You know what watching the Biggest Loser makes me want to do?

It makes me want to RUN, JUMP, LEAP, DO Push ups and Squats!  

It makes me want to do better and workout more!

It’s January and BL is the motivation I need to get my rear in gear to change my life – one day – one push up – one sit up – at a time.

Let’s do it together!

I won’t even tell you about my lagging motivation these past months, but I will make a promise…

I promise to workout tomorrow morning before going to work or cleaning the house or doing errands – no excuses!

In the tradition of this blog, my favorite Biggest Loser quotes from last night:

That’s fake pukin’.  If I don’t see your dinner coming out of your mouth, then that’s fake pukin’.  ~Bob

I don’t want to see one tear…oh no no no.  ~Bob

Fight, everday, fight.  ~Bob

No excuses.  ~Bob and Dolvett

So, if this is the season of no excuses, then grab your favorite InPerspire Fitness towel and hit the gym, the road, the trail, your living room floor (wherever you do your exercise) and just do it!

My motivation tomorrow:

Happy Wednesday!

We began the year on New Year’s Eve with a tornado in our neighborhood; I fell ill in September/October and was out sick until November (whatever it was that made me so sick – it remains undiagnosed – but was possibly a tick related disease  (yes, the insect, although I guess they’re technically a spider) really knocked me for a loop; and then my dad’s heart broke (that’s my way of saying he had a heart attack).  He is okay, but it sure put everything into perspective.

So I took a little break from our blog, but I missed it so…

Now I am ready to write again.  I thought I would write once a week in the coming year – that seems like a good and do-able goal.

I like to “theme” things, so I was thinking I could focus on a “Heart Healthy Year” and then my dad can read the articles and recipes posted here and make sure his heart remains strong…because we love him so.

I will continue writing about fitness as our wonderful friend Jody at Truth 2 Being Fit continues to do on a daily basis (thank you Jody!), and also about vegetarianism/veganism and the beautiful project called the Farm Sanctuary.

Goodness, there is SO much to write about, where do I start?

Let me start by simply saying to all our InPerspire friends, we missed you!  We hope you are doing well and are happy!

To all our friends and family, we wish you a very, very Happy New Year.  We wish you love and peace and hope that we can be a part of those wishes!

I heard this wonderful interview with Maurice Sendak on NPR yesterday.  He talks about many things, but his words about life as we age were very meaningful to me.  I thought sharing the link would be the only right and proper thing to do .  You can listen to the interview or read the transcript.  Jimmy didn’t get to hear it so we are listening to it together tonite.

Much love,

If you are like me and have suddenly found (or realized) that you are really, really busy, in fact you are so busy that the words tranquility and insight aren’t really familiar terms any longer, then you might find this post helpful.  Let me start by defining tranquility and insight .

Tranquil: free from agitation of mind or spirit; tranquility: the state of being tranquil.

Insight: a chance or the power to understand the inner nature of things.

Why are tranquility and insight important?  A beautifully written article by Dr. Evan Finklestein for Elephant Journal summed it up perfectly:

If you develop tranquility, what benefit can you expect?  Your mind will develop.

The benefit of a developed mind is that you are no longer a slave to your impulses.

If you develop insight, what benefit will it bring? You will find wisdom.

And the point of developing wisdom is that it brings you freedom from the blindness of ignorance.

These few sentences brought clarity.  If you are in a similar state…they may ring true to you too.  Read and think and perhaps tranquility and insight can be found.

You can read the rest of The Buddha’s Medition by clicking on the link.

Have a beautiful Tuesday,

By the way, you might be wondering just how hot it is in St. Louis…well…it’s so hot I saw the squirrels fanning their nuts (yes, I just wrote that – I heard Letterman use it in his monologue last year, but there’s not time like the present to roll it out this year)!

I made a recipe card that you can hopefully just print off and cut out.  Enjoy!

but it’s harder for those of us with a more varied diet to know what to eat to be our healthiest.  It can be even more confusing when meat is eliminated from our diets.  This vegan food pyramid/plate makes getting the right proportions much easier and much clearer.

This pyramid comes to us from Vegan Peace.  If you click on the pyramid you can get a larger version or pdf to print off to put on your wall and keep your healthy 24/7.

See, Mom, we can be vegetarian/vegan and get all the vitamins and minerals we need!

Enjoy your Meatless Monday – one day a week without meat – it’s easy!

P.S.  The ChooseMyZombiePlate.Gov comes from Boing Boing.  If you click on the plate image or the link it will take you to the page.  You know, Ijust  love funny things about Zombies (because Zombies are so unfunny and this image just made me laugh and laugh.

This ‘Fitness Fun’ is brought to you by FitSugar:

1)  Lie on your back and make sure your abs are engaged and your spine is neutral.

2)  Straighten both your legs to a 90-degree angle from your torso, feet parallel to the floor with soles facing the ceiling (see picture). Put your hands behind your ears — not the back of your head or neck, or you may risk straining your neck as you do the move — and pull your chin in toward your chest, fixing your gaze on your belly button.

3)  Once you’re in position, it’s time to start doing crunches (make sure you round your spine and keep your belly button in as you pull up.

4)  Lower one leg until it is a few inches from the floor (the lower the leg, the harder the exercise, so if you find it’s too difficult, raise the lower leg a little higher).  Make sure to point your toes in the same direction your leg is pointed like the picture below. The other leg should stay at the same up-pointed position. Do five more crunches at this position.

5)  Switch legs and do five more crunches with the opposite leg now lowered.

6)  Rest for 30 to 60 seconds and then repeat the exercise again two or three times.

Do these moves and you’re guaranteed to feel the burn — in a good way .

Lotsa,

Have a Healthful and Happy Tuesday!

P.S.  Yesterday I was thinking it would be less pressure for everyone if there wasn’t a place to comment, but then several people said they like the option, so in my efforts to go with the flow (and change my  mind frequently and randomly) comments are back on!

If you haven’t noticed yet…I’ve got the fever…the summertime fever…honestly, all I want to do is play!  Alas, I still have to work , so I thought I would simplify our blog (lives) for a while.

I will post a few times a week on whatever strikes my fancy: new workout trends, recipes, Meatless Monday, Walk for Farm Animal updates, etc., but there will be no comments required (I want to simplify your life too – I’m all about takin’ it easy these days). 

You can still contact me/us (see the new Contact Us tab just below the header) if you have questions or need anything.  We are only a “send” button away!

So…Happy Summer & Happy Meatless Monday (if you are going to any state fairs today, be sure to go meatless which most likely means you will be eating Funnel Cake – one of nature’s not so natural, but truly delicious foods).

Jillian Michaels, America’s other favorite trainer, sat down with Jamie to find out how the revolution is going.  You can read the entire interview on Everyday Health.  Here is an excerpt from the interview:

JM: I can only imagine, and I must admit that I have personally found it incredibly frustrating that the American government, on every level, has yet to pass policy that is truly helpful in providing adequate physical education and making healthy food accessible to kids in our schools. I can only imagine how frustrating this must be for you, but with that said, what solutions or steps can you offer to parents so they can protect the health of their child?

JO: Parents need to get educated about the issues and get involved. They can start by learning to cook a few simple dishes at home, so their kids get familiar with real food made from scratch. They can teach the children to make better choices — don’t pick the chocolate milk. It’s white milk only. And then they can start hooking up with other people in their community who are care about the same things. The Food Revolution Facebook communities are incredible groups of local people sharing stories and working together to improve school food, and the health of their kids.

JM: As I am sure you are well aware, for many Americans times are extremely tough. Do you have any tips for eating healthfully on a budget?

JO: Absolutely. Some of the best food I have ever eaten comes from some of the poorest places I’ve visited. The difference is that in those communities, cooking skills are still passed down and everyone knows how to cook. So that’s the first thing. Learn a few recipes for some inexpensive healthy dishes. Start with an omelette, it’s a beautiful dish, and eggs are very cost-effective. Add salad greens into your life. Or a little spinach wilted in a hot pan with a little olive oil and garlic. These aren’t hard things to do and don’t cost a fortune. Try to buy only things where you can actually identify what the ingredients are — ingredients that might have been found in your grandma’s cupboard. Big stores in America are trying to do the right thing, and bring more fresh food, to more people for a fair price. That’s the only way we’re going to be able to make change. Big business has to decide that it’s good business to have healthy customers. And we can help them do that by making different choices. If you stop buying processed foods, they will stop selling them.

JM: If you could make over America’s kitchens, what three things would you immediately toss? What three would you add in?

JO: I’d toss everything that looks like it was made in science lab and add in salads.

Take a minute to check out Jillian’s and Jamie’s websites – they are inspirational and filled with great tips for healthy living.

Have a beautiful Wednesday!