apple a day; tree pose

(song of the day: i want you back, jackson 5)

heyhey! hope your tuesday's treating you well. mine's going okay. i spent TWO hours on my school website, but i think i've finally got things sorted out now. it's been a long time since i wrote anything health/fitness related. today we're talking yoga. i've got pretty good balance to the tree pose is one of my favourites.

one. begin standing with your feet together and arms down at your sides.

two. place the sole of your left foot as high as it will go on the inside of your right thigh, just like in the picture at left.

three. with your palms up, raise your arms above your head. hold for 5 to 10 deep breaths (30-60 seconds). focus on keeping your breaths slow and steady. easy as that!

over at self magazine, they paired this move with an appropriate calisthenic: a hybrid plié squat. check it out for a real workout and some more poses.

the picture above was also borrowed from self.

weekly resolve; the cosmo routine

today's the day!

let me just say that i don't like the concept of diets. and despite all the talk about karl lagerfeld and fashion the other day, i'm really doing this beacuse i don't want to get fat sitting at home eating ice cream all summer. not to reach any specific number. i'm not in this to lose weight, more to prove to myself that making healthy choices for a week won't kill me. (time will tell)

that said, i was really happy when i went back to that article i bookmarked at cosmo and reread it more carefully to find that it said to choose at least four of the suggested rules and follow them for a week.that seems more reasonable doesn't it?
okay, these are the five i've chosen.

1. drink mainly water.
i couldn't agree more with this one. luckily, a recent breathing problem has forced me to cut out soda and i have been feeling all the better for it. but now, i'm heavily addicted to sugary artificial juice and i'm told that's not much better. i'm not really a big fan of water, but i'm making it a goal this week to drink more of it. my mom's always said, a lot of times when you're thirsty, this is what your body is really crying out for.

2. ban white bread and pasta.

cosmo warns that white grain products cause bloating, particularly around the belly area. no fun! they suggest subbing in whole grain options or vegetables. veggies get digested more slowly so you remain full longer.

3. do cardio 30 minutes a day.

this is the main one i'm going to try and work into my daily routine. half an hour really isn't a lot. remember my random spurts of dancing? that was actually really fun. but i completely let it go after a few weeks.

(3 and a half. the article also reccomended do 36 push ups and lunges every other day. and doing squats and sit-ups for definition. i did mine while watching tyra/rachel ray this morning. haha. the joys of being home.)

4. make one food sacrifice.

they suggest cutting out one food indeulgence. and at first, i wanted to object because they were already asking me to go without pasta, but i couldn't ignore the carton glaring at me the freezer. yep, that's right. for one week i'm giving up that peanut butter cup ice cream i'm always raving about.

5. sleep more.

cosmo suggests that even an extra half hour of sleep can boost your metabolism, encourage muscle tone, and refresh you enough to make better food choices.

for other tips, check the rest of the article. which four would/will you choose?i'll let you know how i'm doing later.

that's it for me!

-later days!

apple a day; the half circle

(song of the day: buttons, sia)

i still can't believe i'm writing this. if i were you i'm not sure i'd be taking health advice from the girl who yesterday ate her weight in mini "Reese"-ter eggs and then had the gall to make rainbow chip cookies. i ate twelve and gave myself a tummy ache. cause i'm awesome like that. i've eaten SO much this weekend. between dinners at the keg and cheesecake factory while i was away, and then turkey dinner on sunday i couldn't even bring myself to step on the scale this morning.

but i did good today. i didn't have any chocolate/sweets whatsoever. but it was NOT easy, let me tell you. i've known for a while now that sugar is a large part of what gives me my sunny disposition. i was WAY cranky, but i know my body was grateful. i also went out in search of a new ab exercise. (cause i know that's right where my fancy dinners/easter chocolates are heading) i found one, courtesy of glamour of course!

it's called the half circle. and it's meant work the front and sides of your abdomen. and you don't need any equipment! pull up a piece of solid ground.

prop yourself up on your elbows with your palms down, as shown.

lift your legs up at a 45 degree angle, keeping them pressed together and tightening your abs.

in a fluid half circle motion, roll your legs to the right and then to the left. you've just completed one rep! do them in sets of ten!


i'm doing them now during commercials as i'm watching fringe. i can't say it's easy... or fun. but i suppose that's the point. that's all for me! have a happy tuesday!

apple a day;

hey hey. new section, AGAIN! i'm all about changing things up. (and there's one more change coming... probably somewhere around monday, please tell me you're as excited as i am!) i'm calling it apple a day, cause i'm all about keeping the doctor away! (haha. okay. lameness over.) it's time to get serious. my sister (the only one who is FORCED to read this blog) pointed out that it's a lot like a magazine except that it's got no relationship section and no health section. i know absolutely NOTHING about guys but at least health i can research! and i should too. i FEEL fat. and i know as soon as i say that a thousand people jump at me telling me i'm wrong. and i can't blame them! that's what good friends do! but no matter what i look like or what the scale says i'm a very unhealthy person. hagen dazs for breakfast isn't exactly part of a balanced diet. consider my diet today: a chocolate chip muffin, sweet potato fries, and funnel cake. and that was it for the whole day! it's awful! and on top of that, i've been sporadically keeping up with my 10 minute spurts of cardio, but not as much as i was before. i LOVE my metabolism, but it occured to me recently that it might not always be able to keep up with me. and as much as i don't want to hear it, people are right in saying that i need to start making changes now. so in this section i'll be bringing you more yoga poses and other quick exercises, random dr. questions i ask my mom, healthy snacks and much more! let me know how it goes!

to start, i want to talk about apples! fitting, no? turns out the apple a day thing isn't actually a myth. there are tons of benefits to eating apples.

apples...

* can helped you lose weight! they have fibre that allows to feel full faster and not eat as much (it regulates bowl movements too!)
* prevent heart disease because they contain flavonoids (they work like anti-oxidants)
* prevent cancers such as colon cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer and breast cancer in women
* can contribute to a healthy smile and fresh breath
* contain phenols that increase the good cholesterol and reduce the bad cholesterol (score!)
* lower your risk for metabolic syndrome (a bunch of risk factors that can lead to heart attacks, strokes and type 2 diabetes
* contain phytonutrients which reduce your chance for brain diseases like alzheimers and parkinsons.
* taste good!

so it's not as much of a myth as i thought! (though my mom would like to add, all fruits and vegetables are good, not just apples! and your supposed to have 5-10 a day. pah. i don't think i've EVER made 10 in one day) all this talk about apples has made me hungry again! now if only we had some in the fridge! =(

-xoxo.

how to; half sun salutation

Original Post Date: March 20, 2009

hello there! and most importantly happy first day of spring! today's been pretty great. i slept in WAY later than i expected to, but it was great. my sister made pancakes and now we're watching top gun. (i have a deep love for 80s movies but it's my first time seeing this one! tom cruise used to be SO cute!) but i started the day with a half sun salutation. i was a little upset when i did my research this morning. wiifit LIED! the "sun salutation" they have you do is some strange variety of the HALF sun salutation (or ardha surya namaskara). anyway, here's the how to via yogabasics.com!

1. start in "mountain" with the palms together

a. have your feet parallel, about 2 -3 inches apart

b. lightly press your palms together with your shoulders down.
c. let your back and the chest press in towards your thumbs.

2. inhale and sweep the arms up with palms together

a. reach up toward the sky while looking up at your thumbs.

3. exhale into forward fold

a. press your palms flat to the floor (or as far as they can go. bend your knees if you need to! i always do. stupid long legs!).

b. try and bring your forehead in toward your legs.

4. inhale and lift into upward forward fold

a. keep your legs and back straight,
b. lift your chest and look up as high as comfortable
c. you can keep your fingertips on the floor or place your palms on your shins or knees

5. exhale into forward fold (this is a repeat of step 3!)

a. press your palms flat to the floor (or as far as they can go. bend your knees if you need to! i always do. stupid long legs!).

b. try and bring your forehead in toward your legs.

6. inhale and sweep the arms up with palms together

a. lift up at your waist and reach toward the sky
b. look up at your thumbs

7. exhale and bring the palms together in mountain
a. pull your hands down together, elbows out, palms touching lightly
b. let your back and the chest press in towards your thumbs.

i'm told this is a basic level exercise. sun salutations are practiced 2-6 times in a row, generally at sunrise. and that's all! namaste!
-lovelovelove!

p.s. i'm cool enough to cite my work =P

"Half Sun Salutation | Yoga Posture Sequences." Yoga Basics: Your guide to the Practice of Yoga. 20 Mar. 2009

weekly resolve; anti-exercise

Original Post Date: February 10, 2009

(Song Of the Day: Dark Blue, Jack's Mannequin)

usually, I don't spend too much time worrying about weight. back in middle school it was probably ALL I thought about. I was such a chubster! but luckily I grew taller and everything kind of sorted itself out. but even though it's not something i spend too much time worrying about i had to hop on the scale this morning after my dad told me "have you put on weight?" (yes, the man had four sisters, and lives with three women and is STILL that insensitive.)

but he was right! and i totally did that thing where you take off your sweater to try and get it down to less, but then i remembered i'm on my period, and i'm told that always skewers things a bit. (or at least, that's what i'm telling myself now =P haha) but there were the twelve weeks i spent on the couch while my school was on strike. so maybe today's measurement is closer to the truth than i thought! anyway, there's a number that i've always set for myself. Like "once you hit this number, you're metabolism has officially conked out on you, get to the gym." and i'm actually getting close! It was frightening. (and put a definite damper on the day, not even my pink blush could save me =P)

but i will do anything to avoid the gym. and i mean ANYTHING. just the very mention of the word makes me feel sick and all panicky. i'm not even sure why. i've never really been in one. i do get horrible flashes of gym classes past. or, maybe it's because i have this inexplicable fear of sweating in public. which means people rarely see me play sports, even though i'm secretly okay at some ;)

exercise for people who hate exercise. that's what i typed into google and i got a slew of good ideas. and i'm determined to at least try and stick to ONE before this week is over. (and I'm going to need one if I'm going to be having two dozen cupcakes on saturday.) here we go.

• Wii Fit. not surprisingly, this is the first thing that came up. and I have one! I used to go on it all the time. and I lost like... a pound a week when i was barely doing it at all. but then I missed a week when i went on vacation (in august) and i haven't been back on because i hate the way the board yells at you when you miss a day. and I haven't been on since AUGUST. but I hate being yelled at, even my inanimate objects. but I CAN face that white rectangular monster! If I could only find it...
  
• Yoga. In the summer I used to be really into yoga. It started yes, because of WiiFit but I used to be really into it. As in I did it every morning. I rented a few books and videos. And then it just stopped. But it's so relaxing! And for a few weeks there, I was so flexible!
• Dancing. i kind of dance around all the time. while i'm getting dressed, sometimes while i'm watching TV, while i'm eating (but this one sometimes usually ends in choking). but I read that I should put a few minutes aside and actually just dance (da doo doo! Ten points if you get the reference). today i read that several 10 minute bursts each day can be as effective as working out for 30 minutes. so that might be something to try.
  
• Walking. i'll be the first to admit i'm REALLY lazy. i cab it everywhere! and if i don't feel like paying, and i can't go to ride, i usually just don't go. usually, the only place i willingly walk in is the mall. (and i'm not certain that counts.) but i'm going to try and walk more. like yesterday, when i went down to the video store and i had my music blasting, it was actually really fun! and I got some serious thinking done. It's a multifaceted activity that i will try to do more often.
• Hula Hooping. now that the weather is kind of starting to warm up, it's go me thinking about bikini season. (i hear there may even be a cruise in my future!) and i don't need it to look like there is a cupcake spilling over my waist. pahahaha. but this posed a problem. crunches, as a concept, make me want to cry. good old google. when i added "abs" to my search, this was the first thing that came up. hula hooping is so retro and cute you wouldn't think it'd be great for your stomach too! and they mention it in that alvin and the chipmunks song! so I think I might try this one. granted, i will have to do some digging in my garage to find the hula hoop we had...

i'm happy with these "anti-exercise" ideas. i can't promise I'll do ALL of them. but I'm definitely going to try to do something? hold me to it! =)

-lovelovelove!

P.S. do you have a resolution for this week?