I am thinking about the light that has returned to the north country, the light-as-a-feather touchdown in the bounce and the air in the lift and less muscle. Yes. Less muscling through. Less endurance. More focus on lightness.
And this may seem counter-intuitive, but it's interesting. You see, playing around last week with the intervals, I could not seem to resist how great that felt to do that AND how hard it was on my body. I ended up working twice as hard and twice as long. And that is okay in a spring sprint week, but there are warning lights with overdoing and they include risk of self-injury and, especially, burn-out.
So, if this is going to work, it needs that lightness, that lift-off, that sustainable sweet spot that is neither too much or too little. And, hence, the refocus, this week on lightness.
And, it is paying off. I've modified my spring sprint workout again, this week, to do only 25 minutes of the bounce on five days, keeping it lighter than ever, light as a feather, and, in addition, to only do the Callanetics (still at 1/2 time like I describe) only just 2-3 times instead of 4 times and the arm exercises only 4 times.
I've added twenty minutes a day in vitamin D sunlight time, soaking those nourishing light rays in through my skin. And I am lightening up on foods, thinking apples and greens and lighter fare, fish three times this week, water, water, water, and remembering my vitamins.
And I am allowing the idea of light and lightness to permeate my mood, my awareness, my body, my mind, my heart. And, in the name of spring, spirit and light opening.
And nothing more this week. That's it. No add-on walks.
Anything I feel like doing extra is just for joie de vivre. I am listening deeply to my body. It can rest when it needs to and dance when it wishes.
And, now I know that it shouldn't seem to make any sense that light would reap more results, but it can. The body does not need to be kicked down the street into wellness. It needs to be loved. And in this gentling and honoring, like spring flowers opening, the body opens and responds to the light and the lightening.
Likewise, you can have also devise a plan-of-action where you have burst of energy weeks AND alternate them with easier, steadier weeks. Therefore you are pushing yourself hard one week and then pacing yourself the next.
Or, in a given exercise, alternating the workout from light to intense to light to intense.
This is supposed to be excellent because the lower intensity burns fat and the upper revs up your metabolism and burns more calories.
So last week was a burst week and this week is a pace week.
It's the same basic routine as week one, only keeping the bounce to 25-35 minutes and maybe playing just a little with some intervals inside the bounce, i.e. like still going with the steady pow-wow-like, continuous moving but with a few placed jumping, leaping movements, just one or two or three bursts tops. And bringing the walking down to 15 minutes and going slower but higher, deeper, stronger movements in it.
Callan Pinckney, born as Barbara Biffinger Pfeiffer Pinckney on 26 September 1939, died 1 March 2012, and was an American fitness professional.
She was a hero to me. I love her Callanetics and have practiced them and returned to them and recommended them again and again.
I just found out about her death and am so sad. She was an awesome lady, an adventurer, and she gave us the most beautiful way to respectfully exercise, blending dance and yoga, ever attending to a kindness to the body, old or young, and the health of the neck and spine, while showing us her way towards toned muscles and beautiful sculpted bodies that even plastic surgery cannot measure up to.
I found out about her death today as I was looking for a link to post for her "Original Callanetics." To the best of my knowledge, it is still on videotape and now also DVD, and is still often out of stock or hard to find. However, I have looked at her DVDs for the "Quick Callanetics" (all three are available on Amazon.com) which consist of three videos where she takes the same basic Original Callanetics and gives you a quicker workout, one for the legs, one for the hips and behind, and one for the stomach. These are excellent and, in 20 minutes, walk you through her movements with the added bonus that Callan herself is teaching you in these videos. She is so special that it is well worth it to learn from her very distinct, caring, and personal instruction and her awesome manner.
One of the Callanetics teachers, not Callan, also has a dance low-aerobics video, but I think the "inside walking" is better for a lower impact workout, because you tune into your own body with your own rhythm and movements.
The three "Quick Callanetics" DVDs can be done in half the time once you are familiar with them and can do them on your own. I combine all of them but like to do just the standing ones on one day (5 minutes) and just the floor ones (10-15 minutes) the next day and then repeat this sequence again in the week. But if you use the DVDs, you could benefit greatly from just doing these, each video one time a week, on alternate days, with a day in between each to rest and restore your muscles. You WILL feel and see the results!!
Here is to one awesome lady!
Callan Pinckney
Rest in Peace
File:White rose, Sissinghurst Castle garden, Kent courtesy of Wikimediacommons
Did I say I was READY for Spring? I am READY for SPRING!
So for Week One -The Prep Week!- of My Spring Sprint:
Step One:
First of all I spring-cleaned my house top to toe! Yeah! It took me a week with two separately planned intense work days with my husband helping, but we DID IT!! (Since the radiation, I have to pace myself, my energy can get all used up and then I have to make up for it.)
But we DID IT!! We even got the famous sheepdogs all cleaned up and now even they are preening around like movie stars. Every body enjoys a tune up!
This was the Prep Week! I kept to my regular exercise with my big goal of getting the house clean and clear. The next six weeks, I'm going to be in full gear!
Next Week, I will post Week One or What A Spring Sprint Week Looks Like To Me.
Until then, the sun is out, the sky is blue, it's beautiful, and so are you, won't you come out to play!
Have a wonderful week end!
Kindest regards,
-bbffair
Dear Prudence
Dear Prudence, won't you come out to play
Dear Prudence, greet the brand new day
The sun is up, the sky is blue
It's beautiful and so are you
Dear Prudence won't you come out to play
Dear Prudence open up your eyes
Dear Prudence see the sunny skies
The wind is low the birds will sing
That you are part of everything
Dear Prudence won't you open up your eyes?
Look around round round
Look around round round
Oh look around
Dear Prudence let me see you smile
Dear Prudence like a little child
The clouds will be a daisy chain
So let me see you smile again
Dear Prudence won't you let me see you smile?
Dear Prudence, won't you come out to play
Dear Prudence, greet the brand new day
The sun is up, the sky is blue
It's beautiful and so are you
Dear Prudence won't you come out to play
February, this year, seemed like a long, hard winter month to walk.I often think of January like that, but not so much February.
Some of this was me and some of this just seemed to be going around. I finished radiation at the end of 2011 in December and I was whipped by it. But January wasn't as darn mean and cold as it usually is, so there was this sense of getting through the winter lightly. That is, until February snagged a bunch of us.
For the past ten months, in spite of cancer, I've been getting consistently lighter and healthier. I've been in my zone and fine tuning things and keeping the lightening going even through cancer.
But in February??? I tipped up the scales six pounds! I'm still in my zone, but still! How could that happen??? Time to regroup and rethink and get real.
(And yes I know, in my zone, that's not a big deal -to anyone else but me- but to me, it's a wake-up call before I get into anything more like really bigger trouble!)
I also have a theory. I think that the seasons are important to us, biologically, spiritually, physically, mentally. They affect us and are supposed to. So, for one thing it is natural when it gets cold and snowy and ye old winter winds are beating down your door, that you are supposed to get cozy by the fire with a little bit more you on your bones and take a few more zzzzz's in (even if you didn't have radiation treatments) and sup on root vegetables and hearty stew. But when winter doesn't walk you through it, you will still feel the season, and, even eventually, it may still catch up to you later and demand its due.
Anyway, this year, every single still-exercising, still eating mostly right and healthy, still working-it woman I know told me she tipped it up a few pounds in February and/or the scale just got stuck all month.
Tsk. Tsk.
But I wonder, thinking back on my contemplations of the plateau, if there really is some innate logic to this? Perhaps it is the last step necessary to moving into the light of spring? Sort of like stepping back to boost your new, next upcoming leap forward.
Anyway, I'm counting on this AND I am recommitting to my spring this year starting right here and now. I cleaned my house top to bottom, part one, last week, and will finish part two, the dogs, this week. I have cleaned out winter, cobwebs, cancer, worry, and all things that get bottled up and start to grow weird in those bottles. And I am recommitting to a strong five days a week forward in moving in my exercises, not so much more, but with more joie di vivre and light! I want that light in my body too!
And so the next six weeks, I'm channeling my light into my Light Body with new life. I'm going to re-lose that six pounds and aim for four more!
Anybody want to get into the sweet spring dance with me too? Time to Lighten Up!
-bbffair
Here Comes The Sun
Here comes the sun (doo doo doo doo)
Here comes the sun, and I say
It's all right
Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter
Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun, and I say
It's all right
Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun, and I say
It's all right
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been clear
Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun, and I say
It's all right
Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun, and I say
It's all right
It's all right
One of the joys of weekly food shopping over the last year for me has become my visit to the bulk bins at Whole Foods.
In the past, I used to buy a package of nuts -for me, most often, this would be walnuts that I used to use more of and so could justify buying a whole package at a time- but now that I have discovered the bulk bins at Whole Foods, I am free to experiment!
Nuts are healthful, nutritious, great add-ins, and a handy way to go vegetarian for a meal or a day without hunger, weakness, or deprivation. That's all helpful. But, let's face it: they are also Yumm!
Anyway, at Whole Foods, I can now buy a sample of this or a handful or a week's worth of a bunch of different nuts and dried fruits, etc. so I've grown my nut-palate and become more familiar with what used to be exotic rare excursions into eating and using nuts.
It's not really a nut. It's a seed in a pine cone! Who would have thought those squirrels and even my dogs -the famous sheepdogs: Darla and Fisher- would be so smart. In the past, I've had them primarily in pesto dishes. But now, they color my salads, soups, vegetable dishes, my eggplant, chicken, and fish, and I even eat them raw all by themselves. They are lovely and delicate and guess what else, they are amazing nutrition-wise.
They are 58 calories in a TBSP but curb your appetite so they help with weight loss, they aid cardiovascular support, are high in iron, anti-oxidants -i.e. anti-aging, contain lutein, an antioxidant that is crucial to the prevention of eye diseases such as macular degeneration and cataracts and vitamin A in the form of beta carotene, another important eye vitamin, and containing protein and magnesium, they aid in energy boosting. That's a LOT of umphhhffff for something with such a good Yumm factor.
A few of my other favs include:
Brazil Nuts
"A handful of Brazil nuts a day can reduce the risk of eight types of cancer by up to 76 per cent, scientists said yesterday. They are packed with the mineral selenium, which can help prevent cancer of the liver, lung, stomach, prostate, pancreas, brain, kidney and oesophagus by blocking the formation of tumours." -How Brazil Nuts Can Beat Cancer by Tim Utton and Robin Yapp
Okay, Just Yumm. We know these are good for us. We eat them in Chinese and Thai chicken, for goodness sakes. They are best eaten you know, umm, naturally, and are still full of flavor. But here is a perfectly important point: At Whole Foods, you can buy the Thai salted, roasted cashews and they won't make it home, they are soooo delicious. But you can buy a handful and be gloriously done with it and leave the rest in the bin behind you. Ahh yes, a moment of zen.
Here is my plug for the best of the best cherries from my own home state of Michigan. I dare you to compare!
*A word of caution and forewarning though: like all things, take your nuts in moderation. Don't overdo it. Some are fattier than others and for some people, they may be hard to digest in large amounts too, so use your good common sense!
And, with this, I ask you to journey to your own Whole Foods or other natural food bulk food bin aisle and do what you must: taste and experiment and let your senses have at it!
Today I finished my radiation treatments. I never thought I would make it. Every single day it was like that for me.
I cannot thank enough the amazing staff at the Radiation Department of University of Michigan Hospital that worked every day to get me through, who were so very very kind and gentle with me. This was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do.
Here is to healing light that it may touch all of us when and where we need it the most.
I found these awesome photographs of statues of Shiva dancing that I thought I would post today. This is definitely in the zone. This is how the body feels when it is free and light and dancing, when you let go and become one with your movement and your life force.
These beautiful statues led me on a journey to re-look up Shiva and Shakti, who is his counter-part. I love it when mythology shows up and calls out. There is always some morsel of something potent that is there.
This is some of what I found:
On Wikipedia:
"Shiva (ta: சிவன் ) ; (/ˈʃɪvə/; Sanskrit: शिव Śiva, meaning "auspicious one") is a major Hindudeity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a sage at Mount Kailash.[2] In the Shaiva tradition of Hinduism, Shiva is seen as the Supreme God. In the Smarta tradition, he is regarded as one of the five primary forms of God.[3] Followers of Hinduism who focus their worship upon Shiva are called Shaivites or Shaivas (Sanskrit Śaiva).[4]Shaivism, along with Vaiṣṇava traditions that focus on Vishnu and Śākta traditions that focus on the goddessShakti, is one of the most influential denominations in Hinduism.[3]
Lord Shiva is usually worshipped in the abstract form of Shiva linga. In images, He is represented as a handsome[5] young man[6] immersed in deep meditation or dancing the Tandava upon Apasmara, the demon of ignorance in his manifestation of Nataraja, the Lord of the dance, goodness, humility, and every good quality a human should have. It is said that He looks like an eternal youth because of his authority over death, rebirth and immortality. He is also the father of Ganesha and Murugan ; (taமுருகன் ) ;(Kartikeya)."
and
"Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति) from Sanskritshak - "to be able," meaning sacred force or empowerment, is the primordial cosmic energy and represents the dynamic forces that are thought to move through the entire universe in Hinduism.[1] Shakti is the concept, or personification, of divine feminine creative power, sometimes referred to as 'The Great Divine Mother' in Hinduism. On the earthly plane, Shakti most actively manifests through female embodiment and creativity/fertility, though it is also present in males in its potential, unmanifest form.[2]
The Kundalini-shakti from the Yoga tradition: life force/sexual energy that can be awakened for conscious creativity.
Not only is the Shakti responsible for creation, it is also the agent of all change. Shakti is cosmic existence as well as liberation, its most significant form being the Kundalini Shakti,[3] a mysterious psychospiritual force.[4] Shakti exists in a state of svātantrya, dependence on no-one, being interdependent with the entire universe.
In Shaktism, Shakti is worshiped as the Supreme Being. However, in other Hindu traditions of Shaivism and Vaishnavism, Shakti embodies the active feminine energy Prakriti of Purusha, who is Vishnu in Vaishnavism or Shiva in Shaivism. Vishnu's female counterpart is called Lakshmi, with Parvati being the female half of Shiva."
More simply, the male Shiva, embodies transformation, and the female Shakti creativity.
The Secret of Shiva and Shakti Swami Jnaneshvara Bharati(endless audio loop*)
Shiva and Shakti are one and the same.
There is no place that He is not.
There is no place that She is not.
They are one and the same.
She is in every thing.
She is in every word.
She is all there is.
See Her in all things.
Hear Her in all sounds.
Know Her in all thoughts.
Feel Her in all feelings.
She is all there is.
She is the one in the three worlds**.
Shiva and Shakti are one and the same.
That is the secret.
(Shiva is the universal latent or masculine energy,
and Shakti is the universal active or feminine energy.)
But, for me, it feels very much like the statues tell it all. There is beauty that dances, life in movement and movement in life.
On the dancing path, one may only sense that freedom at first, but as the body lightens up, when one begins to embody that lightness, the dance become exquisite.
In the beginning of an adventure in getting your body beautiful or back to beautiful, weight wise, there can be all these amazing BIG results. They are impressive and ever so sweet.
But then comes the times when you hit plateaus. The going is slower, more precise, more streamlined.
Once you are "in your zone" this is more apt to happen. But this is a VERY GOOD THING.
Many of us are conditioned to believe this is where we are stuck or not making progress. (And, where that might be the case, it might be something much, much better than that. Though if we are stuck on our progress, we might need to make an adjustment, add or subtract something, have a few earlier, lighter dinners, something.)
But today I am not thinking about the kind of plateaus associated with being stuck. Instead, I am thinking about the ones where your body is deeply adjusting and becoming one with its newer lighter being. It is memorizing and learning to live there. And that is a sign that this is a very nice place for the body to be in. Let it find its feet, stop upon the journey, and look out at (and from) the beautiful landscape and take some time to truly drink it in.
The definition of a plateau is: an elevated, fairly stable and level ground, something one might have climbed high or long, or with great effort to arrive at.
In the zone, your body may want to stay at or close to its new weight for awhile. My body likes to go up and down about 4 pounds for about four weeks each month as it adjusts and relaxes into the lighter weight. Then it lets go of the upper level and moves gently and naturally lighter the next month another 2-4 pounds. Now I know that is not as drastic and freaky-thrilling as losing a ton in the beginning. (And, by the way, if you boot camp your way ALL the way up, you are much more likely to crash and end up at the bottom again and all defeated. So don't do that!)
But this is the part of the path that's perfect for gentle, natural, beautiful, healthful deepening momentum. The marathon part is over and the dance is poetic and sweet and totally to be enjoyed. It will release what may be left to release in its own perfect time. Your job is to fall into harmony with your body and believe again in the beautiful creature that you are.
By the way, isn't the picture above breathtaking! It's Castle Rock in Sedona, Arizona, a place of beautiful energy and healing. I've been there and been awed.
The photograph is kindly offered for sharing by the photographer named Grombo and is shared here by courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Info to look at his portfolio is below.
This wonderful thing happened to me around late July. I felt good about my body shape. I wasn't model perfect. But I was in my zone and I could feel it and see it. I could go out shopping and try on new clothes. I was stepping out more and more and then I got on a scale. (Well, I had to. I was beginning cancer treatment and they make you weigh in a lot.) So I got not just a sense of how it feels, but a sense of what it translates to actually.
Now, for me –I'm 5' 6-1/2"– I have a pretty large zone, about twenty-five pounds in which (so long as I am exercising and keeping up my muscle tone) I look and feel pretty good about myself.
At the top of my zone, I look good in and out of clothes. Above the top of it, I feel unable to get on a scale (i.e. fat).
At the lower end of the scale, I'm model thin or what I weighed when I was fourteen, only I'm more shapely in good ways. Below that, I feel and look anorexic and sickly.
However, for the most part, anywhere in my zone is a good place to be because none of it is *bad.* And even gradually moving towards hanging out in the middle of my zone is even more rewarding. It's healthy, alive, vibrant, and attractive.
Arriving in one's *zone* is a really cool thing if you've ever been out there in outer-zone space. It means you can relax. It's also motivating. You're not "on a diet" so much as you're in a LIFEstyle!
It is also helpful at the entrance of your zone for you to also get on the scale a LOT so you know what's going on within your zone. It's kind of like a doable reality check and check-in to keep you on track. For example, I go up and down by 2-4 pounds depending on what I've eaten. And *in the zone* a girl is more apt to lose any remaining weight slower and that's okay now, 'cause you're in the zone.
So right now, I'm in the middle of my zone, which is exactly where I want to be right now as I am also just starting radiation therapy and I might lose the rest of my lower zone with that, so I need my buffer. But I am also in a very good place too: my muscles like to move and I'm eating healthy, delicious foods.
Folks, I am doing the zone dance.
Here's to all of you getting to and being in your own zones!
-bbffair
<p><a href="http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=2365">Image: Grant Cochrane / FreeDigitalPhotos.net</a></p>
I've been on a post-surgery sleep schedule. Which means my body wants to sleep and heal. It really works too. The more I sleep, the more I heal.
Sleep is a luxury for many. But it is a dieter's best friend and it also is pretty darn good for your skin too.
I am noticing that the more I can sleep, the more my body relaxes and lets go of what it doesn't need, (i.e., extra weight)! Seriously, this is very effective for losing those pounds and building health. So give yourself a sleep regimen and see for yourself if it doesn't make a difference.
Isn't this kitty cute? I have only to look at pictures like this and I get all sleepy in the best and most relaxing ways. I think I might need a picture* of a cat sleeping next to my bed at night for when I need help drifting off into those zzzzzzs.
-bbffair
*(My two sheepdogs might object to a live kitty and I am allergic to cats, but otherwise a real kitty can be helpful in the z-department too!)
<"Sleepy Cat" by ShivaPrasad Madaiah, courtesy of http://www.freedigitalphotos.net>
As I have previously posted, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and the last three months have been a challenging time for me. I've had surgery that removed my tumor, and two lymph nodes, both clean, Thank God.
I am still recovering from the surgery, a lumpectomy and sentinel node biopsy, that has left me without much distortion, but with much nerve upset in my nipple, which is hopefully temporary, but upsetting, and much fatigue. As well, I am preparing for a round of radiation to the area, which, I'm told, will increase my fatigue for awhile both during the treatments and in the months following.
I still feel very grateful as I move forward. But this is no cake walk.
I have also been thinking hard about how much of the traditional medicine in front of me seems to keep pointing, not just at the irradiating of the cancer, but also at poisoning the body enough so that the cancer never ever returns. The cure is hard. The preventative measures very difficult to grasp.
I still don't know if I can take a drug that is basically a chemotherapy pill for five years. That's a decision I don't have to make just yet, but one I am wrestling with.
In the meantime, what I am focusing on, right now, is what changes I can implement in my nutrition and exercise that are not extreme or desperate, but sensible, sustainable, and doable.
I have started buying only hormone-free and antibiotic-free milk –it tastes great!– and chicken and beef. I am mostly eating a plant based diet with my protein coming mainly from fish first, chicken second, and only very occasionally beef. I am staying far away from fats. No, not entirely, but reasonably. I still like the Earth Balance spread. And, I realize that alcohol, even though I really just like very nice wines, is a very possible culprit in creating bad estrogen. It's out for now except maybe for a rare indulgence.
I am busy exploring how I can beef up my immune and energetic systems, rebuilding my health stronger and better. I plan to meet with a professional nutritionist. I'll be blogging about that more in the future.
And I am humbled by how tired surgery and healing have left me and learning to take littler, but very effective smaller steps. Right now, 3 mile walks exhaust me, 30 minutes of jumping is too much for my sore breast, and I've had to back down. I thought I could get right back and up to speed, but I have definitely been slowed down. However, the good and inspiring news is this:
LITTLE STEPS CAN GO A LONG WAY!
I can walk a half mile to a mile 2-3 times a week and build on that as I get my energy back.
I can do the standing (10 minutes) portion of the Original Callantics one day and the floor portion (10 minutes) the next day.
I can put on a breast binder or sports bra and gently dance-jog in my living room on a spring floor for 12-20 minutes (Remember my 12 minutes post!! See it here! ) three times a week to start and keep checking in with myself to make sure that it's not too much and only keep it up or add to it respecting my body deeply, that it is telling me how far is far enough and when it is ready for more.
I can eat delicious and healthy food (like I have been and like I talk about on this blog) with the above changes (i.e. less meat, no hormones or antibiotics in food, etc.) but not quite as much as when I was exercising more vigorously. I'm eating closer to 1300 calories a day. It's actually not a hard adjustment as I need less. For example, instead of two eggs, I eat one egg. I plan to also have future blog posts about some of these even lighter meals as they still contain the good nutrition and vitamins and flavor (!!) that I like and need and that provides healthy, balanced, and balancing (very important!) meals, but they are trimmed down a bit more.
And for really good news, even while going through all this doctor-business, and even while I am still in the process of needing to regain my strength and stamina, I continue to be on a path of health with healthy results!
-bbffair
<Green Bulb -above- by Digitalart, courtesy of http://www.freedigitalphotos.net>
Well, once upon a time, I worked with Tracy Anderson's Metamorphosis (and my own healthy eating plan) for 30 days and lost about a bazillion inches and maybe twenty pounds. What a boot camp! Then I hurt myself.
So I regrouped, went back to simple, more respectful, light jogging 30 minutes a day mixed with relaxing 3 mile walks 3-5 times a week and two 20 minute Callanetics workouts a week. I continued with my great healthy food: Yumm and good for you and great for a fit you. I continued to get into great healthy shape.
But then I got diagnosed with cancer. Oh no. Please. No.
I went on the scared-out-of-my-wits diet, i.e., I couldn't eat and I walked like crazy. I lost another ten to fifteen pounds from stress alone. I do not recommend this as a form of losing weight.
Blue Sky Bulb by Pixomar courtesy of http://www.freedigitalphotos.net
But knowing I was heading back into/towards needing a strong base of health under me, ahead of my surgery, I resumed my once a week Callanetics workout and will add in the second one as I feel stronger. And on the morning of surgery, I jogged 30 minutes just to de-stress as much as I could ahead of my surgery. Yeah. I really did.
It is now four days since my surgery. I've been too tired to walk even. I tried it the day after surgery and my husband practically had to carry me home. But that was just 24 hours after major surgery. I decided sleep was what my body wanted and needed and I've been giving myself plenty of that. But today is my *Tuesday* for Callanetics (I normally like to work this Tuesdays and Saturdays, but have promised myself Tuesdays for now) and four days after surgery so I decided I could do this because it IS gentle enough for even post-surgery.
Afterwards, I felt good enough that I pulled out my new DVD of the new Callanetics cardio to try it out. I did it gently. It was very calming, very respectful, more of a Ballet workout with soothing piano music. It was *perfect* for me as I begin, again, to re-establish my healthy patterns for post-surgery and for pre-radiation treatment. Exercise and eating well will support me in this too.
I'll let you know how it feels over time, but for now, it is a movement forward for my health and my joie de vivre.
I am, we all are, I believe, this beautiful mix of light-filled souls and vulnerable humans.
A few weeks ago, I was contemplating how a human can get out of alignment with their light. I was thinking then, about why we get separated from our vitality and health and right weight, but I was also thinking about the deeper implications.
And now, since I seem destined for the skinny cancer diet, suddenly I am seeing it more poignantly. It is not just about getting that sweet, sexy shape going on and feeling beautiful on the outside. It is that. I mean we want that too. But it is also about shining your light everywhere and stretching out in it, beautiful and alive in every cell and in one's way of connecting and interacting with their light and their life force. And, suddenly losing too much weight is what frightens me.
So I am doing some extra deep soul-searching. I have been given so many gifts in this life: people who I love deeply who love me just as I am, art, writing, joie de vivre, a dancing fool path, humor, a sense of fun and adventure, a clean safe world, a perfectly wonderful body, a deep sense of caring about humanity, a place in the world to live where people try hard to be kind to one another, and so much more.
And I have had some issues, some sorrows, some areas of cocooning too. And if they are appearing in my breast, I wish to shine more light now. I have no where left to hide. This is so much more important than just getting fit and healthy. This is turning me inside-out and revealing me where I thought it was safe to take some "stuff" and hide it. I guess not.
I suppose if you have angels, that they see everything and they love the everything in you. The extra sweet you had ain't so bad if you loved yourself thoroughly enjoying it. But perhaps the things you hurt yourself with might also be plain holding onto sadness instead of letting it wash through you.
I'm ready to let my stuff wash through me and let my angels have at me.
My basic food plan is pretty simple.It consists of eating plenty oflean protein, fresh vegetables, and fruit.
Fruit Juice starts my day. I might add a protein (eggs, cottage cheese, almond milk, or whole milk in coffee, etc.) to that, but the fruit juice is a must for me. (Some people like a grain, but I am not a big breakfast girl myself.)
Protein is important at every meal, but especially at lunch and dinner. Do not skimp on protein.
(I prefer lean vegetarian protein alternated with lean seafood alternated with lean poultry or eggs, with an occasional indulgence into lean beef. Grass fed and hormone free.)
Fresh Vegetables should be a BIG part of lunch and dinner. I think they are best mixed between raw and steamed or sauteed. Go for colorful, beautiful, life-enriched vegetables.
Fruit as a snack (Think Apple!) or dessert is perfect!
Flavor. Flavor. Flavor. Think smart flavor. There is no such thing as a bad sauce or dip so long as you are smart about it, the ingredients are healthy, and you either keeping it low in calories or adjusted to your daily calorie intake. I love spicy sauces, herb sauces, soups, and healthy flavors to add a bit onto a vegie or to cook with along with my olive oil nonstick spray. Healthy, good, whole foods should also mean yummy! My motto: Eating Right Should Be Delicious!
Lots of water. Lately, I have been in love with Cascade Ice, Organic Lemon Zest and Organic Lemon Lime, that I discovered in the health food section of my local store. (There are other flavors too.) They come in nice plastic bottles that look so fresh visually too and are easy to take with you. They make me feel like I am treating myself as well as quenching my thirst. There is something about pure sparkling lemon or lime waters that feels like a special indulgence and freshens the palate while quenching your thirst. I go walking with them. I keep them in my car for long drives. There are lots of ways to have water! Tea is also good. Some people (me!) LOVE their coffee, but it's not a substitute for water. Just remember that and then go ahead and enjoy it then, but keep it in perspective and count the calories you add to it (I like whole milk with my coffee in the morning!) and still drink your water!
If you are trying to lose weight or are watching it, count your calories. Know what your set-point is for burning.
For me, when I am fine with my weight and my daily exercise is pretty regular, I can eat like this and not worry about watching the calories. This is a healthy eating plan for me. I can occasionally go off it for an indulgence and no problemo. It carries me forward with life and vitality if it is my main program.
However, when I am trying to trim down, I know what I have to do. For me, to lose weight, (I am 5' 6-1/2"), that means, if I am doing my daily 30 minute cardio, I can eat between 1200 and 1700 calories a day ( I end up with a daily average around 1400-1500 usually) and still lose weight. If I am unable to do the cardio (like this last week when I've had to work around a neck sprain/strain) I try to be more conscious of keeping the calories slightly lower (about 200 less a day) than when I am able to work out daily.
Note: that especially watching your calories before an "event" or "holiday" helps average an indulgence day out before it happens too.
Important: Eat when you are hungry, best at the first sign. Ask yourself: what am I hungry for? If you keep a well-stocked kitchen and fridge (see my grocery lists) , it should be easy to go for the right hungry choices.
Eat as much as you need to feel satisfied, then stop. Not before you are satisfied, not beyond. Learn to recognize that point. For me, that sometimes means 2 ounces of protein is not enough. I need more protein in my diet to feel right, so maybe at that meal, I need 4 ounces or even 8 ounces. Or maybe more dark greens or a tomato finish. Learn to listen to your body. (So long as you are selecting from the basic good food groups (lean proteins, fresh vegetables, and fresh fruits - and all of these kinds of foods are good for you!), your body is asking for what it really needs to feel balanced and nourished. And if you give your body what it is clearly asking for, that it needs, it will begin to work with you more and more.
Tip: What I like to do is (and this comes naturally to me from listening to my body and my own hunger needs signals, knowing that some days I am really hungry and other days only so-so) alternate bigger calorie dinners with lower calorie dinners giving me satisfying eating experiences that still keep my average daily calorie count in the sweet spot. It really helps and makes you feel like you are never on a diet, but more like you have especially good days in between on-target days.
Hope this is helpful to any of you out there. Keeping to these principles has given me tremendous freedom and is, I believe, a nice way to eat healthy and delicious!
Callanetics, along with my own version of daily cardio-dance, have been my tried and true exercise program for the most part for more than twenty years. You only have to do the Callanetics two times a week. It is gentle and deeply nourishing and you get results.
Twenty years ago, I bought the original video for the Callanetics program. It is a very deeply thoughtful and well researched program with dance moves and yoga moves in mind, with enormous respect for the neck and the knees and posture, etc. It is about working little muscles, but not straining or injuring anything.
When I originally used Callanetics, after working with it awhile, I abbreviated it, mostly changing the exercises from 100 reps to 50 reps. This allowed me to do the program in 20 minutes. Furthermore, I memorized it. I only had to do it twice a week for results. In fact, it asked you to take days in between so that your muscles and any soreness (and you will be amazed at how sore these "gentle" exercises can make you if you are new to them) repaired and recovered first.
A month ago, I had a hurt neck (not good) from Tracy Anderson's Metamorphosis and, admittedly, also some boredom. I had a serious "bump-in-the-road" and I needed a new plan-of-action.
(Another member over on Tracy's forum also wrote about going back to Callanetics when the going got tough with the Tracy route, which made me thoughtful. The Tracy method is and has been very effective for me–for the first three levels anyway–but hey, we all need to pay attention to what needs to be tailored to our specific needs and capacities, and whereas I am not giving up entirely on the Tracy meta program, I may need to add it back in more like seasoning or alternating workouts on a more workable plan for me as I go).
I began by taking a longish break from her routine after 30 days. Though I had had a LOT of results from the first 30 days, on the 4th level, when I injured myself, I needed some time off, which I took without too much of a loss from my results. I still feel they are very inspiring (!) , but I needed a more sustainable plan. I am just not an "ongoing bootcamp" kind of girl.
Then this last week, I actually sprained my neck (will explain that in a future post).
So where did I turn? I always return to Callanetics.
This week, I began a new program for myself: It begins with gentle 20 minutes of Callanetics (all the exercises, but at 50 reps max except for the last inner thigh exercise which I do for the full 100 counts).
I began with a Tuesday and Saturday routine (giving me at least two days in between each workout for repair and restoration) for these. Eventually, when I am ready and my body and schedule can accommodate it, maybe in a few weeks, I will add in Thursday too, just for extra toning.
I do these gently. Even with a sprained/strained neck, I can do these. And, believe it or not, even after the Tracy exercises, the first Callanetics in a longish time left me feeling the burn and the work of these gentle exercises the next two days!
But they are sooo gentle, that I have been able to do them without any fear of further injury to my poor sprained/strained neck, doing them especially respectfully to that of course.
I have added into the middle of them a select few of the Tracy exercises for extra leg and butt work.
The beauty of the basic Callanetics (beside the results!!) is that they are so soothing to do. One feels quite relaxed afterwards and (since I have them memorized) I can do them while watching a television program or the news. I don't have any dependence on a DVD or video to move through them.
I am so impressed with these tried and true exercises that I goggled Callantetics to see what they have developed since. LOTS! I plan to order the cardio (See the youtube clip above for an example of that! Looks yummy to me!) and a couple of the specialty ones. Why not? The original worked for me off and on for many years and I always have come back to it to add into my own cardio.
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So My Own New Ideal Exercise Program, right now, has morphed to the following:
Monday:
30 minutes light cardio (I've never felt it made a difference to sweat or work that hard for "results" but the "continuous" part is essential!)
and (Additional Option Add On):
3 mile walk*(about 45 minutes, leisurely walk, can be social, like with a friend or my husband or dog or a walk to the store, etc.) (*weather and time permitting and if my body feels like it).
(*Note: I aim for 3 to 5 of these leisurely 3 mile walks a week on average when I am feeling like moving more or upping my on-my-feet momentum.)
~~
Tuesday:
30 minutes light cardio
20 minutes Callanetics (with a choice few of Tracy's leg and butt moves added into the floor work)
and (Additional Option Add On): 3 mile walk*(about 45 minutes, leisurely walk, can be social, like with a friend or my husband or dog or a walk to the store, etc.) (*weather and time permitting and if my body feels like it).
~~
Wednesday:
30 minutes light cardio
and
Housework or Garden Work (It's exercise too, right?? Right!!)
~~
Thursday:
30 minutes light cardio
and (Additional Option Add On):
3 mile walk* (about 45 minutes, leisurely walk, can be social, like with a friend or my husband or dog or a walk to the store, etc.) (*weather and time permitting and if my body feels like it).
~~
Friday:
30 minutes light cardio
and (Additional Option Add On):
3 mile walk* (about 45 minutes, leisurely walk, can be social, like with a friend or my husband or dog or a walk to the store, etc.) (*weather and time permitting and if my body feels like it).
~~
Saturday:
30 minutes light cardio
20 minutes Callanetics (with a choice few of Tracy's leg and butt moves added into the floor work)
~~
Sunday:
Off
~~
(*Note: And, while injured, I am permitting myself to let go of the 30 minutes cardio for now, so I can heal, and emphasizing the walking, when I can, instead. And I am being more careful with the calories as I will explain in a post over the next week.)
~~
There is freedom in having an exercise program that you can adapt to your own needs and that frees you from necessarily needing DVDs or gyms or studios to go to.
And, I am so impressed with the glimpse of the new Callanetics cardio, that I am going to order it and try it and a couple of the other new videos out and maybe mix them up a bit! Hey! Why not?!
(P.S. And I'll let you know, down the road how they work out for me too! Promise!)
I'd love to hear about any of your own altered–specific to your own needs–adapted programs and how they serve you. But thought you might enjoy hearing about mine too!
-bbffair
(P.S. Callanetics has a killer inner thigh exercise: You sit on the floor with your legs outstretched towards a chair and put your feet (middle of the soles) on the outside legs of the chair and squeeze your legs and thighs together as hard as you can, keeping up the intensity of the squeeze for the slow count of 100 and then release and you feel amazing afterwards too.)
There are some very interesting studies concerning water and how its structure changes when it is loved or appreciated.
According to the scientists involved, the structure of the water can go from a broken look to resembling snowflakes or crystals. And that that can change by how you behave around the water.
Today, as I was doing a food prep and cutting up my vegetables for my julienned vegetables and my carrot-parsnip-cinnamon recipes, (something I like to prep for the week about every other week), I was thinking about this and also about how my food prep time has become like a meditation for me.
It has come up again for me that food changes when it is loved. This may sound really out there, but I change when I am loved too.
I can't eat angry food. When my husband and I first got together, it was paramount that he understood that. You see, he is a great cook! But he also used to be prone to perfectionism and could become easily frustrated in the kitchen too. But when he got that way, I COULD NOT eat what he had served.
Likewise, when I have been in very healthy places where people love to cook and serve delicious, nutrient-rich, beautiful food, there has always been that feeling of something special in the ingredients.
English:This is a photograph of water crystal growth on the window of my 1993 Mercury automobile, taken on the morning of February 20, 2010 with a Kodak M1063 digital camera. It shows a classic example of an emergent phenomenon in a physical system.]
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[Web page from one of various studies and theories regarding water's spirituality and capacity to transform:
Isn't this an appetizing image!! All that delicious life force laid out before you.
Looking at, smelling, handling the food with joy and appreciation is all a part of healthy eating. When I am buying food, I want it to be beautiful and to call to me. I want it in my kitchen, in my vegetable drawer. Isn't it a wonderful experience to go to a farmer's market or a place like Whole Foods where they make walking through the produce department so inviting!
(I remember when "health food" had a lot of very depressing and anemic-looking glum people hanging around drab bins of oats with brown paper bags. No more!! Back then I thought that if that was health food, I wanted me my decadent food. Eating right needs to be attracting, don't you think! Marketers finally caught on. Nowadays, it is with relish that we walk through health food displays.)
It seems to me the first order of business in eating right is to enjoy it thoroughly! The tastes, smells, textures, colors, variations. I no longer feel that way about sugary heavy foods that used to call out trying to seduce me, and although I still love a fine wine or a sweet dessert now and then, I let my senses be drawn towards the life energy of naturally good-for-me foods. And when I prepare food or cook, I like to smell each ingredient, pick up the vibration and the energy of it all and enjoy being in my kitchen. And I love the presentation of serving it like works of art.
It can be such a nourishing practice to love and appreciate your food knowing it is perfect and will be good for you.
So that's your assignment, if you aren't doing it already. Go out shopping next time leaving any old thoughts about that bakery section behind and let the fruits and vegetables section of your market have at it with you and shift your allegiances.
May The Force Be With You!
-bbffair
[This great picture today of Fruits and Vegetables came from http://www.knowabouthealth.com]
Tip for the Day: when you are eating out, you can learn to ask for "double vegetables" and skip the starch, fresh fruit for dessert, and skip the cheese in your omelet. (Did you notice that I do!)
I love the internet for food adventuring. Most of the time, I like fast healthy food that I can make up fairly quickly, but I like to also try new things, a spice, a recipe, add a taste or a flavor to my menu, and I try to experience at least one new thing every week or so.
But every once in awhile, I like to go on an all out Food Adventure!
With the internet, you can go to YouTube and learn how to use a spice, make a dish, cook something you have never even heard of before.
In January, I decided I was going to learn to cook a Malaysian dish that I had read about on the internet. I researched various recipes and finally chose one that sent me on a quest through five different stores (some with things in them no grown woman should ever have to set eyes upon) to acquire all the many ingredients it called for. I spent hours on YouTube learning how to peel this or pound that. On the great day of the event that I cooked this, I spent five hours as a mad scientist cook. I lost one pan, sent my husband out for the ingredient I needed to replace (after I lost a pan burning it). I chopped, blended, pounded, prepped a bazillion strange things that got blended together in sequences and simmered and stewed.
In the end, I served a dinner that my husband loved and relished but that I could not eat when I learned I was allergic to coconut. (Yes, also the same ingredient I lost a pan trying to roast the first time.) But what a great adventure it was! I was introduced to so many unusual and exotic spices and I bonded that day forever with my food processor that I had only previously known on passing occasions. And, yes, I will never cook that dish again, but I had the Most Fun going on that adventure once!
Every once in awhile, holding an exotic spice to one's nose or hammering a flavor out of what had previously seemed inedible can be an amazing experience.
What are your food adventures?
-bbffair
[Illustration above: Cover of the pulp magazine Spicy-Adventure Stories (December 1936, vol. 5, no. 3) featuring "Viper Pit" by Alan Anderson. Courtesy of http://commons.wikimedia.org]
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