ABOUT ME

   First, thank you for visiting my site!  I hope that you find something here that inspires you to cook, explore your area, get outside, or move.  Second, I'm not chef or personal trainer...just someone who loves to cook & workout.

    There are three things I love: exercising, eating, & efficiency.  The first two may seem at odds with each other, but when combined in a supportive way, I believe they can be a powerful tool in living a healthier, happier life.  

   Rather than follow a lifestyle of healthy eating & regular exercise, it seems to me that many people fall into a cycle of eating unhealthily & not exercising, to strictly dieting & exercising too much.  Neither of those lifestyles produce an outcome I have ever wanted for myself, & neither seem to make anyone very happy.  When I was a teenager, my maternal grandparents died of diet-related diseases: colon cancer & heart disease.  This had an immeasurable effect on how I have lived my life.  I strive to live my life according to very simple principles which I used as the title for my blog.

MOVE.  

   If I am able to move my body, then I should!  Our bodies are meant to move, not to sit on the couch, in cars, or in front of the television/computer (guilty right now) all day long!  There are plenty of studies linking physical activity to better physical, emotional, & psychological health.  Plainly put, I feel better if I move.  If I don't, I feel tired, cranky, & gross.  Health is the most undervalued aspect of our lives until we lose it.  The day may come that moving is a challenge or impossible.  Until then, I plan to move everyday in a way that will maintain & protect my body.

   By move, I don't mean join a gym. Go for a walk, take a dance class, do yoga, go hiking, go swimming, ride a bike, play catch...do whatever is fun for you!  If you like the gym, by all means go there, but a gym is not necessary for staying in great physical health.  I haven't worked out in a gym for over a year & I'm in the best shape of my life thanks to free workouts from Bodyrock.tv.

EAT HEALTHY.

  We are what we eat.  The molecules in our food become the molecules in our bodies, so why eat garbage?  I love cookies, pizza, donuts, & sweet potato fries, but I hate the way I feel if I eat them.  Of course I do eat those things occasionally, but most days I choose foods that will benefit my body rather than harm it.  I have never been a fan of diets, but recently I read "Eat Right For Your Type," which is a book about the relationship between blood type & food.  The basic premise is that we do not all process food equally, & our blood type is what causes the difference.  For example, what is good for someone with blood type O may be bad for someone with blood type A,B, or AB.  I decided to try it out after reading positive testimonials from sources other than the author's website.   There are many critics & skeptics of the author's theory, & even I am not totally sure it's true.  However, after following my blood type guidelines for four months, I love how I feel.  I plan to keep eating this way. When I eat food that is beneficial for me, my skin is more clear, less hair falls out each day, I'm more alert, & I have more energy.  My pants are looser & I've lost a few pounds without changing my food portions, too.

  You don't have to follow a special diet to eat healthy; all you need is common sense.  If you mostly buy food from the periphery of the grocery store, that's a great place to start.  The aisles are full of food with chemicals, additives, & genetically modified ingredients.  The periphery has produce, dairy, & meat.  Of course, those items can also be full of unhealthy additives, but it is easier to see what you are buying.  If you really want to buy the best food for yourself, choose organic, grain-fed, or sustainable whole foods.  Buy food that that your great-great grandparents would recognize as edible if they were alive today.  Read labels.  Avoid products with long ingredient lists, ambiguous ingredients, & added fat/sugar.  If your budget is tight, then get the best that you can afford.  Your health is worth it!  

LIVE BETTER.

I believe that the two points above each improve quality of life significantly.  I hope this doesn't sound self-helpish or preachy, but here are some things that have made my life better (I'm not saying they will do that for you, but who knows...).  

• If you are in debt, do everything you can to get out of it.
• Live below your means.
• Save money out of every paycheck, even if it is only $1.
• Think before you buy.  Are new jeans/shoes/video game worth the x hours you have to work to earn enough money after tax to buy them?
• Instead of movies & lunch, try to be active with friends.  Golf, hike, bike ride, ski, canoe, run, play volleyball, dance, play tennis, etc,.
• Take the time to prepare your own meals.  It takes extra time, but costs less in calories & money than eating out in the long run.
• Get organized; it will save you time.  If you don't know where to start, type "get organized" into your favorite search engine & go from there.
• Forgive the people in your life who you feel made bad choices or wronged you.  Whatever they did or did not do will not change with harbored resentment.  If you forgive them, you may be able to move past something negative & be free of it.
• The only thing you truly have control over is your attitude.  
• If you are unhappy with a situation, change how you interact with it.  That is the only change you have control over.
• Celebrate the differences in your family members, friends, & coworkers.  Don't try to change someone; most likely you would not like that done to you.
• No one else is responsible for your happiness or success.
• If someone can teach it, you can learn it.
• No one can read your mind.  Tell people how you feel & what you expect.
• Take vacations whenever you can!  
• Listen when people talk with you; don't just wait for your turn to talk.  
• If someone is telling you about a problem they are facing, don't offer advise unless they ask for it.  
• Slow down.  
• Plan, but not so much that you miss what is happening right now.
• Floss & stretch every single day.
• If you smoke, find a way to quit.  If you don't want to quit, keep your smoke away from everyone else.  Second hand smoke exposure causes lung cancer just as much as directly smoking does. 
• Never stop learning.

Here's a video of me doing burpees & looking like a fool in public last summer...I hope my form has improved since then! 

What's with the beach picture background on this food & workout themed blog?  
I took that picture in Hawaii on my honeymoon.  Whenever I see the picture, I remember exactly where I was, how I felt, & what I was doing.  It was sunny, the sand was scorching hot, I was happy, relaxed, & was wandering the shoreline taking pictures with my new camera.  How does it relate?  The picture reminds me of the calm happiness I had in that moment.  When I take care of my body,  I imagine that my life is a little more harmonious...like I'm bringing the feeling from the beach to my daily life.  Silly?  Maybe.  If nothing else, it's a pretty picture!

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