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 ;)

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

Binge Eating and Personal Development - The Hunger Fix - A Journey Through A Book

Something you may or may not know about me: I am a binge eater and a food addict. There it is in all it's ugly glory. I have always been embarrassed about this. I never talked about it. I never shared it. I would eat a small amount in comparison others because I was so worried about my size and them seeing me eat. When you are the biggest one of all of your friends, you notice, and they did too (I'm sure of it). Again, it was never really talked about. I would eat at home. I would hide food in my room, junk food of all kinds. I hid my food and my guilt. It was not until the last few months that I finally started to address it. For me, it is embarrassing, but if I am going to get better, I have to address it. How? I started to really look into it and read up on it. I needed to get under the problem. Address it head on. By working on my personal development, I grow as a person and learn more. That, my friends, is where I started. This brings me to The Hunger Fix by Dr. Pam Peeke. I first heard about this book when I was listening to a podcast by Chalene Johnson.

Food addicts exist, and worse, it is a scary drug. DRUG? It's food. Yes, that is what makes it scary. Food addicts get a hit of their drug every day. You HAVE to have food to live. While other drug addicts can go to rehab and get away from it, food addicts cannot. They use false fixes to help them feel better. It affects the dopamine in the brain (something I had no idea about). This book talked about taking that false fix and making it a healthy fix and using other ways to get that "fix" and get the happy centers of the brain to work.

This book had me do activities. Video journals, written journals, foods I like verses food I would eat on a binge on my worst days and the calories that go with them. This book really opened my eyes to what I was doing to my body. It also had personal stories from people who suffered and are in continued recovery. The book also explained it is easy to fall back to old habits and the importance of being vigilant. It walked me through different stages and steps to take. It also gave different recipes that were healthy and balanced.

There are some important tips in the book that I have been doing and have learned in the last few months of doing Beachbody. I want to share them with you because I've been there and am working on bettering myself.

• Surround yourself with positive supportive people
• Get rid of the junk in your house
• Get rid of your trigger foods
• Get moving
• Balanced food + intentional exercise = weight loss 
• Be present in what you do. This takes away mindless eating
• Quality, Quantity (portion control), and Frequency (eat every 3 hours) are important

It's not easy. I will NEVER say it is. There are programs out there to help you. I found the one that helps me and I work with others to help them as well. The journey of recovery comes with lots of rewards. I coach because I can relate. This book helped me to work on myself as well as ignite a passion to help others. If you are struggling, reach out to me. I'm happy to help and support you in your recovery. Read the book.

Book Rating: Read it! Contains information on how the brain works and how to apply that to recovery. 

My Why

So, part of my adventure is my why. I talked about it in my last post and how the adventure is within. Well sure!! So today, I'm putting it all out there. My why is personal and helps me with my success. I refer to it every day. It motivates me to continue and to be successful. So, here it is.

Adventure Is Not Outside; It Is Within

Lets talk about adventure. There are so many kinds that you can take. There are outdoor adventures like kayaking, hiking, running, and golfing. There are also book adventure (think reading a wonderful book where the characters are all your friends and you travel with them on their adventures). And there is also the adventure within.

The adventure within is your personal journey. It starts with you and what drives you. Who do you want to be? What kind of person do you want to be? How will you get there? It all has to do with your "why."  How do your start that journey? There are a few rules.

Rules:

1) be authentically you

2) start at your beginning

3) reevaluate often
4) develop yourself personally

5) journal (optional)

Let's talk about this. First, be authentically you. Well, everyone else is taken so you can only be you. Who you are is not set in stone. You decide who you are. If you want to be kind, be kind. If you want to be a caring friend, do so. Just be you. 

Start at your beginning. Your beginning is different from my beginning. Oh, and don't compare yourself to others. Your chapter one may be someone else's chapter 13. You will get there. It takes hard work but keep working at it. Remember, it's your adventure, not someone else's.

Reevaluate often. You may find that your adventure takes you places you had no idea it would lead. Your "why" may change. And that is ok. See where you are and see where you have been. You may be choosing your own adventure, but it may change without you realizing it. Case in point: when I chose to join BeachBody and workout and eat healthier, it was just to help me. I needed to be healthier. That was it. That was December 2014. A few months later, my why changed. It moved from not only helping myself, but helping others. (I will share my why in a future post. But I figured I would show how things change and the importance of reevaluating.)

Personal development. WHAT? How does that make sense? This is my adventure you said. I did. Personal development, reading books about things that interest and help. I have read a lot of personal development books about things like leadership (The Fred Factor comes to mind), business/life (I love The Compound Effect), and eating disorders (I'm a binge eater and The Hunger Fix is my current read). It helps on the adventure to discover your best you!

Journal. It is not. Hard fast rule but hey, why not check out your adventure? I find journaling helps to keep you held accountable for anything I want. If I write it down and don't like what I see, I can still change. 

The reality is your adventure to be a better you is a wonderful adventure to be on. It is your adventure within you. Dig deep, think about your why, and choose your own adventure within.