Friday, March 27, 2015

Tigers who earn their stripes....

I see a lot of women these days referring to their stretch marks as their tiger stripes. Usually they are the result of carrying children, and they have definitely earned those stripes and should be very proud to sport them. They have brought little kidlets into the world and they (hopefully) find joy in every day with them.

But what about those of us who sport stretch marks that have nothing to do with having kids? Some of us just got them as we developed. It's pretty damn common, what with the breasts popping up pretty quickly and those hips just growing out from nowhere!

And then there are the extra stretch marks that some of us bear. I think of them as battle scars of sorts. Because that's what they are. Everyone's battle is different, I know mine, and I work hard every damn day to heal the wounds, and lessen the scars. But they'll always be there. They're as much a part of me as my dizzying intellect and mad wit. ;-)

/endrant.

Saturday, March 7, 2015

It's Been Awhile....

And yes, of course I was singing that Staind song in my head while typing that!

Hope this post finds you all in good health and happiness, pursuing your dreams and your "bliss", whatever that means to you.

Work was a slog this last season, and while I've been "between contracts" (entertainment industry speak for unemployed!) since beginning of December, things have been kinda insane, in both good and not so good ways.

I've said goodbye to my remaining set of grandparents....who passed under a month of each other. I've said goodbye to my first season of two shows at once, which was kinda nuts! I've said hello to a new snowboard, and a black diamond run, and to a new chiropractor/sports therapist guy who is kinda working magic on my ankle. I've said goodbye to a good portion of really gnarly muscle tangles thanks to the work of a magical RMT, Kate. She likes to say "heart" every time she causes me pain. :)

I've said goodbye to calorie counting, and hello to macros. I've said goodbye to (the majority) of shame in eating the food, and hello to kindness to myself. I've said goodbye to many processed foods and pop, and hello to a morning drink of warm lemon water, sometimes with Manuka honey in it. Does it work? Well my skin seems to be happier.

Why Macros? Well, I'm working with a nutritionist whose whole approach is not calorie reduction per se....its more "This is the amount of protein, carbs, fat and fiber you SHOULD be intaking so that your body can build muscle and burn fat...and y'know poop regularly." Okay she didn't say poop, but I wish people were less squeamish about this oh so natural bodily function. Do you have a problem with constipation? Well, Metamucil will help, but why not just eat more fibrous fruits and veggies? Raspberries and Blackberries are your friends!!!

Okay, enough of the poop talk.

My way of thinking is changing constantly, and the more I learn about myself, and about nutrition and science....well the kinder and more appreciative I've become of my body. My poor sad, overwrought metabolism and body. The body I allowed to grow so big, due to a real desire to disappear, and also due to poor food choices. Many of those food choices were made for me, from a place of love, to be sure, but also of ignorance. My metabolism wasn't ever really given a fair chance of doing what it should have been free to do all along. It's recovering, to be sure but slowly.

Giving my body the chance to recoup is what its been crying for for quite some time. As anybody who has ever gone on a diet, only to find they rebound.....its never going to be a quick fix. Science is discovering more and more every day, and I encourage you to keep up to date on the contributing factors of obesity. That being said, you need to take a real hard look at yourself. In my case, it wasn't JUST that I was eating too much and not getting enough exercise. There were and are reasons I have difficulties motivating myself, making the right food choices, learning to stop when I'm no longer hungry. And a lot of that has more to do with emotional and mental health, NOT the lack of willpower. As Jillian Michaels likes to ask people she works with "What is carrying around this excess weight doing for you?". Sometimes the answer isn't right in front of you, sometimes you need help to figure out why. Be it a fear of failure, compensating for lack of love, an escape, a sugar addiction. Find someone you can talk to, who can help you figure these things out. It's totally worth it.

And yes, sugar addiction is real. Just read up on what sugar does chemically to your brain when you eat it. Read up on WHY that happens. It's fascinating stuff, I assure you!

My name is Turbo, and I am a sugar addict.


No, I don't promote abstinence of sugar. But scaling back on refined and added sugars has helped a lot. :) I'd like to thank Fruit for being my savior!

Be Happy, Be Healthy, Be KIND, Be Fit.