#TransformationTuesday & Happy St. Patrick’s Day

It’s a weird kind of St. Patrick’s day with parades and other events canceled on account of the coronavirus situation. Truly scary times and challenging in so many ways. I hope you are all staying safe and sound.

As for me, I’m staying away from the gym this week and have set up a little workout area at home where I can lift some weights and do some yoga and other exercises. No sense taking risks at this point.

Speaking of working out, I figured I’d share this transformation photo with you today!
Transformation Tuesday

The NEVER A BRIDE blog tour continues and for a chance to win a $25 Gift Card, leave the comment “Caridad sent me!” at any of the blogs on the tour. You can find the tour stops at http://bit.ly/NeverABrideBlogTour and for now, here are today’s blog stops:

Books, Dreams, Life
Dog Eared Pages

#TuesdayTip Facial Toning Exercises

Let’s face it, gravity keeps us grounded, but it also isn’t the friendliest thing for some of our body parts. Regular exercise can help with keeping your body toned, but what about your face? Is there anything you can do to deal with the effects of gravity and aging?

Apparently there is! Check out the links to these sites and some facial toning exercises to help deal with some very common problems, including drooping eyelids and saggy skin along your jaws and neck.

You may notice that some of the above links mention yoga. My sister is really into yoga, so much so that she became certified to teach. I went to one of her classes the other day and then to a different class on Saturday. In the summer months there is yoga on the beach on Sundays and I love going. I’ve never had good balance or flexibility, so age isn’t necessarily to blame for those things. I find that I am improving both with some occasional yoga classes and doing some yoga at home with a DVD.

Hope these tips helped you today!
Yoga on the Beach

#TuesdayTip Mindful Eating #Fitness #Lifestyle #Healthy

Like so many people, I make New Year’s resolutions. This year I want to refocus on my writing, get more organized, lose another 35 pounds and be healthier in general. Big goals and sometimes they seem scary, but then again, there’s that old adage: Those who fail to plan, plan to fail.

So I wrote down some goals for when I want some new books to be out and plans with friends. I’ve been slowly emptying closets and cleaning up in my home office. As for continuing to lose weight and being healthier, I’m eating better and working out, but to not have the yo yo effect I’ve had in the past, I’m trying to find ways that this new me is the future me. That means having sound eating habits and not relying on food as a crutch the way I have.

I’ve acknowledged that. Since college and immediately thereafter, food has been the go to thing when I get stressed out or unhappy or to celebrate. I need to change that emotional connection to eating to break a cycle I’ve repeated all too often.

I’ve been reading more about diet and incorporating healthier foods and I signed up for a course at Rodale U. The course is on mindful eating and so far, the course has made me more conscious of what I’m doing with my eating and food choices. If you’re one of the first subscribers to the course, it’s free with the coupon code MINDFUL. You can click here to sign up for the Take Control Rodale U course! Remember the coupon code is MINDFUL.

Mindfulness is actually a thing I’ve been focusing on in general. Thinking about body and breath connections when working out or doing yoga. Being in the now instead of dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. I’ll share more about that in the future! For now, here are some quick tips for mindful eating:

    Take a moment to appreciate the food in front of you. What does it look like? How does it smell? What is the texture in your mouth on the first bite and later, as you swallow?

    Why are you eating the food? Is it because you’re hungry or for some other reason? If you’re not sure, ask yourself: Would you eat a regular meal right now instead of chips/chocolate/cookies?

    Write down what you are eating! Keeping a food journal is a good way of tracking what you are eating and when. Are there patterns to your eating? Do you eat late at night? If you’re using an activity tracker, like Fitbit, there are journal capabilities in their app. I’ve mentioned Wellcoin in the past to journal, but also get rewards and prizes. I just won a $10 Amazon Gift Card there. Other food journal apps you can check out are Lose It and My Fitness Pal. There is also the grandmama of all fitness plans Weight Watchers.

I’d love to hear what some of your resolutions are and how they are going!
mindful