StaywellMA

As someone who does not participate in gift giving over the Christmas holidays, I am weary of all the marketing and shopping that goes on(StarWars takes the price this year). I have intentionally stayed away from shops and malls for over 2 months now. The last attempt I made to get running tights from Chicago's Water Tower Place  ended up with me being emotionally scared by the sheer volume of people present. So what have I been up to lately? I have been on the road, travelling, visiting friends and family. Choosing to invest in quality time and memories not products.  I've never had a habit of buying presents for my friends and family specifically for Christmas and I don't feel bad about it.  I don't need a holiday to buy gifts.  And if a gift is the only way you expect validation for love, then sorry, not sorry. Christmas = A CHRISTIAN HOLIDAY is about how God sent HIS only Son to earth to become man and to die on the...

It is 3 days until I am officially on Thanksgiving holidays vacation mode*.  Unofficially am already in that state of mind. I need motivation to stay on top of my tasks for the next few days. My Motivation Monday = Music Monday Last night, while watching the AMAs hosted by the fabulous Jenny from the block, I was reminded of some old school favorite songs that always put a smile on my face. It's crazy how much music is pumped out by the industry on a daily basis. And the pressure artists must feel to get public attention and be on top of the charts. How do you stand out from the crowd of many talented artists, all fighting for the same thing. And when you do get to the top like the legendary Celine Dion, how do you stay relevant and maintain cross generational fans? Back in college, Celine Dion was my to go artist to listen to right before a game. From I drove all night , Because you love me , If walls could talk , A New Day has come , To Love you more and etc ...

The U.S Soccer Federation has banned heading for kids 10yrs and under and limited it to only during practice time for those between the ages of 11 - 14yrs old.  This new regulation by the organisation kicks in January 1st 2016 . As an avid player & lover of the game, but also an exercise physiologist, I have very mixed feelings about this. Heading is such an integral part of the game. This is not about improving protective gears like the wearing of shine guards, this is taking away a key component of what distinguishes soccer from other sports. Plus who wants to practice heading for 3 years without being able to use what you are practicing daily in a game? #1. This is an aftermath reaction to a class action lawsuit settlement from some parents in California .       Didn't the parents understand that soccer is a CONTACT sport? As  long as its a contact sports where two or more people have to interact...

For 2015 I spoke a lot about increasing my emphasis on Nutrition because at the end of the day...  " You can't out exercise a bad diet" Another component  I'm looking forward to incorporate in my healthy living journey is emphasis on mental health. Mental health encompasses everything. It goes hand in hand with exercising and nutrition. It accounts for why we have good or bad relationships with food. You cannot "fix" / change the negative lifestyle choice you've been making without addressing what triggers them? Why do you respond to stress with food? Why are you scared of exercising? Why do you have an unhealthy relationship with your body. Why do you Over-exercise And etc I'm not sure what my game plan is at the moment. I already read a lot of self help books and do things like yoga and meditation. All I know is , I want this to become a permanent routine. Right now its seasonal for me. I do a lot of yoga in the winter seaso...

I heard about this "watch" because it was developed here in Boston. It's an electrical device that you use to SHOCK your bad habits away. From eating bad foods, to smoking and etc. As some one who has -100% pain tolerance, I will rather run a marathon for 3 - 4 hrs than shock myself out of eating another Boston dunkin doughnut.  What do you think? Check out this latest interesting innovative product at http://pavlok.com/

My friend decided to put together a book club and the first novel she wants us to tackle is Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. She also sent us a list of questions that were issued by the publishers of the book...for the purpose of book clubs discussions.. .i suppose . Here they are, if you're interested. _____________________________________________ Discussion Questions 1. The first part of Ifemelu’s story is told in flashback while she is having her hair braided at a salon before she returns to Nigeria. Why might Adichie have chosen this structure for storytelling? What happens when the narrator shifts to Obinze’s story? How conscious are you as a reader about the switches in narrative perspective? 2. The novel opens in the Ivy League enclave of Princeton, New Jersey. Ifemelu likes living there because “she could pretend to be someone else, ...someone adorned with certainty” (3). But she has to go to the largely black city of Trenton, nearby, to have her hair ...

It's that time of the year again. Fall Favorite Tag. I  don't  know why I don't do more of these tags but here goes  nothing. Favorite Candle Scent : Currently Blueberry just because  that's what I am burning at the moment. I don't buy candle  scents that I don't like. Favorite  Fall Makeup : This Lipstick from Hikari Favorite Drink : Mighty Leaf Tea - Wild Berry Hibiscus Favorite Thanksgiving Food : Pecan Pie!!! Favorite Fall clothing accessory : My Ralph Lauren  Gloves +5 years and still keeps me warm and cozy 
Haunted house, haunted hay ride, or haunted corn  maze?
 None but if I had to choose, a hay ride. I can always  hijack the car and getaway    (^_-)     Favorite Halloween movie? I hate scary movies 
Favorite candy to eat on Halloween? Kit Kat and  Mounds New Book I discovered What is your Favori...

 I finally completed the sugar challenge. I will be doing more in the future and tweaking other restrictions I want to add to it such as carbs and etc  What I learned in that short time. Meal Prepping is extremely important to prevent making bad food choices. Having ONLY healthy meals/snacks in your home is very important for those random midnight cravings. My only options where apples + cucumbers so I wasnt worried about reaching for something "bad" when I had an episode*. Read labels! Once I started looking out for sugar and paying attention to the grams, it became evident why I workout so hard but cant seem to loose any weight.  I randomly found this palm oil at a store.I thought the packaging and labels ( USDA, ORGANIC, SUPERFOOD, NON-GMO ) where interesting given that palm oil usually gets a bad rep as an unhealthy oil. It seems like something is always being substituted to compensate for taking ou...

Even though I was prepared for day 1, there were still unpredictable moments and temptations that I needed to work through. Breakfast was easy since I typically have a simple meal anyways. Tea  with lemon, no sugar and a granular bar. Some of the sugar challenges say no granular bars, no carbs, no protein powder energy shakes at all. The one I ate (cant remember the brand at the moment) had raisins, and >1g of sugar per serving. It wasn't until later, that I concluded that perhaps I should also cut off granular bars. For snacks I had green grapes and apples. I am okay with eating this because they are more sour than sweet. I will not be eating fruits that are on the sweet side such as banana, pineapples, mangoes and berries. (Sample grocery list. Save Image and enlarge to see prints clearly) Lunch was tricky because I ended up in a friend's home instead of mine. I was able to ransack her fridge and had a small amount of rice with vegetables and eggs. The only...

I failed my first sugar challenge *sad face* The Issue - I was NOT prepared. I didn't do my grocery shopping in time nor my homework. So What Now?  I'm giving it another go! The initial challenge I had planned to participate in was with the YMCA for 21 days. But, I have decided to broaden the scope and select from a wider range of challenges. I want to start small with a 5 day challenge and work my way up to a 30 days challenge someday so it's not too overwhelming. We are surrounded by so much sugar. It's in everything. This challenge is meant to " Flush " , " Jump Start " " Cleanse " my system. It don't think its feasible nor healthy to 100% cut -off sugar. As I always say, everything in moderation. Here are a couple of cool websites related to quitting sugar I will be using as resources and references Kate Quits Sugar Fit Men Cook Sugar Challenge Fed Up Challenge Shopping List ...

....or if you're like me,  cure your grumpiness of the new weather  with a cup of  black coffee  pumpkin spice latte. I can't believe it's getting darker really early and also getting colder. Either way, Fall is here to stay. Along with the new season, I am experiencing a handful of "news" in my personal life.  Bare with me as I transition into a new apartment with zero furniture and etc. I have no where to install my desk top at the moment. But that's not a priority right now because I haven't installed internet yet. Thank God for DVDs and Books from my local library. Those have been my source of entertainment during this time.  What are we going to do when the world eventually decides to be 100% wireless? My upcoming blog posts will be about a Sugar challenge and a Bare & Tone class am  currently taking. Have a Bonne Week  xoxo

This summer, more than before I spent way too much time around water. From pools to lakes, beaches and small ponds. I was always either symbolically getting cleansed, metaphorically drowning my problems in the vastness of it all or coming to grips of how little my 1st world problems where compared to the world's. I can't believe summer is over and it's "BACK TO SCHOOL" September. As we move into Beautiful and Scenic FALL followed by a dreading winter, I will be holding on to these memories to keep me going until next time