Spread the word.

Spread the word, this is not acceptable.

       I stumbled upon the link above while on facebook, my friend who has been on a long weight loss/ healthy living journey posted it. I was mortified to see what the 60's and barbie did to the children and teens who struggled with weight problems. My favorite part of the article is pointing out key things that we as people do not look at. Barbie would not menstruate, Barbies proportions are so skewed that she would need to walk on all fours, and her B.M.I. classifies her as anorexic. Yet, for some unknown reason, it was made clear to people that this was the ideal. She came with a scale that was set at 110 lbs, she also came with a way to lose weight which instructed, "just don't eat." How is this remotely acceptable? How did people not boycott this? How is it that too this day, we purchase these dolls for children, and give them a figure of what, despite our intention, is ideal? I, for one, would not want my daughter to feel like if she did not look this way, then she is overweight, or not normal. I look at my beautiful nieces and think to myself, "I want them to grow up to be healthy, strong, smart, and independent thinking." I do not want to see them struggle as I have, but luckily my sister keeps them active, doing things they enjoy, and she is teaching them to eat healthy. I would never want either of them to feel like they are not accepted because they are not a size double zero.
     Barbie is described as a full-figure woman, you show me a normal sized woman that looks like this and I will pay you ten dollars. I seriously wish, that one day, we can look at people and realize not one person is built the same as another. People will always be different weights, different heights, and have different body builds, but what really makes each of us special, is what we are on the inside. Its not about the size I wear, or the amount of money I have that makes me worth while, it's about what I do for others, what I do to improve other peoples lives and what I can offer intellectually. Appearances fade, looks do not last forever, but personality will last a lifetime. So what I ask of everyone who is reading this, next time you look at someone and think to yourself, "Omg, that is so disgusting" or "They are so lazy." Take a second, remember that no one is perfect, and consider that maybe, just maybe, they are the most amazing person you could ever know, and if they are alone, or look out of place, why not take a second to possibly make yourself a new friend. You never know what one act of kindness towards another can do, you may have just made their day.

Thanks for reading....

Peace, love, and happiness.

Rocky.

Juicing, easy or hard.

Today I made a decision, I am going to start juicing for snacks. My dad was nice enough to give me a juicer, but I am noticing it is overheating, I think I am doing something wrong. Despite all my problems so far, I managed to juice carrots, celery, and 2 apples. It made a nice 16 oz glass of juice. Honestly, the taste is something I am going to have to get use too, its not sweet and I can taste more celery than anything. I do want to get to the store at some point and get some more veggies and fruits to make me some drinks. That's on my to-do list this week. For now, I believe I have enough to survive a few days. I like my juice on ice, I have never really liked anything that was room temperature. I have seen some great successes from people that have juiced. I do not plan on only drinking juice, I plan on incorporating juice in my daily diet. I figure one juice a day is a great start. Plus I will be getting lots of fruits and veggies into my diet as well. I am going to hit the ground running with this. No more excuses, no more tomorrow. It starts today. Today is my day. I will not fail.

Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. Before I go on I would like to personally say that even though on this one day we make it apparent that we are thankful, that doesn't mean I don't feel that year round. This year, Justin's Mothers birthday fell on Thanksgiving, so we are going there after I eat dinner at my aunts house. Since we decided early on to cook our own meal this year, I bought all of the things I needed for dinner and then for dessert as well. This is my first year attempting to make a pumpkin pie. Here is the before picture:

I was extremely nervous, again this being my first time. But 55 minutes later, I took this out of the oven.

I would say my Pumpkin Pie is a success but the true test will be taste, and I will not know that until later. Holidays are crazy for weight loss, but I just keep telling myself that this cannot and will not ruin the rest of my month. Progress is progress. My mind is my biggest tool. Weight loss this week, has been at a slow rate, mostly due to the family stuff I have been doing, and the not getting my exercise in, but that will change. Friday is a new day. But for now, I will enjoy family, friends, and good food. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Peace, love, and Happiness.

Rocky

Times are changing and so am I.

Today I realized something, the older I get, the more I need to do something for myself. Honestly speaking, this is a new concept for me, not because of anyone in particular, but because its in my nature to help everyone but myself. Have you ever stood in front of a mirror, and saw someone so completely different then what is actually there. I know I need to lose weight, its no secret, but for some reason I do not see the obese person that people see. I see a fun, vivacious, outgoing, loving, and kindhearted person staring back at me. There is something to be said about the saying "beauty is in the eye of the beholder." I mean how else can I see something so completely different, while everyone sees something else. My goal at the end of this journey, which I have several, are as follows:

1. run a marathon
2. get a head to toe make over
3. buy an entire new wardrobe
4. go rock climbing
5. go camping/white water rafting/mountain climbing

and....

go on a long overdue vacation with the love of my life.

I have been researching tons of techniques, some a little crazy, some that I cannot possibly fathom at this point, and some that seems do-able. I have a nifty app on my phone that allows me not only to track exercises I have done throughout the day, but it allows to me to also schedule workouts, and log food that I have eaten daily. It also provides me a weight loss graph to follow, in which I provide my current weight, and my goal weight, and also asks me to specify how much weight weekly I would chose to lose. It then customizes everything for me! It tells me how many calories I can eat daily, shows me recommended values and simplifies it to green, yellow, and red foods. (It also provides you with calorie amounts and a search if you are unsure) Then it tells you, based on your input, approximately how many calories you should burn exercising in a week, then it takes all of the inputs and calculates what should have been lost for the week. (Of course, I must be honest to ensure accuracy) Once the week is out and I do my official scale weigh-in, I update the weight, and it adjusts my total as necessary. It also provides a week to week graph showing the differences and the weight I have left to lose. It seems very easy to use.

Food is the problem, at least for myself. I love foods that I shouldn't, not saying I won't eat fruit or veggies, but I prefer fat filled foods and sweets. This is something I believe dates back to my childhood. I wasn't introduced to proper foods. No I am not saying my mother only gave me junk, I just feel like she didn't push it on me either. Luckily, my sister, who is probably one of my best friends as well, has made getting healthy easy. She made sure I had everything I need to get started, and to be honest I cannot thank her enough.

Another issue I have is preparing the food. I am so use to fast foods, either out and about or even at home. The microwave is easier to use than portioning out my foods and cooking them myself. This is something I must work on, but I have faith I can succeed.

Working out, let me ask you, how do you fit it into your routines, how do you make it work? I guess that will come in time. Right now, I am focused on moving off of the couch and getting myself into shape. Updates to come, my full on diet starts on Monday! Keep a look out for an update.

Until next time...
peace, love, and happiness,

Rocky.