Obsessed.....

There are many people out there, that I meet and greet everyday, that may think I am obsessed with the whole fitness and health picture. Maybe I am. One of best friends told me I was, yet she is somewhat the same, she just keeps it to herself. Her tag line to me, is always the same, "you can't change people".
I know she is right, but can we motivate people to change?

As a nurse, I have seen how poor health can effect an entire family. A man comes to the ER with chest pain, he is having a heart attack. He is taken to the surgical suite for a heart cath, and they find 100% occlusion of a vessel. No, we can't open it. We have to do bypass surgery.
Now this man, is in the OR, getting a Cardiac bypass, and will be unstable for while, and it will take weeks to recover, should surgery go well. He can't work, he needs time to recover. This disease is preventable.
The family is effected due to his inability to work, financially but also, their leader is compromised. The family has to come together to get through this, emotionally.
The man's wife is thinking all the What if's? What if he doesn't make? What if he can never go back to work?  How will we survive?
This in just an example.


Facebook is a medium of social networking, and gives you a glimpse into peoples activities that they do everyday. I love FB, I check it all the time. And many times, I hate what I see. I see people posting what restaurant they are eating at, pictures of them eating and drinking, and having a great time!!
You ask why I hate that?? Because, everything should be in moderation, and when I see the same people over and over, who I know, are not healthy, because I know they are diabetic, or overweight, or at risk, I get very sad!!
I try to educate people and tell them that Soda is bad, or fast food is bad. But they call me obsessed, and they shut me out.
They don't want to hear it. I get it! I will stop telling you. But it makes me SO SAD!!  I will just have to be sad for you.
IF you don't want to work out, ok, that's your choice! But I am so sad for you.
Exercise, releases feel good hormones to the brain, ironically, just like fatty food and sugar!
There are studies that prove this. So, yes, believe it or not, you can get the same "high" from exercise as you can from that Super big gulp!!
The difference, the brain will become tolerant of sugar, and it will take more to get the "feeling". With exercise, you don't get tolerant!! And if you get addicted to working out, I am really ok with that.

I will say it again, it's your choices that make your destiny. Which path are you going on?
I might be able to lighten up a bit. Live and let live, right??? There is something in me, that makes that very difficult.




But in the end, my calling remains to try to help others. To educate, to motivate, to facilitate!
Yes, I am obsessed with it. Call it what you want, I am what I am.

The Future of your Health

Today, the US supreme court did not repeal Obamacare. In fact, it is more a reality today that ever. This is a scary deal.
And you, as Americans, really don't have any clue what this means. I am speaking from experience.
Many of you know, I was born and raised in Canada and that I am a nurse. So, how did I end up in Texas?
It"s because of the socialized medical system, run by the government in Canada. You have all heard how GREAT the medical system is up there and oh yeah, it's FREE!!!
WRONG. WRONG. SO very wrong. It's great if you are healthy.
But if you aren't, well....let me tell you about it. Most of these are personal experiences of friends and family.

Your basic MRI. How long should it take to get an MRI? Here in Dallas, you can get one done in 2-3-4 days and have your results in a week. In Toronto, a MAJOR metropolitan area, you might get it done within 6 weeks, if you are lucky, but don't expect to go during the day, your appt might be at 3 am, and you better show up.....
Oh, surgery?? Is is elective? in other words, if it is not life threatening at the time, it would be elective. I believe that my mom waited for well over a year, for a total knee replacement, even though, she has having trouble walking, and the pain,,let's not talk about the pain.
Oh yeah, cancer treatment? A family member of mine had a large tumor in the colon, that needed surgery, so lucky they got it scheduled, within a couple of months. If you know anything about colon prep, it's pretty miserable, drinking that Go-lytely and staying near the bathroom for hours. And the cramps. Then, the day is there, time for surgery. Oh dear, Sorry, sir, your surgery has been cancelled, an emergency came up, we will have to re-schedule. So a week later, got to do the prep again....and lo and behold, surgery is cancelled AGAIN. OH no , another Prep??
Yes, that is the reality of the Canadian medical system.
I can go on. Medications  are 'Covered", but only if there are on the list. If they aren't, you have to pay the full price. For some, that means they don't get them, because some people can't afford $400 a month for one medication. Because someone says it's not on the "list".

I came to Texas after graduation from nursing school, because there were no jobs. The government couldn't afford to fund the hospitals so entire floors of hospitals were being closed. So, no need for nurses, when there weren't beds to hold patients. There were patients sitting in the ER for DAYS, waiting for a bed to come open.
Private room?  Think again! Try wards. 4 beds to a room. Privacy curtain only. That's what will happen. You may get a private room if you are infectious, but hey, if someone else has the same germ, they will just put you together.

What's going to happen here is scary. The cost of this, will be put on the burden of those who pay into the system. That means, our taxes will go up. SUBSTANTIALLY. The money has to come from somewhere for this "FREE" healthcare.
Imagine up to 48% of your paycheck going to taxes, to pay for this great healthcare.

Our government has not done well with Medicare, or Social security, do we think they can handle this??

More to come folks.... I have lived this one. I know. It's time for you to get healthy. Because if you get sick, your future is going to be unknown.
B

It's Your Choice.

I have written about sacrifice, I have written about motivation, and so many other barriers to weight loss and health and fitness. What is really comes down to is your choice.
Everyone has a choice on how they live their lives. Everything we do, we have the power to choose.
We choose everything, what house we have, what car we drive, what cable company to use. We choose our career path, and although we may not get a job, we choose to work at something or not.

Everyday, we get up and choose what we do, we go to work, we choose our breakfast, lunch and dinner, we choose what show we watch on TV. We choose when we shower, when we brush our teeth and the list goes on.
When it comes to work, we do it because we have to, we have to pay our bills for the things we have chosen. If we have not chosen wisely, we may have to work more to pay for our choices.

What do you spend your money on? Again, it's your choice. Do you go to the movies every week? Do you go to the ball game? Do you shop all the time? Do you go out to eat?
Are you choosing that 49 cent drink at QT that is not good for you? Are you choosing to eat the fast food, that we all know is unhealthy and loaded with fat???
All of these are choices you make every day. For most, there is a finite amount of money and we need to make choices for our spending.

Next question, what do you spend your time on? Time, like money , is not endless for most people. Time marches on and the next thing you know, you are a year older. Gary turned to me the other day and said, our vacation is in 2 weeks, where did the time go? I just went. One day it was June 3rd and we had a month, now we have a little more than 10days. Time waits for no one.

I guess I need to get to a point. We make the choice everyday. It's not a matter of finding the time, it's making the time. We don't need to find money, we need to choose how we are spending it.
You are faced with the choice everyday, are you going to be active and get to the gym? You have the time, you just have to choose to do it. Are you going to buy that membership? You must choose to spend it on your health.
It's cheaper to take care of you now, than wait until you have a major medical problem. Trust me, I am a nurse.

You have the choice to do what you want. You have the power to live life on yours terms, you have to want it and make the choices that will make it happen. Don't make any more excuses, choose it!!

Taking care of your body.

Every second, every minute and every day that passes, our body is aging and changing. Our heart beat, our lungs breath, our bones and muscles give us the ability to move and do our activities. Our brain is the "motherboard" of this machine, that we are given just one of.
What do you give it back? Seriously, what are you doing to take care of your body to that it keeps giving you what you want, the ability to live.
Think about what you put in it, soda, coffee, fried food, greasy burgers? Our bodies are made of 70% water and the very act of living depletes that water, the lungs evaporate water with every breath, the heart beats our blood which needs water too. Are you drinking enough? At the very least, 64 oz per day....in the Texas summer, much more. What your body does NOT need, is Coke, Dr pepper, or the BIG GULP!! There is no hydration with all that sugar...ever wonder why you are still thirsty?? Again, the body tells you what it needs.
It tell you when to sleep, when to eat (that loud grumble), when it's sick. LISTEN TO THE SIGNS!!

Everyone has a belief, about our creation, and although your belief may differ from mine, I think we may be able to agree that we were put on this earth and have the means to survive from the earth. We can grow fruits, and veggies, and raise animals for our meat. If we made it a focus to eat more food from the produce aisle and less from a box, we would be SO much better and healthier.

Processed foods and preservatives are making us less healthy. We eat it because it's fast and it's easy, and we are working more than ever, whether it be inside or outside the home.
So, in essence, we are demanding more from our bodies while giving it less of what it desires.

Statistics show that the number of people who are considered obese is in the millions, and the number is growing. Our children are obese, and they are still growing!! If you have one parent who is obese, the risk of becoming obese as an adult is about 45% and if both parents are, that number jumps to 75% per the CDC.
I said in my last blog that we want to do what's best for our kids, is that the best we can do??

It's time for a change, it's time to take care of your body, it takes care of you, so pay it forward!
Get moving AMERICA!! There is no time the present.
Take charge !
Thanks for reading.

Barb

The Sacrifice

As a mother of 3, a wife, and a nurse, I know what it's like to sacrifice. During a very difficult time in my life, an unexpected divorce, I had to sacrifice a lot, just to make ends meet and take care of my children. I was left with virtually my car, my clothes, and few miscellaneous things from our home. Luckily I had a job and a means to get by. Starting over was scary, not to mention trying on the emotions.
As parents, we will sacrifice everything for our children, to ensure that they are taken care of.
As I started over, getting a place to live, and something to sleep on, I sacrificed my financial future for this. I lived on credit, as I had enormous legal bills to pay and nothing in my little apartment.
Tighten the belt, and live on rice and beans...save and pinch pennies to pay the rent and the other bills. Looking back, it's wasn't that bad.
They say on average, it's takes 7 yrs to recover financially from divorce. I did it in 3. I was able to get a house, for the kids, and although it's not big and fancy, it's our home. And I did it.

I ask people this question, what is your biggest barrier to getting fit and healthy ? Many tell me time, many tell me money.
My next question, "what are willing to sacrifice?'
These days, everyone has an Iphone, cable TV, nice cars, We eat out 2-3-4 times a week, we buy a coffee everyday. Yet we say we can't afford the time and money to get healthy.
Think first about time, how much time to do waste every day, whether it be playing on Facebook,watching TV, or just doing nothing. How much time spent commuting everyday? For me, the commute is the longest. But I do peruse Facebook, and play on my Ipad, however I pretty much work out 5-6 days a week. If I didn't, that would be the sacrifice.

Let's talk money, a gym membership is $30-80 a month, depending on your family size. That is a meal for the family out, that is one lunch out every week for one person.($10x4 weeks). Most every person can say that if they needed to, they could cut back, but would they?

Becoming healthier, losing the weight, getting better numbers (scale, cholesterol, glucose) is a MUST. Because let's face it, what you don't spend now, you will later, when you start taking medications, or have a major health event. Invest in your healthy future, YOU ARE WORTH IT!!!
Yes, it may mean sacrificing today, but in the end, looking back, it "won't be that bad"....

Seize the day!

What's in it for me?

This has been a CRAZY week for me, work, teaching, life in general. I have had some great moments though. Doing what I do, coaching and motivating.

I have had the privilege of talking to 3 different people that are diabetics. They are all coming to the gym, they are working out and changing their lives. For the better.
What scared me, was how much all of them need more information! As I asked them questions, they knew I know my stuff. I actually explained how glucose is measured per a test the doctors run. They had NO IDEA. 

In other words, our medical providers are not educating people well enough. They know what they are supposed to do, but not the WHY behind it. That is one of the critical ways to promote change. 

If a person comes to me and says what can I do to firm up...I say do Bodypump. But WHY??? Will they come just because I said to do it. Probably not. When I tell them that Bodypump helps build lean muscle tissue that helps them burn more calories ALL DAY, then they say OH, wow, ok....I gave them the WHY. And what's in it for them? They will start to lean out, the muscle will help burn fat and they will get smaller or more toned. YAY, they now know what they are going to get.

My friends who are diabetic know to take their meds, but why? Because it makes the sugar better. That's not enough. They need to fully understand what happens when the sugar stays elevated. In other words, if they do this, what's in it for them? 

You can't convince someone to do anything, .without telling people what's in it for them. 

Change is hard, getting out of your comfort zone is hard. It's hard because we don't know what to expect.

You have to understand the WHY and what's in it for you. If you know what you are going to get out of it, you are more likely to stick with it! 

I will tell you what to expect, I will tell you why you should do this, I will tell you what's in it for you! 

On the flip side, I had a bit of a tough week too, I was getting down because I see myself on a journey to change the world...or at least help one person at a time. And I have been trying to help several people, and I really think that they are pulling away, because they think it's TOO hard. 

Of course, these are the people that I want to help most, and I guess, this is where Live and let live comes back in. They came to me once, maybe they will come back. And if they do....I will do my best to help them help themselves achieve their goals!! 

Stay with the fight!! B

To my gym rats and fellow instructors.....

 These days of mine are centered around really trying to impact people, and help them, and for those that want me to, great! What I need to realize, is there are some, that are going through the motions, without a real plan in mind.
I ponder, what is their goal? Do they have one?
I see many many people come and go to the gym, and some of them are working SO hard and they are so dedicated!! When I see that, I am just all warm inside.
.......And there are those people that come to class, they exercise, but they don't seem into it. Going through the motions. In my mind, I think, maybe they haven't set a goal, maybe they don't have a plan. They are there because they know they need to be, but maybe they don't really want to be.
As I teach class, I want to be that person, that inspires someone to keep coming and put it ALL ON THE LINE!! Yes, it's hard, yes, you get all nasty and sweaty and look rough afterwards. But that's the greatest part about it!!
If it was easy, everyone would do it! (A league of their own)

So here is why I do it. I do it because after, I feel tired, but in a good way. When I have had a bad day, those who are there to really KICK it, pump me up and change my outlook. I am grateful to have an able body that can do it!
I do it, because there is someone in class who is struggling, they are scared, they know they need to become healthier and this is the starting point. And I smile and encourage them! And one day, maybe they reach a better place and they remember that blond instructor!! I may not know their name, and they may not know mine, but I touched their life. AND that for me, is what makes it all worth it.

A lot goes in to being a fitness instructor, memorizing music, moves, being high energy, even on the days you don't want to, and getting 20 + people to do the same thing. Having the courage to get up in front of those people and be a little goofy and fun, making them sweat and shake it. It's not for everyone. Motivating, coaching, connecting, smiling through pain!!
There are times when people criticize me, and they do, and it really makes me mad,  because they haven 't even tried to teach, or done what I do. I have dedicated a bigpart my life to helping people and there are some that only know how to criticize or be negative

So, for those of you who want more, who come to classes, mine or any other instructors, know that we have dedicated that hour to YOU!!! To help YOU achieve YOUR goals.
We ask only that you give it your best, stay positive and that you remember us, when you get there!! And if you really want it, you will GET THERE!! (a little kind word also goes a long way....)

Be strong and stick with it!!
B

I watched a training video yesterday and it really spoke to me. What is my plan? Do I have one? Not just for a day, not just for  week, but how to live my life on my terms, do what I love and succeed.
The line that spoke to me was essentially this: we get  up, get the kids off, work all day, pick the kids up,  feed them, take them to the sports and then all we look forward to is sitting and watching _____ ( you fill in the blanks). I have been told on numerous occasions how someone will be missing class due to a TV show, like American. Idol. So, here it is, the plan is come home and watch someone else achieve their dreams?
We sit back and watch someone else work hard to get what they want in life? What are we doing to achieve our dreams and make them a reality?

Digging deeper, I want to help people become the best they can be, physically, healthfully. I mean, really, I am a nurse, a mom, a fitness instructor, and now an Advocare rep. I think it's pretty obvious that my entire life revolves around it. I love this part. I love watching someone brave my class and at the end, tell me, that they really had  a good time.I love when my patients call me up and tell me that they are better, and they are back to doing what they wanted, no matter what it is. I love when someone tries my  product and tells me how great they felt and had so much energy that day.

I want to share this, that is my dream and my plan. I want people to commit to a healthy life, to exercise, to look great and feel better!
The hard part for me is those who lack the understanding of the consequences of not doing it. Many do not think it will happen to them, that their health will always be there. Because it won't.
There are many diseases that come from being overweight and sedentary, and they will catch up. A good friend was telling me that her husband would need a wake up call to get going. I find that tough to swallow, because with all the information out there, no one should need the wake up call, because it's inevitable.
HBO did a special on this, called the Weight of a nation, and if every one watched part one, consequences, and then took action, we would have a fitter planet!!

So my plan is tell everyone who will listen, that I want to help them! I want them to succeed, I want them in class, I want them to take the challenge!! BECAUSE.....

More reality...

So, travel is good, we had a lot of fun on our little weekend getaway to Hot Springs, AR. During our trip, there was a lot of time to spend looking at things, the drive was a bit long and since we took the Jeep, without the roof and windows, not easy to have a whole lot of conversations. So, looking around.
In my quest to help people change their lives and their weight, to lose and become healthier, I realized that I am only one person. The big companies are going to be hard to fight.
I am talking about all the billboards, one in particular, Racetrac- Oh yeah, Soda-palooza. 32 oz of your favorite soda for only 49 cents. That works out to 400 calories, about the same as 3 hours of walking, at a moderate pace or for most one Turbo class.
You can sure eat cheap there, 49 cent soda and 99cent hot dog. Yep, $1.50, pretty cheap.
Most people don't realize how many calories they drink, soda, cappucino, Monster, red bull, what ever the poison....beer also!

The calories from the sugar in soda and energy drinks, is what makes it pleasurable, and keeps you coming back for more. Sugar is addictive and it causes the waistline to get bigger!! PERIOD.
Diet drinks are no better, they may not have the sugar calories, but they have the chemicals that give that same feeling of "good". Not to mention, they don't do anything good for us, in fact they probably encourage to eat more since a diet coke is "zero" calories.
The bottom line, the best beverage is water! 70% of our bodies is made of it so it's beneficial. For me, Spark added to water makes it better, because I am infusing b complex and antioxidants to enhance health! I love it, many people have never heard of it.
Texa Tech put out a study that provides a relationship to spark and ADHD improvement in children. Why give kids chemicals and drugs, when you can give them Spark in water, that 's good for them, and has a benefit to help them focus.

Anyway....I observe everyday how people drink loads of calories in addition to food!! Awareness is a good thing, it promotes change! think about it next time to pick up that drink...

Check this out...the big one nearly equals the Racetrac 32 oz...