Modeling Part 2 - An Outside My Comfort Zone Adventure

This year really is a push to be outside my comfort zone. I've talked about how nothing amazing happens when you are in your comfort zone. So why not!!

As I blogged a short time ago, I helped my amazing friend on her photo shoot. I also got to to a little as well. My least favorite body parts (legs, hips, booty) were in leggings. I kind of pushed it out of my head as life happened. Working on getting my hip better, figuring out what my next adventure would be.....well, I stumbled upon the finished product. I happened to be scrolling through my Facebook feed and saw Jamie (the star of the show) in one of the tanks. The pic came out amazing!! So I went to the official site to see the rest of her pics. All of them were perfect! (So proud of her!) As I scrolled through, I saw my own pics. Two of them were up.

Honestly, it didn't matter to me if they ever saw the light of day. What mattered was that I stepped outside my comfort zone and tried something I would have never done before. Is it cool that they are up? YES! Was this my end game? NO. This was my friends gig and I was the support. But it did teach me a lot about what models do, what people behind the scenes do, and how photographers work. It was an awesome experience and if the opportunity were to come up again, I may do it again. But for now, let's leave it for others ;)

Working Out While Injured - A Fitness Adventure

Being hurt sucks. There is no other way to say it. When you hurt, all you want to do is feel better. Well, I have been in the injured list for well over a month (I think I went on in April and it is now the end of July). I still work out through. WHAT? But you are injured! you may cry. Yes, my hip is injured. But that does not mean I will stop working toward my goal of healthy. If I were to stop eating right and give up all the work I have been putting into it, it would be like letting the air of of 3 tires because you have 1 flat tire. Why would I do that? I have a specific injury, it is not my whole body. There are a few rules to follow before doing this:

1. CHECK WITH YOUR DOCTOR. Yes, it needs to be in bold and capital letters. If you hurt, go see your doctor. It will get you back to feeling better sooner. Plus you can ask what you CAN do.
2. LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. Yes, it needs to be in capital letters too! Don't do something that hurts you.
3. If your doctor (see rule 1) says that you can work other body parts, do so. Not sure what to do? Ask him/her, ask me, google it. There are loads of things you can do with a specific injury.

Here are some ideas:

Lower body injury (hips, legs, feet, ankles)
1. Arm Curls
2. Chest Press
3. Flies
4. Triceps
5. Abs

Upper body injury (shoulders, arms, hands)
1. Walk
2. Squats
3. Lunges
4. Abs

Injuries that require no impact
1. Yoga
2. Pilates
3. Push ups
4. Walking (this will be minimal impact)

There are so many things you can do to move. These are just a few examples. If you don't have weights you can always use cans, milk jugs, and water bottles. You can even fill up an old clean tube sock and sew it shut and together to make wrist weights. You can even purchase some inexpensive resistance bands. If you have no idea how to perform any of them, you can google it, or ask me. In a future post, I will show you some yoga moves that can get you started.

Mouth, Body, and Mind

When we think of health and wellness, we tend to think of nutrition and exercise. Yes, this is a big part of getting healthy. But there is one more thing that needs to be added, and that is the mind. Let's explore more about this trifecta.

Nutrition
Food. How we love to eat. According to the Journal of American Medicine, about 78.6 million Americans are obese. That, my friend is a lot of people. We have so many food choices from fast food to comfort food and home cooking to any cultural food we want. With all of the options out there, why wouldn't we partake in all of the food. We don't want to miss out on the good stuff. When people think about getting healthy, they seem to think health food has to be bland, boring or just plan gross. Sorry friends, that is false. Nutrition is an important part of health and wellness. We need to eat good, clean, nutrient rich food most of the time. Everything should be in moderation if you want to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Generally, I will say aim for 80% clean healthy foods and 20% other.

Exercise
You can't undo a crap diet. You just can't. You cant workout all day to burn off that burger (see moderation above). Exercise should be incorporated in your health and wellness plan 30 minutes every day. I'm not talking hard core exercise every day, but a mixture of different levels. One day go for a walk, another do a class, try yoga or a cardio class, you can workout from home to (that is what I do most times). The idea is to balance exercise with your nutrition.

Mind- and here is the good stuff
This one is a little more abstract. For nutrition and exercise to fall in place, you also need a healthy mind. This covers everything from why is it important to mental health in general (I'm talking things like depression, low self esteem, sadness, anger, and even happiness). You see, in order to keep you moving in the direction you want to, you need to believe that you CAN do it and have a positive mindset. Let's face it, it is not easy to change. Sometimes you need help (professional and non-professional) and support from friends and family. Sometimes you need personal development that you can find in a book or by journaling. I'm an avid reader and have found a few books that have really helped. Developing yourself and taking the time to work on you can help with changing negative mindsets. (I will include book reviews on personal development books as we go along as well.) At the end of the day, your positive mindset and belief that you can do it will help you meet nutrition and exercise goals (see, they do tie in).

Why did I share this with you? Because for you to meet your health and wellness goals, you need to feed all three. I will post a lot about exercise and meals but you will also see me post about things that make me happy. I invite you to share with me some of your favorite meals, exercises, or just things that feed your mind and make you happy.

References:
http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html