Here a diet, there a diet, every where a diet!

Every new year comes with resolutions. The most common resolution is to lose weight or to join a gym to get healthier. It's also the most commonly broken resolution.

Now, I'm not a diet specialist or health guru or anything certified...but I feel like some people take it WAY too far and sometimes WAY too seriously. Being healthy is super important. Duh. But I don't think becoming healthy is that complicated, though if you have certain medical conditions and what not...maybe it is.

It ultimately boils down to burning MORE calories than you consume.
For example:
You eat 2,000ish calories, you'll wanna burn 3,000 to lose weight or 2,000 to stay at your current weight.
Simple. I can dig it.
Of course you want to factor in the food groups, like eating your fruits and veggies and your meats (or protein substitutes, for you Vegans and Vegetarians) and your grains an dairy and beans and all that good stuff that keep your body rockin' and rollin'.
It still seems pretty simple. Diggin' it.

You want to know why I think some people have such a hard time keeping it simple? We're lazy. It's so much more comfortable to sit around and eat what you want instead of making the effort to eat healthier and go work out for thirty minutes a day. Now, before someone tries to attack me and beat me upside the head for speaking my mind...I'm not perfect. Goodness, I am far from it. But I know that when I sit around and stuff my face with deliciously unhealthy foods...I don't feel so great about myself. However, eating a sliced up apple with some peanut butter instead of a donut or whatever and working out for about at least thirty minutes makes me feel awesome!

Want to know what else I think? Well, if you don't you probably stopped reading already.

Working out doesn't have to suck. You can dance, if you like to shake your booty. You can do yoga, if you need to get your Zen on. You can go walking or jogging around your neighborhood or a near by park, and if it's sunny...you're not only keeping your body healthy but you're helping your body produce vitamins. There's a work out for everyone.

Are you nay-saying? I counter that nay with a yay! My grandma, who HATES sweating, works out. She's no beach babe, but she is doing what she can at age 76 to keep up her health. And she is trooper. She's had open heart surgery, she takes like...a million medications (I'm being facetious, of course) but everyday she gets on her little bike pedal contraption and pedals away. BAM, your nay just got destroyed by my grandma.

So, if you're feeling the pressure because swim suit season is in a couple months or because you vow to fit in that one pair of jeans from years ago or you just wanna feel good about yourself...find something that works for you. You don't have to turn psycho health freak and give up all things delicious in the world just because you think that is what healthy looks like. Just be realistic with yourself. Start small. And keep it simple.

If you are a curvy woman, don't try and be like those super models or like that girl you know who's a size two. Realistically, if you became a size two...you'd probably be way awkwardly proportioned and it probably wouldn't look as good as you hope. I speak from experience, I'm not a size two preaching at curvy and normal sized ladies. If I was, I would give you my address so you could come beat me with a bat.

To sum it up:
1. Be realistic, make a real goal for yourself that you can achieve.
2. Start small. You don't have to lose 100 or 50 or 20 pounds at once to feel good. Before focusing on the weight, try subbing out some of those not so healthy choices with something better. Example: For dessert, try some fruit with some dark chocolate (healthy, chocolate-y and the dark chocolate increases endorphins which make you feel good!) and kick the candy bar to the curb. "The coliseum was not built in a day..." or some quote like that. And it's true. You won't be some goddess or god looking creature all of a sudden.
3. Make a routine...or a list...or whatever helps you remember. Tie a ribbon around your finger, if you want!
4. Have fun!!!! I know, I'm crazy with my suggestions. But try it. Dancing burns off so many calories. And it's fun. Even if you're rhythm impaired.
5. Do it for you, not for the hot guy or girl next door or whatever the reason may be. Do it for you.
6. Keep it simple.

Now, like I said....I'm not a dietitian or a licensed person or a personal trainer, etc. BUT, I'm a normal girl who has been through the ups and downs of weight struggle. And I have found that keeping it simple and doing fun work outs has been the most productive way for me to be healthy. So, even though these are my opinions...I don't think I'm that far off from truth. Heck, I may have just been the vessel of truth when it comes to becoming healthy.

Take that, weirdo diet commercials.
For an added bonus, why not make you smile a little with a funny comic I found!
p.s. I didn't make it nor do I take credit for it. I'm not that creative anyway. Enjoy it!

The Cost of Calories

A Family Affair!

Today, my brother left at 3am to head back to his home in Florida with his two dogs. I was bummed because I hadn't been able to see him before he left and didn't get to say goodbye.
However, this morning at 6:59am...we got a phone call. My brother was broken down, on the side of the road, for the past hour. It was freezing. I have never layered so much in my life.

My outfit consisted of:
1. Pair of full leg leggings.
2. Green sweat pants.
3. Ankle socks.
4. Ugg boots.
5. Undergarments.
6. Camisole.
7. Thermal.
8. Coat.


Do you kind of get how cold it was? Yeah, brrrrrrr.

But, me and my mom listened to my brother who was safe (cold, but safe) and had called a tow truck already. My mom, being a good person, offers for me and her to drive out to where he is and pick up his dogs and bring them to our house while he waits for the tow truck to bring him back to our house so he can fix his car. (Pardon the run-on sentence, but I just had to get it all out)

Selfishly, I was alright with this despite the fact that I am on break and would have loved to sleep in.

The drive was fine, until we got closer to where my brother was pulled over. We were out past Viejas Casino and for those of you who don't get what that means...we were out way east and it was still mountain rural. There was this fog. A really terrible, eerie fog. We could see, atleast when the sun wasn't glaring off  the wet road, and my mom gushed about how beautiful this area was.

Beautiful. AND DANGEROUS!
It was just like a horror movie.
Fog + hills/mountains + neighbors being very far apart = PERFECT horror movie situation.

Those conditions outweigh the beauty, which I don't deny.

Err...back to the story.

We arrive, we get the dogs, we take them home, my brother's car gets towed and he spends from 10-3:30 fixing his car. Luckily, he got it fixed and running so that he could head out at 4 after a quick shower.

Usually if I had a day like this, I probably wouldn't have been too happy about it. But the only thing I was focused on was being able to be around my brother and say goodbye to him in person instead of a text. I guess this post is about perspective, which is what I had today. I could focus on the cold, the early morning, the dog slober, the perfect horror movie situation but...I didn't. I was focused on the happiness I had because I got to say bye to my brother.

Perspective and thankfulness. It comes in funny packages, don't you think?

p.s. He's a dork that loves to pick on his baby sister, just like any big brother would. I think that makes it extra apparent that even when dealing with a silly guy like that down there...I was still thankful and glad to help.

(Left to right: My brother, Joe; My mom in the back, Liz; Me! and my dad, Steve)

2011, hello friend!

Semester one of college? Done.
Grade point average? 3.38.
Sense of accomplishment? Indeed.

I never thought I'd be a freshmen in college, let alone be done already with my first semester. It went by so incredibly fast that I find it difficult to think that it is 2011 and I am about to begin my second semester. In a nut shell, I'm amazed. It feels as if I blinked and it was Christmas break, though I know very well that it wasn't that easy.
Now with the new year I am thinking of all the things I want to do in 2011. Of course, theatre is going to be woven in there but what things have I not done that I've wanted to do? (Within reason, of course!) For starters, I am attempting to be an ASM (assisstant stage manager) for the very first time. I wasn't sure what to expect with such a task, but I'm finding that it's almost more fun than acting itself. Learning all the different jobs in theatre has definitely been thrilling, to say the least.
But....there has to be more than just school work, right? Of course! I'm young, I have a car...if there's a will, there's a way!
Alas, nothing out of the ordinary or spectacular comes to mind. Maybe I'll try new recipes for baking...(Oh yeah, I bake like no other. But it's the usual, traditional confections.) Or maybe I'll finally bungee jump! (A girl has to have dreams!)

I think I'll start small. Set small goals. Reach them. Accomplish the crap out of them. And move on to the next one. Then they can start getting bigger...and bigger. That sounds like a solid plan.

Goal 1? Enjoy the last week of my break. (I think I can do this, though it could be trying.)

To end my first post, I think I'll get a little creative....

There's confidence in me.

And in 2011, my friend.

With you, I will start a new trend.

The past year could be called...rocky.

But I say hello, my friend.

2010 is so cocky,

with a high brow attitude.

Seething with jealousy

I greet my clean slate with gratitude

There is much to do, amigo.

But you and I...

we're a dynamic duo.

Bring on the fun!

Hard work, if you must.

I promise you,

I am far from done.