Thursday, May 21, 2015

What does courage sound like?

The Roar & Whisper of Courage

Operating on the back-up power reserves of my body, of my mind and of my spirit, everything in me was saying, Please stop moving; I just want to lie around like a bump on a log and not think or do or be mindful or be grateful or be anything other than the sad and miserable person that I feel like right now. 
Do you know that feeling?
That feeling of knowing that you’ve pushed yourself beyond the very limits of who you are and that what you need is rest, and downtime…and you-time, really, but here you are, anyway, still moving and speaking and functioning and how is that possible?

http://www.elephantjournal.com/2012/11/courage-the-roar-the-whisper/

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Numbers: Helpful or Hateful?

Numbers

Numbers used to rule my life. Whether it was the number on the scale, the number on the tag in my jeans or the amount of miles I ran each week, I lived by them. I relentlessly pursued perfection by using numbers as milestones. If I could weigh a certain amount, wear a certain size or boast a certain 5K time, I was bound to be happy. 
Right?
Wrong.
It was an empty pursuit. I didn't find perfection when I hit the milestones I set. Numbers didn't make me love myself. In fact, quite the opposite happened on many occasions. If the dreaded weigh ins did not reflect the desired result, I plunged deeper into self-loathing. If I didn't PR (personal record in running lingo) at every race I ran, I was a complete and utter FAILURE. If I DID hit my goal of weight, size or speed, my happiness was fleeting. In that split second, I felt the excitement of achieving something I had worked so hard for, but it never lasted. Like an addict with their drug of choice, I was on to the next weight goal, the next size down, the next fastest time.

I could have written this entire post, exactly, word for motherfucking WORD.

I wish I had. I'm seriously loving every post I read on this blog.

Here's the whole thing: http://cyndilourunning.blogspot.com/2015/05/numbers.html

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Mantras For A Happy Life

F*ck It (& 4 Other Mantras for When Things Get Tough)  

Sometimes, often actually, I forget that I am powerful.
I lose hope. I give into depression, anxiety and the million nagging questions that scream through my head demanding to know what hell I am doing with my life.
I’ve traveled all over the world and have gone on long silent meditation retreats looking for solace. I’ve seen therapists and psychiatrists. I’ve swallowed both antidepressants and alcohol as wishful remedies.
Through all this, I’ve learned that as much as my thoughts can cause me pain, they can also lead to my salvation. I’ve cultivated my own faith based on five positive messages. Call them mantras, personal life mottos or supplications to the divine. In any case, these messages, along with my best intentions, have helped me find courage and strength during difficult times.

I'm loving this extra hard today, as my brain struggles to cope with my life on not-enough sleep and doubt-filled relationships and big-scary changes coming.

If you're in a similar place, or ever have been, please click & read it all, because you're a fucking unicorn: http://www.elephantjournal.com/2014/06/fck-it-4-other-mantras-for-when-things-get-tough-mailynn-stormon-trinh/

Friday, May 15, 2015

How to drop fat

Here it is, simple & demystified, though not necessarily easy.

You don't need magic pills or powders or to purchase ANYTHING. Just educate yourself.

Click on through to this post, and read ALL the links, too, to understand why something so simple can be so very difficult for some (many).

http://www.disruptyourdiet.com/blog/how-to-lose-weight

I mean, click through if you actually need to lose fat.

Maybe you don't.

Many of you don't.

If it's "that last 10 pounds" then please consider that you may want to leave it be.

Your body probably wants it. If so, it's going to make you completely fucking miserable trying to drop it, so please please PLEASE trust me, as someone who's fought that losing battle: it is NOT worth it.

Learn to accept the extra pounds, and focus on what your body can accomplish instead of how it looks.

That IS worth it.

If it's more than 10 stubborn pounds, well, okay, fine, maybe you do want to drop some - to improve your health. Then yes, please go forth and read this smart advice, but then take it slowly forth.

Because slow & steady wins the health race, every time.

http://www.disruptyourdiet.com/blog/how-to-lose-weight

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

What's the Perfect Female Body?

Well...that depends.

What date is it?

Whoever People magazine deems “most beautiful” this year is just a representation of what has bubbled up in the cauldron of pop culture. That silhouette of the “ideal woman” has been put through a series of fun house mirrors (fashion, movies, pop music, politics). It also changes year over year, so the physical qualities we embrace today are often at odds with those from previous generations.
To prove our point, we’re taking a closer look at body ideals over the last 100 years—which shows that, as they say on Project Runway, “In fashion, one day you’re in, and the next day you’re out.”

http://greatist.com/grow/100-years-womens-body-image

I do like this. I like the illustration that curvy, thin, tall, tiny, athletic, all of these have been ideal at some point.

But.

I don't love it, because I wish it didn't exist. I'm pretty damned sure there is no corresponding post showing how much the ideal MALE body has changed throughout the years.

Because men just get to BE whatever they are.

Well, it's time women have the same benefit.

Dig these pictures, and then decide that you are already in the perfect body, here and now: yours.

Love it.

Live in it.

BE.

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

You can have it all!

This.

EVERYTHING THIS SAYS.

From the Love Your Body Project: Peace, Love, and Food, worth following.

I see lots of women who are just overloaded. They have a full-time job, children to raise, a marriage to maintain, other family members to deal with, social obligations and Lord knows what else. Growing up, the message for some women was, "you can have it all!" And so, we thought that was the ideal to pursue: having it ALL.
These same women desperately try to make it all work as perfectly as they can. And they are so HARD on themselves because they aren't Superwoman. You see, they have ALL OF THAT responsibility that I listed above and then wonder why they can't muster up more energy to work out five days a week and look like a fitness model.
"But, look at Susie over there! She has just as much on her plate and can do it! She can go to Zumba five times a week!! And she wears a size 4!"
"I commute an hour each way, am responsible for feeding my family, have to help my kids with their homework, and, well, I know I'm just making excuses, but...I'm just too tired to go to the gym. I wish I weren't so lazy."
BUT REMEMBER YOU CAN HAVE IT ALL LADIES! YOU CAN BE ANYTHING YOU WANT TO BE!!
Well, what if I don't WANT IT ALL?? What if I can't HANDLE it all???


Please, I implore you to go read this, NOW, and absorb the message in full:
http://cyndilourunning.blogspot.com/2015/05/you-can-have-it-all.html