I love being healthy, eating healthy and how I feel as a healthy woman. I have been living this lifestyle most of my life and at 51 have a healthy handle of what being healthy means. I teach health and fitness as my occupation and since it is my passion really do not consider it work. There is something to be said about the existence of living a healthy lifestyle. My clients know that I don't teach perfection, but progress and it is not a lifestyle of complete restriction, but a healthy balance of eating right 80 to 90 percent of the time and regular exercise.
I do not believe in taking things to extremes and making health feel like a burden for me or anyone else. My mental game is what I want to address here and keeping health in perspective. I am all about eating organic, non-GMO, and cooking at home to be in control of what I am eating 80 to 90 percent of the time. I am human and will indulge in occasional adult beverages and will not turn down a slice of my Mom's lemon meringue pie. I enjoy partaking in my treats now and then and do so guilt free. I also do not spend endless hours in the gym to maintain my physique and believe an effective workout can be completed in 60 minutes or less. I also feel my workouts are a healthy outlet and not a punishment for eating crappy. I make sure to get in 5 workouts per week with two recovery days. I would call my healthy lifestyle realistic, maintainable, and mentally positive.
I do the best I can to eat healthy and realize that I will not be GMO free. None of us will be able to accomplish this task unless we are growing our own foods, and even then, what is in the soil? Is it truly GMO free? Did a bird carry over tainted corn or other seeds into my garden? What about pesticides flying over into my garden? I would not be able to eat at all if I began over obsessing about my healthy foods and started eliminating essential nutrients because my focus was on purity and quality of food instead of what my body needs to function daily. What if I began eliminating my Mom's pie and stopped going out with my husband and friends because I was afraid of the food? This would not be healthy thinking or healthy living.
In addition to being a fitness trainer and coach, I am a freelance writer and Sports Nutrition Expert for the about.com network. I recently researched and wrote an article on Orthorexia, an undiagnosed eating disorder that takes healthy eating to an unhealthy extreme. I was surprised to see such negative comments and backlash exposing orthorexic behaviors. It appears that the "meat" of the article was missed and a nerve was touched for those who are "clean" eaters. I fall into the eating clean category and as I shared earlier, there is a difference between eating healthy and "obsessive" eating healthy.
The article was an exposure of the mental thinking surrounding eating clean or "pure" not that eating healthy is a bad thing ... that would be ludicrous. Would you say that binging and purging, over-eating, anorexia, and exercise addiction are unhealthy and mentally and emotionally related? I welcome knowledge as power on all subjects related to health and we should not be birds with our heads stuck in the sand avoiding up and coming issues surrounding the health and fitness industry. When food phobia becomes so severe that it affects quality of life in an unhealthy way, I would agree it warrants time and attention. Orthorexia is a mental health issue not a clean eating issue, although sparked by "pure" foods. It is an issue that requires us to look past the food and into the mind of a struggling person.
How many of us stand in the truth of our life or live in denial and non-acceptance of the actions that clearly rebel against a healthy lifestyle? I wish I could see a show of hands and have a world-wide workshop to discuss this issue. Standing in our truth has everything to do with being able to become a healthy person, and can be applied to all areas of our life: relationships, careers, fitness, and overall health which represent a moderate list that encompasses our existence as a human being.
Being honest with our self is the first step to being able to change those things that are weighing us down physically and emotionally. If we are unable to be honest with ourselves, then being honest with others will not happen. When lying to ourselves is at the forefront of or life, behaviors are usually exhibited through bitterness, anger, blame of others, argumentative reasoning, defensiveness, unhappiness, and a clear nonacceptance of responsibility. On the other side of that come acceptance of our truth and realizing that we can be healthier, happier people if changes are implemented each day to begin the process of adopting a healthy lifestyle.
Our responsibility is to stand in our truth and make the choice to go one way or the other. Do we want to be healthy or not, do we want to continue in self-destructive behaviors or not, do we want to be happy or not, do we want to be an honest person or not? Standing in our truth opens the door to trust of self and that can eventually be shared with others as we become examples of how to live a healthy life. We can only live in the path of not standing in our truth for so long before serious consequences begin happening in the form of illness, depression, broken relationships, loss of friends, and even disengagement of family members. A healthy person exhibits a happy outlook on life and is willing to share their experiences freely and with an open heart to sincerely help others because they know first- hand the work it took to stand in their truth. The person that remains in denial continues to show a negative view of life, self, and people around them, and generally repel any meaningful relationships.
The consequences to not standing in our truth to adopt a healthy lifestyle are harsh. Lying to self and others remain on the top of the ugly list when it comes to life in general. Living a healthy life will take the action of standing in our truth, acceptance of that truth and the follow-through with daily choices and actions to move our bodies and minds in a healthy direction.
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Well…not as big as they used to be physically but my mental and emotional shoulders are definitely making up for that loss…lol.What the heck does this have to do with fitness, my life, my health…I say everything!
When you are in a position of internet personality, helping people from around the world, bravely putting yourself out there for all to see through images, videos, and opinions…well…the mental shoulders get well developed.As you know, I am a say it like it is person, trainer, consultant, coach, expert and any other name that gets tagged onto “Darla” the fitness gal.In this position, I MUST remain POSITIVE and let things roll off my back like a duck sometimes.The majority of the time, I am taken with appreciation, and thankfulness from so many for providing the hope they thought was never possible…touching to me as my purpose to help has been accomplished.
The other side of the coin can be exactly the opposite and filled with statements from people who do not take the time to know ME and jump into an attitude of sharing only judgments and negative comments.I can read through that into an unhappy soul who really wants to be healthy and the BEST, but not at a place in their life and unwilling to make that happen, and it is always easiest to lash out at someone than take responsibility for self.Really…I would like to reach out and give all those people a hug…NO…I really do…because they just need to have the encouragement and love to realize their fabulous potential.
I do not need to go into statement details but anyone who sits in my position as a fitness expert who has put themselves out there understands the lashings that can come in reference to a fit body, workouts, personal life, sharing success stories, making opinions and comments, and even recipes for crying out loud.I was taught never to judge a book by its cover and this is so important in life, but especially in what I do for a living as I see people of all shapes and sizes…and they are ALL FABULOUS!!!Could you imagine if I was a judgmental person…well…NO WAY…I could not do my job if I was running people into the ground for being too heavy, too skinny, low self esteem, body image issues, hairstyle, clothes, and the list can go on and on…how in the world would I MOTIVATE or help anyone with that mindset…I mean what in the heck is up with a judgmental mentality anyway.Who am I to judge…am I God…NO…I am Darla, the person who just so happens to come to YOU daily through different internet mediums to In Your Face MOTIVATE YOU.
I LOVE my Big Shoulders because they provide me with emotional strength and the ability to “not sweat the small stuff” in this life.They give me a very caring spirit and the understanding that negative statements usually come from people who are truly hurting, bitter from personal issues or life events not dealt with yet, and who really want and need help, but just do not know how to be vulnerable enough to let those feelings out in a healthy way to start the healing process.In my position of trainer, consultant and coach, I wear many hats, and during the times of hearing or receiving negative comments, I throw on the “coaching/therapist hat” and become the BEST listener in this moment, keying in on any details that I may be able to offer help, dig deep into who that person is, provide insight and validation, but at the same time, provide the guidance that says…HEY…TODAY is a new day and time to toss the old crap to the curb and begin a new healthy lifestyle…you get the picture.
The beautiful part about my life is that I choose to be POSITIVE in ALL circumstances,personally surround myself with people who will nourish my soul in a positive way, and lean on one of my favorite quotes that states “Life is 10% What Happens to You and 90% How You Respond to It.” Does that mean that I avoid all negative people, situations, and comments in my work…of course not…this is not realistic in my position...I am surrounded by people on a daily basis physically and online who are going through things that they are healing from or do not even realize they need help with, and all that is needed are some Big Shoulders to take on the task of helping and healing.Am I ever offended by such comments and sucked down to a point of OH MY…WHY DO I CONTINUE TO PUT MYSELF OUT THERE….well…the answer is a Big Hell No.If anything, I feel challenged to help even more…I always have HOPE, always PERSEVERE, and do not believe in failure…in fact, in my opinion, failure is GOOD and a stepping stone to dusting off and becoming a better person.In this journey called life, I will continue to develop my Big Shoulders, continue to MOTIVATE…some may like me and some may not…that is OK and out of my control…but I will push forward with the cause of helping people adapt healthy lives…and for my Big Shoulders…ABSOLUTELY LOVE THEM!Stay Healthy~
IN YOUR FACE MOTIVATIONS
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