Tag: wholistic living

fitness

Day 36 – 42 of My Fitness Challenge

Mstldelano3 Comments

Is it still a “challenge” if you’ve fallen off a bit?

I hope so, because I fully intend to get BACK onto the fitness bandwagon this upcoming week. This past week wasn’t as focused as I would have liked.

dumbells

For starters, I got sick in the middle of the week and on one of the days, I spent all day in bed. That was really tough for me, because I prefer to be up and moving, but my body responded well to the rest so I’m not going to fret about it. I also spent a lot of time sleeping over the past few days (the biggest thing missing from my regular routine is adequate rest). I still have a cough but I’m feeling better overall. I found myself wanting to eat outside of my eating window while I’ve been under the weather, and I indulged because I believe in being gentle with myself.

I got plenty of exercise though not all of it came from gym time. I ended up doing quite a bit more walking than normal this week. During the upcoming week, I’ll be incorporating more than just cardio in my routine: I’d love to see the results that I can get from strength/resistance training.

That’s it for the week: getting back on track and changing up the exercises. I’m excited to see what this upcoming week will be like!

life curation

My Top Three Goals For This Year

MstldelanoLeave a comment

I’m still buzzing from the excitement of welcoming in a brand new year of life, but I wanted to share some thoughts I had over the past few days.

It’s easy to talk about the “stuff” that I want, but I spent some time getting real with myself and asking, honestly, what do I REALLY want for myself in the year to come?

My list is brief, but it perfectly captures what I think will be the most powerful things that I can do to create a wonderful new year.

kindness

1) Be more kind and generous

I always strive to be kind but I want to make this my signature personality trait. That will involve me regularly taking a more empathetic stance and avoiding “hasty” reactions. I’ve been working on these things for a while but I can always stand to improve. As far as generosity goes, giving is one of my favorite things EVER! So I’m looking forward to giving even more in the year to come.

writing

2) Deepen my commitment to my writing

I’d like to write a lot more. I already work on my craft frequently, but what if I wrote daily? I’ve decided to commit to writing 1000 words per day. This won’t include blog entries, thought that would be a wonderful way for me to rack up my word count. No, these words have to be in the form of entries in books that I will (hopefully) one day publish. It doesn’t matter if the entries are great or nonsensical: the point is to get in the habit of doing it daily. I decided a day ago to do this, so I’m a little behind. I’m keeping count, however, and I’m aiming to catch up soon. Just for fun, I’ll put the count in the bar on the right side of the page, so you all can see my progress as I go along. The end goal is 365,000 words before August 1, 2019. I can do it!

joy

3) Incorporate more joy daily

Joy is always my daily goal, and I have made it a point to share a lot of my daily joys on this blog. But a bigger commitment to experiencing joy daily is a goal that I can really get behind! I’m open to however it comes – big, elaborate displays, small, interesting surprises, and everything in between – and I am looking forward to seeing how joy shows up in my life daily. Of course, I’m going to make sure that I’m a vibrational match for joy, so that it has no choice but to set up permanent residence in my life!

 

fitness

Day 29 – 35 of My Fitness Challenge

MstldelanoLeave a comment

Hi friends! I’m posting my update on Saturday instead of Sunday because I’ve got something special for tomorrow.

fitness

So this week marks the 2nd week of my intermittent fasting routine. I have found this extremely easy to maintain and I love my results so far. I’ve already seen that it helps tremendously with reducing bloat and giving me energy. I did extend my eating window twice during the week (it was my birthday week, so I was celebrating!) but otherwise I’m still fasting for 16 hours per day.

My waistline is trying to come through!

I only went to the gym once but I was sightseeing in Raleigh so I walked A LOT. In fact, I easily topped 10,000 steps each day that I was there. Throw the many times I went up and down the steps at the property where I stayed, and I’m comfortable saying that I got adequate exercise. In fact, my legs were more sore after my vacation than they are during my workouts at home!

In the upcoming week, I’ll up the ante with my eating routine. Fewer goodies will be consumed, and I’ll focus on eating more whole (unprocessed) foods. I’m also going to incorporate some strength training into my workout routine. I’m still researching which kind of exercises will have the most impact while still being easy for a beginner like myself, but I should have an idea of what I’m doing by Monday.

I’m excited to continue on this path! And I’m delighted to share this journey with me. Thanks for stopping by, and I’ll talk to you all tomorrow!

fitness

Days 22 – 28 of My Fitness Challenge

MstldelanoLeave a comment

Happy Sunday friends! I’m delighted to say that I think I’ve FINALLY found a really good health and fitness routine for me. I incorporated the elements of this routine at the beginning of the week, and I’ve enjoyed how I’m feeling, so I think I’ll keep it up!

Last week, I mentioned that a friend recommended intermittent fasting (IF) to me, and I gave it a try. This week, I stuck to the IF plan for 6 out of 7 days. The IF routine that I’m following consists of fasting for 16 hours and limiting my food intake to an 8-hour block of time per day (16-8 plan). I usually begin eating at 10 or 10:30 AM and have my last meal before 6 or 6:30 PM. After this time, the only thing I will allow myself is water or herbal tea. Likewise, before I have my first meal, I’ll only have water or tea.

sneakers

If all continues to go well, I will eventually transition to a 17-7 plan (17 fasting hours, 7 eating hours). The goal is to eat using the 18-6 plan consistently.

During my 8 hour eating window, I’ve eaten whatever I want, including some junk food. I took off my food restrictions while I tested out the eating times because I wanted to see how my body would react to “cheat day” meals while doing IF. All went well, so it’s time to really kick this into gear. Now that I’ve settled into a routine, I’ll go to the store and stock up on a bunch of good-for-you foods so that I can compound the positive effects of IF.

Speaking of positive effects, I noticed that I slept well and had more energy. I noticed less bloating and even my skin looks a little better. This could all be coincidence, but I’m pretty observant and I notice small bodily changes, so I’m thinking that I can credit all of this to IF.

I worked out five times this week and have already started to see my body beginning to tone up a bit. I used an old trick to get back into consistently working out: I wore my workout clothing to the office. You see, my gym is in the building where I work, so wearing gym clothes to the office practically forced me to go to the gym before I start working. I’ll continue to wear the workout clothes to the office so that I won’t have any excuses for not going to the gym.

Well, that’s it for this week’s update. I look forward to having some more great updates in a week. Thanks for stopping by, and talk to you all tomorrow!

reading list

Book Review: Your Life By Design By Curtis R. Estes

MstldelanoLeave a comment

I had to schedule this book review a little later this month, because I had a really hard time making it through this book for the purpose of reviewing it. You’ll understand a bit later why writing this review was challenging.

writing

The book I selected to read during the month of June was Your Life by Design by Curtis R. Estes. I’ve had this book for several years but never managed to read it – until now. The book is a series of exercises and examples designed to help the reader examine current patterns and choices. After examining the present, the reader is gently lead through the process of creating and executing a new vision – a vision that reflects the reader’s closely held values and desires.

In short, this is a workbook that requires thoughtfulness and time as you complete the exercises. That, by default, makes it a difficult book to “review”, since there are actions required from the reader in order to get the most out of the text and I sincerely feel that these exercises should not be “rushed”.

This book contains many fantastic tips for examining lifestyle balance and harmony. I’m a fan of how this book emphasizes looking at your life and determining how much joy you derive from your activities. For instance, I was intrigued by Estes’ personal calendar, that not only listed out his activities for the day but also assigned an emotional score to each activity (identifying how happy or unhappy he was about completing that particular task) as well as a list of the day’s overall goals and the expenditures required for the day. This holistic view of the day really helps to put individual activities into perspective.

All that being said, I HIGHLY recommend the book for anyone trying to create new patterns and a clearer vision for his or her life. The steps are great for creating the kind of changes that will nurture and boost behaviors that contribute to a quality lifestyle. I thoroughly enjoyed this workbook. In fact, I liked it so well that I decided that I would be going through the exercises, individually, in the fall of this year.

fitness

Days 8 – 14 of My Fitness Challenge

MstldelanoLeave a comment

This week was so much better! More exercise, better food choices, and LOTS more water, sleep and relaxation.

kettlebells

You may have noticed that I haven’t been including measurements or weigh-ins. Well, to be honest with you all (and I do strive to be honest), those are good metrics if I just needed to change things for the sole purpose of hitting a weight goal. But that isn’t my plan.

Sure, this started as a “challenge”, and I plan to drastically increase the good habits and decrease the bad ones. But hitting a particular weight is no longer my only goal: now, I want to change my way of being. I’m striving to feel great and look great, so I’m concentrating more on my day-to-day “wins” and letting those accumulate. The more daily wins I experience, the closer I’ll be to hitting my weight “goal” but, more importantly, I’ll be closer to hitting the overall health goals that I’ve set for myself.

For that reason, I think I’ll extend this “challenge” beyond 31 days, and make it a weekly update until I’m inspired to stop recording any progress.I’m also not going to commit to follow the Brittne Babe plan religiously, though I think it’s great for those that are inspired to do it that way. I tried, but I didn’t enjoy it at this point: I’ll try it again, before the end of the year, and I’ll see if I’m more inspired at that time.

Anyhoo, that’s this week’s update. I’ll talk to you all tomorrow!

fitness

Days 1 – 7 of My Fitness Challenge

MstldelanoLeave a comment

fitness

Can I get a do-over?

Seriously though, this first week of my fitness challenge has been eye-opening. I think it’s important to remain flexible while challenging ourselves. A constant “push” energy isn’t good when accomplishing a goal, especially if we aren’t enjoying the “push”.

So I worked out just once this week. I was supposed to work out 5 times over the past 7 days (let’s all sigh together). However, it’s been an unusually busy week and the stress was much higher than normal. I was also supposed to eat fewer calories, and after two days, I was back to eating what I wanted. So both the diet and exercise portions of this week were failures (so to speak).

What happened during the past week was worth noting, and I made some mental notes. I believe in adjusting my routine to correct any issues that I’m seeing. Here are some of the things I noticed during the week.

  • I need more rest in order to undertake any physical challenge. My sleep is too sporadic for me to be effective at a fitness routine. I also notice that my eating habits are poorer when I’m tired.
  • I have no problem eating balanced breakfasts during the week, but things go downhill during the day, especially during the period between lunch and dinner. I need better snack options to satisfy my cravings but not sabotage my healthy eating goals.
  • I could stand to drink more water. I’m already “good” at it but I’d like to improve.
  • I need more accountability when it comes to working out. I’ve made an agreement with one of my friends, who will help “keep me honest” when it comes to working out.

Those are my week 1 observations. I’ll adjust, regroup, and start anew. Here’s hoping that week 2 will have more “wins” that I can report to you all!

life curation

My Top 5 LOA Podcasts

MstldelanoLeave a comment

Happy Tuesday friends! As we move through this holiday week, I wanted to share some of the “mental food” that I’ll be enjoying on the holiday.

Yes, tomorrow is the Fourth of July and I will be off from work and relaxing a bit. During my “down” time, I enjoy listening to podcasts that amp up my belief in all of the possibilities that life has to offer. I love learning more about the law of attraction (LOA) and how I can use these tools to create the life of my dreams. With that being said, I want to share the podcasts that I have enjoyed most as I have traveled on this consciousness journey.

headphone

Headphones on, in my own world

I have talked about this podcast before, and I’ll say it again: Jeannette’s podcast is simply one of the best. Funny, honest, practical and effective – it’s always my go-to when I want a boost. Jeannette has great examples of manifesting success as well as lots of practicable tips and advice that even a novice “manifestor” can use with ease.

Cassie Parks (I reviewed her book a few months back – I love her work!) and Ginny Gane have this weekly show that explores all sorts of topics related to LOA. They are a charming, enjoyable duo that does a great job of explaining different LOA principles and give solid advice on how to leverage LOA for creating a fantastic life.

I started listening to Unity Radio years ago, and one of the hosts that I’ve really enjoyed as of late is Rae Zander’s Everyday Attraction. Her podcast discusses Abraham-Hicks teachings in depth, using snippets of different Abraham workshops to launch the conversations. I love hearing her take on Abraham’s thoughts.

Jewels is the CEO of the Law of Attraction radio station. Her vision brought us countless new thought leaders and a multitude of perspectives regarding this era of consciousness. Jewels interviews a variety of metaphysical experts and attempts to reconcile the spiritual with scientific research. Her guests are great at providing insight and advice on leading a well-lived life. Jewels herself is a joy to listen to, and I love hearing her excitement over the topics that she discusses.

Constance’s podcast is one of the shows featured on Law of Attraction radio station. Her show focuses on blending metaphysical principles, consciousness, and spirituality. Her gentle voice and sweet demeanor are part of her signature style of kind-but-firm advice. Her show is a great alternative for those that want a clearly-Christian perspective on metaphysical and consciousness principles.

**********

Do you all have any LOA podcasts that you enjoy? Please let me know all about them in the comments below!

food

NuVegan is Coming to RVA!

MstldelanoLeave a comment

I am beyond excited to share this news with you all! One of my favorite vegan restaurant, NuVegan Cafe (formerly Woodlands Vegan Bistro) of Washington, D.C., is opening a restaurant in my hometown of Richmond, VA! I spend a lot of time bouncing around in the Midatlantic region but when I’m home, I am always eager to try new vegetarian options. This technically isn’t new to me – I’ve been enjoying NuVegan for at least 4 years – but I’ve always had to be in either D.C. or Maryland if I wanted their food. Having the restaurant so close to home is going to really have me spoiled!

Screenshot 2018-06-27 at 7.07.30 PM - Edited

The Richmond location will be opening on June 30, 2018. Part of me wants to attend the grand opening . . . The other part of me is pure introvert and would rather avoid any potential crowds! We’ll see how I’m feeling on June 30th and if I’m feeling up to it, I’ll make a special stop to check out the restaurant.

vegetables

Plant-based foods are awesome!

If you want more information about NuVegan Cafe in Richmond, VA, be sure to follow the NuVegan Cafe Richmond Twitter page @NuVeganRichmond.

Have any of you eaten at NuVegan yet? Let me know what you thought about it in the comments below!

fitness · life curation

A July Fitness Challenge? Let’s Do It!

Mstldelano1 Comment

I’m a little more than a month away from my birthday (August baby checking in!) and I realized that I wanted a major change. I used to be slimmer some years back, but now I’m a little “cuddlier” than I’d prefer. I would love to be more toned and healthier. So I figured I’d try to get back into some sort of fitness routine by trying a fitness challenge.

fitness

Ab goals!

Almost two years ago, I purchased one of Brittne Babe’s 21 Day online fitness packages and, while I tried my hand at the meal planning and exercising, I hadn’t committed fully. So I figured that now would be a good time to kick my fitness goals into gear. I will start my training on July 1st, and I’ll post a final pic on August 1st. Keep your  fingers crossed for me: I love cake LOL! It’s going to take some discipline to remain committed to getting toned and feeling healthy and strong. But I’m eager to see some great results, so I’ll do the challenge! If you want to know more about Brittne Babe’s 21 Day challenge, click here.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BkGyjPfhYpH/?taken-by=brittnebabe

Brittne, looking perfect

Look out for fitness updates over the next few weeks!