"Pursue your goals, but never lose sight of the reality of things." -Amy Suto
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
3 Rules to Staying Fit and Happy in Your Busy Life
photo by lululemon athletica
There are days where I’m up at 6am to type a paper, then off to eat at 7am, and then class from 8-4pm, followed by yoga class and grocery store errands and then homework until I collapse into bed at ten or eleven.
Yet somehow I’m still keeping up with my studies and making the Dean’s List, carving out time to ironically attend the Birdemic 2 world premiere with my awesome boyfriend, and do yoga three times a week, ballroom dancing three times a week, strength training twice a week, and running twice a week. Oh, and then I somehow also update four blogs and do graphic design work on the side, while also writing scripts and novels year round and still managing to get eight or nine hours of sleep most nights.
I know a thing a two about time management. And getting tickets to dorky premieres. (Did you know Birdemic 2 not only has killer birds, but — gasp — zombies??)
Anyways, I’m here to help you navigate your crazy schedule and still find ways to be fit and healthy year-round! Here they are:
Other articles:
6 Ways to Sleep Better
4 Reasons to Do Yoga
4 Ways to Kickstart Your Fitness Life
Losing weight won’t make you happy.
But you know what will? Discovering that one of your true passions in life is dancing. Realizing that all that stress you carried around with you day after day dissolved that one afternoon you stepped into a yoga class and decided to start practicing. Running a five mile mountain trail as the sun dips behind the horizon, dusting you in gold as the endorphins surge through your body. Eating fresh watermelons and drinking ice cold water. Learning how to cook good, nutritious foods that you love and that give you energy and replenish you day after day.
Losing weight won’t make you happy.
Being healthy will.
Amy, fitness blogger at realityofhealthy.tumblr.com and realityofyou.com
Weight Loss Isn’t Everything
Over the past 10 months, I’ve lost 2% of my body fat and dropped ten pounds. For some, that may seem like the real accomplishment.
But the real accomplishment is in what I’ve gained.
I’ve gained two new passions — yoga, which has dissolved that growing ball of stress that had been ruling my life and ruining my health up until I set foot into my first yoga class — and ballroom dancing, which is pure joy and happiness in the form of motion.
I used to count calories and focus on what was on the scale. That helped to an extent — I brought my weight back into a healthy range through changing my eating and exercise habits, but it still wasn’t the right perspective.
But losing weight was not what made me happy. What made me happy was gaining a love of fitness and eating healthy.
This is a health and weight loss blog because part of being healthy is keeping your weight within a healthy range. But that’s only part of embarking on a health journey.
Being healthy means treating your body right. It means loving yourself, and loving doing things for your well being: sleeping well, eating well, exercising, and taking time to slow down and relieve stress.
So don’t just make everything about weight loss. You’ll find that by focusing on doing things for your health instead of agonizing over every calorie, you’ll be healthier and happier, and you’ll see a positive change in your body as a side effect of treating yourself right.
It’s all about perspective.
-Amy
Don’t just “get fit for summer.” This isn’t a temporary thing. This is a lifestyle change.
Looking for a place to start? Check out my free 30 Day Youtube Workout Calendar that integrates fat-burning workouts that will help you build a fitness base so you can continue to improve yourself and your body.
photo by Laurent Jean Philippe via CC on flickr
How accurately do you see your own beauty?
Women were asked to describe themselves to someone who was drawing them blindly on the other side of a curtain. Then, someone else was asked to describe them.
The two drawings showed that not everyone can see their own beauty. Perception is a powerful thing.
I’m reading The Blood Sugar Solution by Mark Hyman — I highly recommend it!
In a nutshell, the book tells us that too much sugar and white flour causes insulin resistance, and insulin resistance is responsible for weight gain and a host of other diseases.
The foods we eat change which genes are expressed. Bad foods express genes that cause diseases and weight gain, good foods prevent diseases and weight loss.
Note: I know this is #226 and it’s been posted late! I had some trouble deciding if I had enough time to write an article to go with this, and thanks to my ballroom competition (fun but time consuming) I didn’t.
photo by Vox Efx
10 Best Foods for Beautiful Skin and Hair
When you eat well, you feel great and look great!
Photo by LyndaSanchez
photo by lululemon athletica
Empower yourself. Take control of your health and fitness, and don’t let bad eating habits ruin your happiness!
photo by lululemon athletica
The 30 Day Shred
My workout journey in GIFS.
HEARING OTHER FITNESS BLOGGERS RANT ABOUT HOW THE 30 DAY SHRED SUPPOSEDLY IS THE BEST THING SINCE SLICED BREAD:
DECIDING TO DO THE 30 DAY SHRED:
DAY 1 OF THE 30 DAY SHRED:
DAY 15 OF THE 30 DAY SHRED:
DAY 30 OF THE 30 DAY SHRED:
**Buy the 30 day shred DVD for like six dollars here on Amazon. (That’s like the price of a venti starbucks carmel macchia-frappe-whatever, guys!)
The Key to A Successful Workout (Guest Post)
This post is by my brother. He was like, ‘hey Amy! I think your followers are the coolest, most beautiful/inspiring/wonderful people on the planet. Can I write a post for them?’ Spoiler alert: I said yes.
You can find his Tumblr here. I know if you followed him and/or left him a message, he’d probably explode with happiness.
Q: What’s the secret to an awesome workout?
A: Music!
Everything works better with music: driving, homework, showers, awkward moments, movie montages, but especially working out. I’m a big runner, like my lovely sister. I use apps like lolo treadmill that speeds up my music to match the pace of my workout.
The big guys at The New York Times did a study regarding music’s effect on workouts. When uptempo music played, it motivated the participants to push harder and enjoy the burn.
There are only two species that respond to music at a physical level: Humans and songbirds. Our bodies want to line up our legs and arms to the beat of the music which can easily be manipulated by today’s software.
So what does this mean for you? Customizing playlists with your favorite up-tempo music may add the extra boost you need to push through your next plateau! Unleash your inner song bird!
-DJ
“In a study of health insurance statistics, yogis and meditators showed hospitalization rates that were 87% less than non-yogis for heart disease, 55% less for benign and malignant tumors, 30% less for infectious diseases, and 50% less for out-patient doctor visits.
Enough said.”
“When you stretch your body properly, and strengthen opposing muscle groups in balance, you increase your range of motion, and can move more quickly through space. For example, the space between the start and finish lines.
The yoga breath has been shown to increase endurance in marathoners by twice the distance in just one session!”
