more serious note, it is in these moments that I realize how much I still have to work on regarding addictions, remaining mindful in every moment, staying in the present, so many facets of life still need work. Alas, as I always say people, it is the journey not the destination. The only fail is in realizing these things to our innermost soul and doing them anyway, continuing on a journey that no longer suits us well. Difficult as it will be, the long-term outcome of yet another letting go will far outweigh the short-term pain and loss of a dear friend.
Sometimes in life things that once served us turn on us and it is in that realization that we must let go. Sometimes we are never able to go back; sometimes we change enough within that we may again allow these things/people/situations in our lives…but we (I) must be willing to say goodbye forever, to fully surrender, before true change and acceptance can take place.
Goodbye peanut butter. I will never forget you or all you have done for me.
I’ve encountered a few situations in the last couple of weeks that have led me to question: why do I allow people to interact with me, more specifically, talk to me in certain ways? I’ve known for years that we teach people how to treat us, but I still notice in my own life that sometimes I teach people to treat me far less respectfully than what I know I deserve. And so then another question comes to mind: where does this come from, this disrespect for myself as it is when boiled down?
I think the answer must lie in my own sense of self, my own self-esteem and self-respect. Certainly almost every instance of this type of interaction is with men. One man this week said to me: you’re very hot for a mom. Instead of simply leaving the conversation entirely with no words at all, I continued to engage with this person. What in me needs this validation from someone who so blatantly shows no respect or true interest in me at all. In fact, to respond at all is simply saying- please, walk all over me and treat me like shit for that is what I believe that I am worth.
For anyone that knows me in daily life and certainly as a health professional, this type of interaction would come as quite a shock for I am told regularly what a strong woman I am. I don’t say this to be boastful; quite obviously I don’t think highly of myself enough to do so. It seems, on the inside, there is still something lurking, something unsettled and needy (omg, ugh, and disgusting- I hate that word and I loathe everything that it stands for) that rears its ugly head at the most inopportune times.
I write all of this to say: our self-esteem and self-respect very literally color every single interaction that we have, every relationship from work to personal to romantic and everywhere in between. It is our duty to give the world our best self, for I think our purpose in this life is to give and receive both love and help from one another. How can I do this, how can I give of my true self, of my true gifts, of my true strength if I don’t believe in myself? Well I can’t of course; I simply can’t. And so it is our duty to love ourselves and respect ourselves first and foremost. Perhaps if we can’t do it for ourselves (yet…we are always a work in progress), then we can do it for the greater good of mankind. I know this sounds uber cheesy, it feels cheesy even as I write it but it is ever so true. We are all part of the great cosmic vibration and when even one of us lowers our own vibration to require validation from another, it affects all of us.
We are all so connected that we need each other to be our best selves. Sure we all have bad days and at times we are broken and need to be picked up. This bollocks though about having such low self-worth that I allow people not only to talk to me in a belittling manner but also further engage the conversation encouraging the behavior to continue is absolutely inexcusable, for myself and for everyone else.
And so people, I am back on the horse; it was an odd, strange trip and I certainly fell off, straight on my ass and allowed myself to be kicked around a bit. The good news is that these episodes of falling, well perhaps willingly jumping off the horse into harms way are fewer and further between these days. Equally as profound is that these instances now only last a few days whereas they used to last for months on end. First I would be upset with myself for allowing this negativity into my life, then I would wallow in the fact that I would indeed never change and be doomed to live a life of no self-respect, followed by still more playing the victim and longing to be someone else. Well fuck that shit, seriously those are the absolute best words I have at the moment. I am upright and on the move again, and I shan’t look back. I am not that girl. Even when I revert back to her for a few days, I know I am not that girl. I am a stand up, strong, powerful woman, a business owner and a kickass mom. All that other shite can stay where it belongs, behind me.
I write all of this to let all of you know that we are all human. Some of us seemingly have more demons that others, skeletons that come out and want to play at times, and sometimes perhaps in a moment of weakness, perhaps because we are bored and are looking for some excitement, we play with the old bones and we always get burned. But that’s not the end deal people. The deal is, we brush our ass off and get back up, in all areas of life. That is the deal. We keep moving, bruised as we are and we don’t look back. The bruises always go away and we are better for them. We learn a tiny bit each time we engage in less than perfect behavior. Perhaps one day I won’t ever fall off the horse again; for now, I don’t fall as far for as long and I sure as shit don’t wallow in the fall itself. So wherever you are people, however far you’ve fallen, stop being a victim, licking your wounds and showing them to everyone for sympathy and back rubs. Get your ass back on the horse and don’t look back. We’ll ride off into the sunset together. 🙂 (Wow, that was a lot of cheesiness for 1 blog…but I’ll tell you what people I will never apologize for being me- cheesy, nerdy, a wee odd, all kinds of things, but they make me, me!)
Love y’all!
Well folks, the internet has done it again. Reddit: yet another massive source for nearly entirely useless fitness information.Please people, don’t believe what you read on the internet…it will cost you more in the long run than simply seeking a professional to help you from the beginning.
And don’t select any professional that comes along- if you don’t feel a connection, a vibe, good energy from a personal trainer or counselor for god’s sake get a different one. If you are creeped out by your trainer or feel like the lack the knowledge to help you with your specific issue/problem, find someone else! 
You are paying for a service and you are the one in control! I mean do listen to their suggestions once you’ve selected someone you trust. But 1st you have to find someone you trust.
The amount of misinformation and literally harmful suggestions on the internet bothers me to no end. Alas, I am doing what I can to create an outlet, a source for real information, for caring professionals who are in this business for the right reasons and want to truly help people live better lives. We can’t change everything but we can change ourselves which in turn changes everything…slowly but the joy is in the journey.
If you want a trainer/yoga instructor/counselor that you can trust, contact me. You can do your own research from there.
cheri@vitnesslive.com
Your body is always changing, your mind is always changing, thus it is highly likely that the time and type of your workouts over the course of your life will change as well. We have to move with these changes instead of fighting against them if we want to see gains and continue to feel energized after working out rather than sluggish.
I used to love working out super early in the morning, 5-6am was perfect for me. Now I almost have to workout at night; the stamina, energy, and motivation I used to have in the mornings simply isn’t there. Perhaps it’s also that my muscles are simply tighter in the morning (oh man, the aging process!). I’ve become less and less concerned with finding the root of changes in life; I simply roll with them and change as necessary. The longer we fight and resist anything in life, the longer we are in pain (or discord with the universe if you will). Instead of spending weeks and months attempting to find the source of this change, just friggin change with it!
When we stagnate in life, we are cut off from magical experiences, not just regarding fitness but in all facets of life. Try new things, specifically regarding exercise in this post: workout at a different time, workout in a new location (outside is always my favorite, whereas I used to be a die hard gym rat, working out was only for the gym!), try working out with people or by yourself. Find a routine that you love. If you don’t, you will never stick with it. Work with your body rather than against it.
And as always, work with a personal trainer! I think there’s a myth that personal trainers just want to take your money and create a cycle wherein you can’t workout on your own. As a personal trainer, I always educate my clients as we go about everything that we’re doing with the goal being that they will go out on their own at some point. I want to create enough knowledge, confidence, and motivation in a client that they leave me having built a cornerstone of fitness upon which they will build for the rest of their lives. This is what any good trainer aims to do. Now some people simply enjoy having that extra push and will work with trainers forever; that is fantastic too. We are usually on the cutting edge of medical research and exercise science so there’s always more to be learned with a great trainer.
cheri@vitnesslive.com
Perhaps this sounds counter-intuitive but our bodies can do so much more than our mind lets them at times. For most of my adult life, I couldn’t break a 10 minute mile. I never considered myself a runner, and then my mom died and I decided to do a half marathon in her honor. That began my absolute love for running. If you can run, run! There is no other cardio exercise like, and the release and meditative state it provides is an awesome natural high.
In this post I’d like to talk specifically about finding a comfortable running pace for you. I talk very frequently about the need to listen to our bodies but sometimes I still fail to do this myself. Today I was running listening to music other than my typical running music: hard house is my tracks of choice. 🙂 I was winded, couldn’t really find a pace, just overall the run was shite. I realized that I was running too slow! I’ve done this before but I fall back into old habits like everyone else. I’ll never forget the 1st time I was struggling on a run and I just took off, running faster than I thought I could, and spanked the entire run. I was shocked…so often in life our mind holds us back, telling us there’s no way we can do things. Anyway, I took off this morning and my run improved from that point.
It sounds odd but if we aren’t running at our body’s preferred pace, we are actually worker harder to slow our body down than we’d be working running at a comfortable pace for our muscles and lungs. Try it! I always say: don’t believe anything anyone says- experiment with it yourself. Now I’m saying this will always be the case. Some days I just have shit runs. But I do wonder how much sooner my running pace would’ve increased had I tried this years ago! Try it, what’s there to lose?
And for god’s sake- work with a personal trainer to achieve your goals!
cheri@vitnesslive.com
These are all of the EXCUSES (and that’s all they are because none of them are valid) that I hear all the time…and that I have used in my own life and my own struggle with food and commitment.
The problem for most people is they can’t simply stop saying these things and have a psychic change on their own. If they (we) could do that, they (we) would’ve done it years ago. I’m not giving you another excuse so please don’t hear me incorrectly. What I’m telling you is that you can’t do this on your own; if you’ve tried and failed again and again why are you hell bent on doing it by yourself this time. Does anyone know what the definition of insanity is? That’s right people: doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. You know where I learned that? In a 12-step room, which saved my life and helped me get and stay sober from alcohol, drugs, and finally food.
If you can do it on your own, just wake up one day and say this isn’t the I want, I’m going to get healthy and then do it- awesome! This is not the experience that most of us have, the majority of us need help, as difficult it is to ask for it and as difficult as it is to make the change and follow the instructions. But when the pain is great enough, when you can’t live in misery and low self-esteem and self-hatred one more day, I hope that you will get help. And I hope the person you turn to is a qualified personal trainer who is in the business for the right reasons and doesn’t base their training on the latest bullshit fad diets or workout techniques. There are many of us out there who truly became trainers to help people, to change the world, many of us because of our own personal struggle with weight or injuries, etc. Find us, and join us on the journey.
To the trainers and other health practitioners: our clients need us as trainers and health professionals to help them out of the pits of despair…to very literally save their life. Yes they have to do it but they need our help!! And we must understand that for most of them we are asking them to change lifelong habits and this is difficult and trying. And so I believe we must find that place between being hardcore and being real with them and understanding that this is a life-changing journey and it will take a lot of work and a lot of falling down and getting back up to achieve real results. For most clients, especially those who are severely overweight/obese, this is not a linear process; it’d be great if it was and that’s certainly an ideal to shoot for, but for most of us we fall down and need help back up and then go again.
We can do this y’all but we can only do it together, all of us working toward one common goal: make the world a happier, healthier place.
One love!
If you have struggled with an eating disorder or food addiction and you have a personal trainer who’s put you on a diet with cheat days or encourages you to eat things like cool whip on strawberries, get a new trainer immediately. This shit will never work for someone with food addiction. Not many personal trainers will truly understand food addiction because there is simply no knowledge base out there for it from certification boards, so unless they have lived through it, the likelihood of them understanding (and thus helping you to solve) your problem is slim to none. Don’t do it alone but for god’s sake don’t make your problem even bigger by working with someone who doesn’t understand the real issue.
If you’re a trainer and doing this, please stop. Do the research. For every 5 people with a food addiction this may work for, I’ll give you 95 for who it fails miserably and they end up far worse off than when they started. This is yet another reason I started vitness. We all have an expertise, a specialty and we are actually harming people by telling them we can help them when we really have no knowledge of their true issue. There is a place where we can help people to who we are able to be uniquely useful, because of our own life experience or our expert training experience. If we all simply draw from what we intimately know rather than attempting to be all things to all people, we would certainly save a lot more lives!
This is like telling a heroin addict: well just do a little heroin on Sunday’s, not a lot, just have a day off, and then wondering why you find them in a ditch 2 months later overdosed and dying.
vitnesslive 