Tag: healthybody

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Be All In

How to be all in

Let me start with my own story….so I’ve been working quite awhile on getting out of my own head.  Trying to stop living in my thoughts, in my stories, and just trying to stay present and deal with the truth in every moment.

I’ve been healing from a recent surgery and pretty frustrated frankly with my surgeon and not getting the answers that I’ve been looking for.  So I made an appointment with my general Dr. hoping to get some clarity.  I’ve known I’ve gained some weight after the operation, which has been upsetting because I eat a pretty healthy vegetarian diet but haven’t been able to exercise like for six weeks, however, I hadn’t actually weighed myself.  Upon getting to the Dr. office I stepped on the scale to discover I’ve gained 22 pounds in six weeks since surgery. The Dr. discussed the possibility of what inflammation was doing to my body, some possible kidney issues, etc. but honestly I didn’t hear much of what she was saying.  You see, I immediately went into my head and started hearing the voices from years and years past talking about beautiful bodies, slim figures, etc.  I heard voices and felt past pain from arguments about my weight, hurtful comments about not being in good enough shape or sexually attractive.  All of it, and when I say all of it, I’m talking 20-30 years of stories all dealing with weight issues came rushing in and I immediately took it to heart.  My unhappiness was heavy on my chest.

Are you in

I tried desperately to bring my attention back to my Dr. and to discuss possible reasons for what I was going through, both physically and mentally.  As I left her office and walked down to the lab I started crying.  And as I sat in the chair, I started asking myself, what was going on, what was I feeling.  My stomach was hurting, my heart was aching, and then I thought, “Ok, so what’s really going on, outside the story, what’s really the truth here?” And you know, as soon, as I got my mind quiet and left the story spinning, I realized the truth was I had come to get some answers. My health has been on a roller coaster.  There’s nothing I’m doing that’s causing this weight gain. No one has said anything hateful to me or been unpleasant at all.  I’m actually proud of myself for the way I’ve dealt with this blow to my health.  I just need answers, I need to be my own advocate, I need to deal with what’s happening right now.

Is it easy to be in the moment

No, it wasn’t easy and it didn’t come naturally.  In fact, the remainder of the day I had to repeatedly bring myself back.  “Stop, stop, stop with the stories.” I literally had to tell myself this over and over throughout the day.  But every time I did, I felt relief.  I was still not happy with my situation, but I was living it, I was doing something about it. There was no need to make myself unhappy by adding in all the past stories around weight.  I didn’t need that, I needed to deal with the present.

You see unhappiness isn’t caused by emotions. Unhappiness is emotions plus an unhappy story.  So when you remove the unhappy story you are left with just the emotions and the emotions are ok, you can handle them.  If you need to cry, cry.  If you need to shout, shout.  But hold your head high, walk through that hell like the devil himself invited you.  Once you get to the other side, you’ll feel a relief like no other.

So I”m still in search of answers, I’m being my own advocate, and I’m doing it right now, in this moment, today.  I’m not telling myself stories, I’m living in truth.  I have found that I wasn’t as unhappy as I thought I was. You can’t really be unhappy without an unhappy story.

Cause I’m not there yet, but perhaps, Soon Enuff…

Peace & love

Amy

I am a published author and Master Life Coach with certifications in Happiness Therapy and Mental Abuse.  If you’d like to set an appointment with me, I’d love to talk.  Reach me @ [email protected]

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Searching for Peace

Where has your peace gone

You know today the world is ever so busy.  Rushing around all day, sitting in traffic, checking emails, checking social media, dealing with kids, employees, spouses, lovers, friends, it can all be overwhelming at times.

Is it any wonder we don’t feel much peace in our lives?  Psychology Today calls it Hurry Sickness. By definition, hurry sickness is “a behavior pattern characterized by continual rushing and anxiousness; an overwhelming and continual sense of urgency.”

Saying no to giving your peace away

So how do we cure “Hurry Sickness?” You can start by prioritizing things in your life.  What is really important for me to do today.  Don’t forget to add some “Me Time” to your list.  Start working on time management.  Maybe you need to wake up a few minutes early to enjoy a little quiet time with your coffee, a good book, writing in a journal, exercising. Leave for work a bit early to avoid traffic. Start saying no, stop giving so many pieces of yourself away.  Maybe you say no to baking cookies for the bake sale because it means you have to stay up an hour later and get an hour less sleep. That’s detrimental to your health, don’t do it.  Start letting others help you.  Ask your spouse, family, friends, lovers to help support you a little more.  If you don’t let others know what you need, they can’t read your mind, they’ll just keep taking the pieces of you that you’re giving.

Find your Peace once more

One thing I like to do on the weekends, or whatever day I have free during the week, is to get outside.  If I can get away on a short road trip to do some photography, or go on a hike, even better.  But even if it’s just to my own front porch, I will sit outside and just watch the birds, listen to them singing.  Notice the world around me and how beautiful it is.  Remind myself how lucky I am to be here in this moment of peace out in nature.  Take some deep breaths, do a little meditating, talk positive about myself to myself.  You see positivity in any situation can make things more peaceful.  So next time you catch yourself taking on more then you should or you start to feel overwhelmed and stressed, stop, just stop for a few seconds.  Re-evaluate what you’re doing in the moment and then make some decisions.  If you don’t start finding ways to be at peace, the “Hurry Sickness” can literally kill you.  Take back your life, stop giving so many pieces of yourself away, and find your peace once more.

Cause I’m not there yet, but perhaps, Soon Enuff….

Peace & Love,

Amy

I am a published author of the book, Soon Enuff.  Available worldwide on Amazon.

I am a Certifed Life Coach with specialities in surviving Psychological Abuse and Happiness Therapy, as well as a Certified Relationship Facilitator.  You may email me [email protected]

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Self Love

Loving Yourself

I don’t know about ya’ll, but I’ve been extremely hateful to myself for the last couple of weeks. I’ve talked negatively to myself, which I know better then to do. I’ve not showered, I’ve been lazy, I’ve withdrawn from friends and family. And well, today, I’m putting a stop to it.  A stop to the punishing of myself for things out of my control.  Because after all, we can’t control everything that happens. But what we can control is how we feel in the moment of what’s happening. We can choose to be as happy or as sad as we want to.  We can choose to make ourselves feel better or worse simply by changing the words we speak to ourselves.

Loving Words of Affirmation

We are harder on ourselves then any other person could ever be. The words we say to ourselves inside our own minds hurt us more then the words of everyone else.  Start speaking words of affirmation to yourself instead of words of negativity.  Here are a few examples:  Okay, so it’s raining outside.  Instead of saying, “Ugh, it’s so dreary, I’m going to be so down today because of this rain.” Try saying, “It’s raining outside, I’ll find something fun to do today inside to brighten my mood.” You know, it is what it is.  It’s just rain.  It’s not dreary, it’s not gloomy, it’s just rain.  Here’s another one: “I look terrible. The lines on my face are getting deeper, my clothes are so tight they’re uncomfortable, I’ve gotten so fat and out of shape.” Replace that with, “I will start getting more sleep, drinking more water and less caffeine.  Today I’ll make some better food choices, and get back onto my workout plan.  Not because I look terrible, but because working out and eating right feels good, puts me in a better mood, and is so healthy for me and I love me.”

So you get the idea…It’s not that you won’t have negative thoughts, you will, we all do.  And a big mistake a lot of us make is we just try not to think that way.  But what’s important is that you take that negative thought, remove it, and replace it.  If you don’t replace your negative thought with a positive one, you’ll continue to repeat the negative thought.  Throw it out, stomp on it, but then replace it and smile.

Cause I’m not there yet, but perhaps, Soon Enuff.

Peace & love,

Amy

I am a published author of the book, Soon Enuff, which is available worldwide on Amazon.

I am a Certified Life Coach with specialties in surviving Psychological Abuse and Happiness Therapy.

You may email me at: [email protected]

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The Moon & Me

Affects of the Moon on Emotions

The Full moon can cause violent behavior.  There have been studies proving that there are more incidents of homicide and aggravated assaults around a full moon.  While not everyone will turn violent, I have definitely noticed that I tend to be more aggravated and quick to anger in the days approaching a full moon.

Full Moon can lead to a lack of sleep which affects your moods.  Ever notice a few days before a full moon you suddenly start waking up earlier or not being able to fall asleep? Studies have shown that we tend to experience less time spent in the deepest phase of sleep nearing a full moon, which then affects our moods.

Full Moon can make you feel more introspective.  Have you ever noticed a few days before the full moon you start to reflect more on your life and what’s happening in it?

A full moon can make you feel more anxious, it brings about more energy and unless you’re doing something with that extra energy it can cause nervousness, make you feel manic, and cause nightmares.

The full moon can make you go from being very loving to very combative, which in turn, can make you feel crazy.

The Moon & Emotions

I think the best thing we can do for ourselves is keep track of the moon phases.  Be mindful of the days before a New Moon or Full Moon.  Become more aware of what’s causing you to feel a certain way, especially when it’s out of character.  The one thing I’ve made the mistake of is not realizing until it was too late, like the moon is already full.  I wonder why I’ve been insane for the past week. Too quick to anger, totally out of control at times, not sleeping well.  Feeling “frisky, like really frisky,” and then just as quickly not wanting anything to do with anyone.  Then all of a sudden, I’m like, oh, the moon is full tonight, and the next morning I feel fully released, back to normal.

Hope this helps with some of the things you find yourself struggling with.  The great thing about the moon is that it does tend to bring things to the surface.  If you can keep control of your emotions by realizing what’s causing them, you can benefit from the moons phases greatly.

Cause I’m not there yet, but perhaps….Soon Enuff

Peace & love,

Amy

I am a published author of the book, “Soon Enuff.” Available worldwide on Amazon.

I’m also a Certified Life Coach with specialties in surviving psychological abuse and happiness therapy.

You may email me at [email protected]

Follow and like this blog to receive updates and alerts 🙂

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Vibing Positivity

A new decade of positivity

It’s not only a new day, a new week, a new year….it’s a brand new decade!!

Did you know if you vibe positivity, positivity comes back to you.  It’s true, what you send out into the universe comes back to you.

I can literally feel energy from other people.  I know when they’re down and I know when they’re up.  And life is full of both.  But what if we can take the down and turn it up more often? What if life can be lived in a more positive way instead of so much suffering?

Turning negative to positive

I know it’s impossible to always be positive.  Obviously life throws things at us that we can’t control, and sometimes those things make us sad, anxious, cautious and less than optimistic.  That’s all okay as long as we don’t “lay in that swamp” too long.  Let yourself feel those things.  But you’re also the only one that can control what you do with those feelings.  You are the only one that makes the choice to stay down and negative or figure out a way to be positive about what’s happening.

So take today, it’s Monday, a new day, the beginning a of a new week.  Start drinking more water, get in a little exercise, make a few better food choices, try to get outdoors, even if it’s cold, be kinder, stress a little less and you know what….try vibing positivity!

Cause I’m not there yet, but perhaps….Soon Enuff

Peace & love,

Amy

I am a published author of the book, Soon Enuff, which you can find on Amazon.

I’m also a certified Life Coach with specialties in surviving psychological abuse and happiness therapy.

You may email me at [email protected]

Follow and subscribe to my blog to receive updates and alerts

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Ponytail & Coffee

Saturday Ponytails

One of my favorite things to do on a Saturday morning is get up, wash my face, throw my hair in a high pony tail (J-Lo Style lol) and make my coffee.

I heard a song lyric that said, “Got the past behind me like my ponytail,” and I absolutely love that.  This is a hard concept for people, like myself, that are fixers.  We want everything to be discussed and worked out.  If there’s a problem we want to solve it and fix it before we move on from it, and when that doesn’t happen it’s hard to let it go.

Ponytail Peace

I have found that I feel most at peace when I live in the present moment.  It’s hard to do, but when I let yesterday go, even if not everything was fixed or healed, I am more at peace.  Ultimately there is nothing we can do about yesterday, it’s gone.  We need to learn to address things as they come up.  If something needs to be fixed or discussed, it needs to be done so at the moment, or as close to the moment as possible, because once the moment has passed, especially an entire day, it does zero good to bring it back up.  So work on staying present and doing what needs to be done to give your life the most peace in each passing moment.

Ponytail Promises

I can’t really promise you anything, but I can tell you staying present, keeping that “past behind you like your ponytail,” can bring peace, at least it has for me.

I hope that at least for today, in this moment, you will enjoy yourself, love yourself, and most importantly, just take care of yourself.  We only live this day once and I hope you make it as beautiful as you can.

Cause I’m not there yet, but perhaps, Soon Enuff….

Peace & Love, Amy

 

I am a published author of the book, Soon Enuff, which is available on Amazon.

I’m also a Certified Life Coach with specialities in surviving Mental Abuse and Happiness Therapy.

You may email me at [email protected]

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Adaptability

The Importance of Adaptability

Adaptability can best be described as remaining open to change, able to accept the unknown, freedom from learned responses.

Did you know meeting change with resilience instead of bitterness can actually extend your life?  The world is harsh, however, if you can learn to bend a little instead of being stiff and breaking, if you can learn to enjoy and be happy with whatever comes, it changes your whole biology.  Because you see our psychology actually dictates our biology.

Ask yourself these questions:

Do I respond creatively to change?

Am I free from anxiety?

Do I continually create?

Do I continue to learn new things?

Responding creatively to change is when something out of the ordinary comes up, you can look at it and think of positive ways to make it work out.  You don’t freak out and panic, but you embrace it with the attitude of, “Great, something new, how can we make this work to our advantage.”

Free from anxiety.  Anxiety is a psychological response that causes your biology to change.  When you send your body into panic mode all kinds of things start happening.  Your heart rate increases, your blood pressure goes up, causing stress on the heart often leading to coronary events if not treated.  Anxiety can suppress your immune system, cause all kinds of digestive disorders, it can also lead to depression and dementia. All things which make us age.

Continuing to create.  What is it you love?  Are you a writer, if so continue to write.  Artist, fishing, hiking, climbing, you get it.  Stop listening to the learned responses such as, “I’m getting older, I probably shouldn’t hike that far,” or “Climbing is too dangerous for a person my age,” or “No one wants to read something an older person is writing,” or “I can’t bounce back like I used to,” and instead you just keep living, guess what, you keep living.

Have you ever seen 80 year olds still out hiking?  I have! A couple summers ago we were hiking a 2,000 foot incline in only 2 miles at Crater Lake.  It was very difficult for me despite the fact I’d been hiking for several years.  Much to my surprise a very elderly couple blew past me.  When I got to the top they smiled and we started a conversation.  I asked how old they were, the wife was 79 and the husband 83!  Do you think they listened to the voices saying, “You probably should stop doing that you’re too old?”  Absolutely not!  They had been avid explorers their whole lives and just never thought to slow down, and guess what, their bodies never gave them a reason to, because their psychology controlled their biology.

Continuing to learn new things can be easy as reading new books, taking a different route, playing games, traveling to new places, learning about the weather where your kids live.  The idea here is you never stop using your brain.  You don’t sit sedentary in front of your TV mindlessly watching the same things day in and day out.  By learning new things you allow the brain to compensate for natural tissue loss.  Learning new things stimulates the neurons in the brain which form new neuron pathways and allows electrical impulses to travel faster.

Can you learn to Adapt

“Perhaps you need to learn to let go of the notion

that things could have been different..

they weren’t.”

–Amy Lopez–

I, like many others have suffered with anxiety.  I used to really panic when my plan didn’t work out.  When faced with the prospect of a new change, I would typically revert back to the comfort of just staying complacent.  Change is scary, especially when it’s not expected.  The loss of a job, a spouse leaving, a loved one dying, a flood, a hurricane, tornado, etc.  These things all happen.  But how can we learn to adapt instead of stress?

A little stress is obviously natural in any of the above circumstances.  It’s when the stress doesn’t go away that we’re in trouble.

Things I’ve found that have relieved my anxiety and allowed me to live a happier healthier life are:  meditation, exercise, a healthy diet, sleep, and therapy.

When you take a little time to sit quietly with yourself you can go over things that are happening and how you’ll handle them, before they happen.  You know you’re about to face an ugly day at the lawyers office, or you have to clean up after a natural disaster, etc.  When you breath deeply especially sighing out the negativity you’ll find it’s much easier to face.  You know you have to face it, why not face it the best way possible.  Go in with a smile, let’s get this done, how can we make something positive out of it.

Daily exercise has been proven to relieve stress, it relieves tension, improves sleep and elevates your mood and self esteem.  Combine this with eating a healthy diet, stay away from unnatural foods, and you’ll improve not only your physical body but your mental one as well.

I’m one of those people that struggles to get 8-9 hours of sleep.  However, I wake up feeling refreshed and energetic with around 7.  I do rest during the day, usually napping for about 20-30 minutes.  I have found that when I eat lighter at night, usually I don’t eat past 4:00 unless it’s a handful of nuts or a little fruit, I sleep much better.  If you struggle with sleep, try black out curtains, ear plugs, or an app that plays sleepy time noise such as the ocean waves or water trickling.  Getting adequate sleep re-charges your brain, improving your focus, concentration and mood.  Getting adequate sleep alone can reduce stress and anxiety.  If you still struggle, seek help from a therapist.

I’m a Certified Life Coach and as a Life Coach I can tell you that talking to someone about your stress and anxiety can literally save your life.  I have a great Coach that has helped me figure out ways to change my life to make it less stressful, and also just laughed with me through some very tough situations.  If you need someone to talk to seek out a therapist or life coach or even just a sister, brother, friend that will understand and hold your confidence.

You know aging is a natural process, but it literally takes the organs around 103 years to start breaking down naturally.  That means that everything else isn’t natural.  Try to remember that the oldest and healthiest living people say these three words a lot: Happy, Satisfied and Enjoyable.  Because our psychology dictates our biology.

Cause I’m not there yet, but perhaps, Soon Enuff.

You can find me on FB @lilbitsofme22  IG @lilbitsofme22 Twitter @amylo_5

You can also reach me by email if you’d like to discuss any of the topics from this blog

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Soon Enuff

Soon Enuff

Hi guys, just wanted to share the exciting news with you.  Soon Enuff is now available worldwide on Amazon and you can also purchase signed copies by me on my etsy shop at www.etsy.com/shop/lilbitsofmeandpoetry or on my IG @lilbitsofme22 or Facebook @LilBitsofme22

I’ll be running a few fun ad campaigns over the next couple of weeks to celebrate.  The first is if you subscribe to this blog via email you’ll receive five of my favorite poems signed plus a few little extra trinkets.

Thanks so much for ya’lls support!

Cause I’m not there yet, but perhaps…Soon Enuff

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Fit Friday….let’s talk fitness

Hi guys…

So my daughter, who is also a Doctor of Physical Therapy, has been telling me for months to see a Biomedical Doctor for my stomach issues.  Here’s a little history behind that:

3 years ago I was having some really bad stomach pain, worsened as the night went on until I could no longer take it.  My husband finally made me go to the ER where they did some blood work and rushed me into an emergency exploratory surgery.  Turns out I almost died…had diverticulitis, which I never knew I had, and it ruptured, spilling poison in my body.  Five days in the hospital and my stomach cut from chest bone to pelvis bone. It was really traumatic, I didn’t much want to live, let alone, think I would ever recover.  Six months later, they went back in and reversed the surgery I had, re-opening the same area and also cutting horizontally this time.  So, needless to say, my abdominals have never been the same, nor do I think they ever will be. That’s also why you’ll never see a fitness picture of me with my stomach in it… 🙁

However, after the surgeries and now 3 years later, I am healing and feeling better each day.  I have, though, continued to struggle with stomach issues, despite the fact they also removed my gall bladder during the surgery.  I still have so many foods that I cannot eat without getting very ill.

So, upon listening to my daughters advice I started a new diet and workout regime consisting of very healthy eating (though I do love sweets on occasion…lots of occasions ha) and I work out 6 days a week, sometimes twice per day.  I have started incorporating yoga as well as P-90 and Barre.  Once it warms up a bit I’ll venture back out for a few runs a week, though I’m not super stoked, running isn’t my favorite thing to do.

I wanted to share with you a few things I’ve started this year that have already really improved my overall feeling of well being.  First, I started taking a probiotic called Visbiome.  After doing some careful research I believe this to be the best on the market, having over 112.5 billion bacteria per capsule.

I ordered it on Amazon, around $59 for 60 capsules.  It does say to take 5-6 per day, but I honestly only take two, one in the morning and one at night, and I can tell a big difference.  Well worth the cost…

I’ve also started to just add “more color” to my plate.  For instance, this was my breakfast this morning:

I cooked kale in about 2 tbl. of olive oil, along with a 1/4 of a yellow pepper, onion, and mushroom, just until tender.  Then I scrambled up two eggs, poured it over the top of the veggies and then cut up some little cherry tomatoes on top.  Used some corn tortillas, which have no gluten, and very low carbohydrates to make a little breakfast taco.  Cut up some strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and pineapple.  Like I said, colorful, and oh my, so, so, tasty.  I’m not a kale lover, but I’ve been trying to incorporate it into my meals at least twice a day.  Kale is low in calorie, high in fiber and has zero fat. One cup of kale has only 36 calories, 5 grams of fiber and 0 grams of fat. It is great for aiding in digestion and elimination with its great fiber content. It’s also filled with so many nutrients, vitamins, folate and magnesium.

I’ll get into the benefits of the other ingredients on another Fit Day.

My workout today is 1 hour morning Yogaflow, and then P-90 legs and back.  I’m telling you I used to think Yoga was honestly for wimps that couldn’t handle a “real work out.”  I’ve been doing P-90 for about two years, and it’s a killer, but I love that type of hard exercise.  I’ve been doing yoga now for about a month, and I don’t believe any other type of exercise has pushed me to my limit quite like this.  I’m a super competitive person, so not being able to master some of the moves is really good for me, it just makes me want to work harder at it until I get it.  I’m quite sure I’ll never be a master at it, but it’s fun, something new, and very challenging.  It also gives me a great time to just concentrate on my breath and be mindful of what my body is doing.  I honestly love it and have rarely missed a day since I started.

If any of you enjoy Yoga, let me know what your favorite type of Yoga is and also what position gives you the most trouble, or that you’re best at.  I love to learn what other people are doing for exercise.

I hope your day is awesome, try to make some better choices for your body and mind today.  Remember, we can’t control everything, but we can control what we put in our mouths 🙂

Not there yet, but perhaps, I will be, Soon Enuff…..