My body can handle it, but hers can't.

This morning I ran 5.5 miles and it was 55 degrees and sunny. You're probably wondering why you should care... but there is a point I promise. Yesterday I ate a bagel for breakfast, wings for lunch and pizza for dinner with an unknown amount of beer. Again, there is a point.

As I was running today, I couldn't help but become increasingly aware of how fortunate I am to have a healthy, capable, young body that can handle an occasional day of garbage food and drinks and then allow me to run almost 6 miles with ease. I am not bragging nor ignoring the fact that I usually treat my body very well eating whole foods and exercising regularly. However, after a day of trash I was concerned that my body would revolt and refuse to let me run even though my head and heart wanted to enjoy the sunshine and sweat more than anything. Fortunately, my 21 year old muscles can take a hit and bounce back. For which I am extremely thankful! Many of you can probably relate in the sense that sharing my workout and health success has always come much easier than admitting my mess ups. Or what I would have titled "mess ups" a couple of years ago. Two years ago I would have enjoyed fatty food as a "treat" or have it and then feel a strong  sense of guilt. I would have run this morning to "make up" for the trash I push in my body and felt bad for probably a few days about my "mistake". These days I am able to see the bigger picture most of the time and allow myself to indulge on fatty foods that I like in moderation and exercise because it feels good and is great for me.

I began my post with that information so that I could thank my body and acknowledge my growth. I find super important to measure growth, whether that be physical, mental or emotional. In fact, I tell my clients countless times to take progress photos to see weight loss, body comp changes and/or muscle growth, but very rarely do I take the time to see how far I am coming in other aspects of my health. Physical health is important, but we rarely forget or are afraid to speak about our mental health as well.

Though my run felt great, my mind became increasingly upset as the miles passed and I attempted to appreciate my surroundings. The sky was clear blue, sun was warm and grass was covered in empty beer boxes, bottles, plastic containers and other garbage. I was stunned. I wanted to stop running at that moment and begin to pick up every single item, but regretfully I did not. I couldn't help but question why my Facebook feed is constantly filled with health activists stressing that we only have one body so we need to treat it well, but no one seems concerned that we only have one planet too. When we place garbage into our bodies we gain weight, lose energy, break out in acne and see clear signs that our body is not performing optimally due to our choices. If we paid attention, we'd see that Earth has her own way of sending signs that she is hurting. Her climate is not changing because she is bored with how it was... she is crying for help as we are planning more days by the beach. If personifying Earth makes you uncomfortable, I am truly sorry for you, but let me paint another picture to help you understand. Not only were there other cars and runners out this morning, but dozens of little animals. Birds, chipmunks and two adorable dogs were enjoying the sun as well. Watching a chipmunk nibble at a beer can made my stomach hurt and I hope that it would bother you too. Earth may not be a cute and fuzzy creature, but she can choke on this debris just the same.

I remember when I was about 10 years old someone told me that it takes about 7 years for gum to digest in a stomach if swallowed. That terrified me and I truly have done my best to never swallow a piece of gum since that day. Having gum in my stomach for 7 years was not a fate I was interested in, but boy do I wish someone would have told me that it takes 200-500 years for a can to decompose. I wonder if my choices through my childhood could have been altered a little more extremely than my bubble gum habits if I would have heard that statistic or the thousands of other equally startling facts.

Long story short. My ability to reframe and knowledge of macronutrients have allowed me to find a more balanced approach to eating and exercising. I see food as fuel and never "good" or "bad" because, like many of you know, the minute a food is on a "do not eat" list it suddenly becomes your favorite food! Weird how that works. I see exercising as a way to thank my body for all of the wonderful things that it does for me and truly enjoy the time I spend working out. The more I learned about health and fitness, the more I shared with other people who I love so that they could experience the joy and benefits that I saw. It was not until this run that I became to understand that I should be doing the same with the environment. I rarely speak about my views because I am truly not informed, but I know enough to be upset with our current situation and want to increase my knowledge so that I can share and do my part to help. Sure, using a few less paper towels or plastic cups may not change the world before I leave it, but it could aid a movement that will impact the world that my children's children's children live in.

This morning I ran with a true appreciation for the clear blue sky and warm sun because of a deep understanding that it may not be like this for long. You have one body and we have one Earth and both give you everything they are able to every single day. If you treat yourself like junk, you will have to deal with the consequences which is sad but truly only affects yourself. Your choice to litter affects us all. Our bodies can handle a few skipped workouts or second slices of pie, but Earth truly can't handle any more mistreatment. She's not a trash can, she is our home!

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Ride the Wave. You Can't Control the Moon.

“Balance is the key to everything. What we do, think, say, eat, feel, they all require awareness, and through awareness we can grow.” - Koi Fresco

I like to believe that sleepless nights are caused by the moon. A few years back I read that due to our bodies being made up of 60% water, the moon pulls and pushes on us just as it does the ocean tides. Though I was not (am not) sure of the validity behind this factoid, I found a calm happiness in the connection that it created. This allowed me to burden the moon with my midnight, restless mind and dismiss the assumption that my active thoughts were linked to stress or anxiety. 

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For more of my life, I would say that I was obviously a child of the sun. Full of energy, loud, passionate, careless, unworried. I lived quickly and exuberantly, leaving a fiery path wherever I went. Never quite rebellious or hotheaded, but I was most certainly always in a rush and on a mission. Though now I still hold on to many of these traits that I believe make me the individual that I am, I have also found another side to me that was only realized with age and time spent alone. My parents always told other adults that when I was solo I was quiet and calm. They were almost always shocked. This was because I came alive in groups or a crowd (still today I find great energy at gatherings or in team environments). Even so, I have found a calm in my whirlwind nature. 

Being alone for a period of time, whether that means out of a relationship or in a new country, allows you to get to know yourself as if you are discovering a brand new person. Ask yourself these questions... How would you spend your time if you could plan a week on your own? What would you wear if you'd only see strangers? What would you listen to if no one would hear? What do you genuinely like to do? I would not have been able to answer these questions at many times of my life. When you move so quickly and get absorbed in experiences so deeply that you don't notice your surroundings, you can lose who you are or never actually become who you are meant to be...without ever realizing. After being alone, I found a quieter side to my self. Not only was this side a bit darker, but calmer. I was able to sit still and slow down in the middle of a city with bustling people and busy intersections. I was able to pinpoint my feelings toward exact emotions and thoughts. I was able to appreciate small details and simple moments unlike ever before. I found my moon.

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Control has always been a delicate balancing act for me. As much as I believe that everything will always work out as it is supposed to NOW, I have always found a calm in control. I have learned that there are different types of people on this matter. Some actually find lists and schedules to be stressful... That is still odd to me, as I do not at all. The more I am able to plan an event or situation, the more I am usually able to relax. Going with the flow has truly never been natural for me. But like all aspects of my self growth journey, I noticed this as an opportunity and have been trying to improve upon it every chance that I get. Learning to take life as it comes, or bob in the ocean, has been critical to my self-development and relationship building. I used to always feel that if I allowed myself to go with the tide I would eventually 1. Be taken under by the waves that I couldn't see coming or 2. Be left behind by those who swam harder past me. 

I had to reframe...

"Being present" was not the opposite of forward thinking, but appreciating the moment I am in.

"Going with the flow" was not being lazy or submissive, but being adaptive and open-minded.

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My point is this. Sometimes I will wake up bright and energetic facing the sun and other days I'll be drawn toward the quiet and stillness of the moon. I may not always know why I feel one way or another, but I have been able to find positives in harnessing both influences. The days will keep passing and no matter how hard you or I try, we will never be in total control. Find the joy in the whirlwind of life and breathe in the ocean air every second that you can. 

RIDE THE WAVE, we all reach the shore either way. 

Grabbing Life by the Fruit

For a moment, do your best to put yourself in this situation... You're having a rough start to your morning, but you remember to grab a few items as you head out the door to eat for breakfast on your way to work. One of these items being an apple. Your stuck in traffic, stomach growling and you bite into the apple as you try to find a radio station that doesn't make your mood worse. Then you realize that your apple tastes different. It has a rougher feel as you chew and it is much sweeter than most that you've eaten. It doesn't taste bad, but it does not taste exactly like an apple. You know that you have tasted something similar before so you continue to bite the fruit while you try to figure out this familiar taste. Then it hits you, this apple reminds you almost exactly of eating a pear! You are thrilled momentarily to have made the connection, but then get annoyed of the fact that you specifically bought apples and should have paid more attention when making your selection. You stop eating the fruit and throw it out your car window as traffic begins to let up and you continue to work. 

Okay, now come back to me. The point of this story is not to figure out if you, indeed, did purchase the wrong fruit. But to show you how mindset impacts every single situation. Even ones as small as eating a snack in your car. Whether the fruit was an apple or a pear is trivial. Enjoying the fruit because, in that moment, you found it delicious and it fueled your body would have been the ideal reaction. Instead of eating the apple only to solve a question, you could have savored the sweetness of each bite for what it was. I could even go further to say that you could have been thankful in that moment that you can afford gas in your car, fresh fruit in your grocery cart and have a job to be going to. 

In everyday life this need to have productive reasoning behind every choice can be toxic. To view work only as a way to make money. To feed your child only because they are crying. To workout only to lose weight. Framing every day, necessary, acts negatively will result in a negative mindset that only allows you to build up an animosity toward them. If you place an activity in a negative frame, it WILL become a negative activity. This may be life altering news, but you can do some activities just because you like them. Gretchen Rubin in her book The Happiness Project actually writes "...it is easy to be heavy: hard to be light." Meaning that being unhappy takes less work than trying to be happy; which many of us can relate to. Reframing can change the way you live because how you see your life is how you live your life. You can live a happier, more present, more fulfilled life simply by altering how you view everyday occurrences. 

I am not saying that you should walk through life with eyes closed, biting into ever situation without any expectations or to be content with any outcome thrown your way. Drinking orange juice instead of water after you brush your teeth is, and will always be, unfortunate and reframing will not get that horrible taste out of your mouth. However, what I am arguing is that if you can come to the realization that you have control over how you think and feel in every situation, you will then establish more control over your life. I am sure you have heard some play on the saying "You can't change what happens to you. You can only change how you react to those moments." I 100% believe this to be true. Take each experience for what is it and challenge yourself to find the good in that moment. There is always something to be thankful for if you look hard enough. 

I challenge you to try this exercise today. Please don't wait for a horrible experience where you are truly tested, but practice with small unexpected instances in the moment that they are occuring. 

Life is unpredictable, but you have more control than you think.