Reiki Level 3

So excited to do my Reiki Level 3 Healing workshop next week! I can then continue on and practice at a practitioners level. Cant wait to continue on helping others to heal……. #mylifeswork #meanttobe #healinglight

Maximum Achievment by Brian Tracy

So i have started reading this new book that was recommended to me called Maximum Achievment by Brian Tracy. Now i had never heard of Brian Tracy so did not know of his work or his fame in this area. So i took the recommendation and ordered it on Chapters, collected my book last night and today on my lunch began the journey into some more knowledge on self discovery and reaching my ‘Maximum Achievment’ .

As i am moving to Edmonton soon with my other half and i am happily finishing up the job i have worked the last two years in (like a DRONE) i might add i have been really gaining my inner power to really try and reach my maximum and not let myself be limited by my own doing or others doing for that matter, which i feel i have let myself do for the last 2 years in this job, i have squashed my intelligence, creativity and power…but NO MORE!

So i wanted to share with you some of the already inspiring words that i have gotten from this book and i am not even 20 pages in……Needless to say i am more than excited to keep reading…

Peace of mind is central to your very existence. It is the basic precondition for enjoying everything else.

I learned that if i didn’t commit to achieving my own happiness, no one else would. If my aim in life was only to make others happy, i would always be at the mercy of the feelings of others, whoever they might be.

If you achieve all kinds of things in the material world but lose your health and piece of mind, you get little or no pleasure from your other accomplishments.

How much two people, or a family, laugh together is the surest single measure of how well things are going. When a relationship is truly happy, people laugh alot when they’re together.

Life…..from the voice of Rocky Balboa…love this one

Life.....from the voice of Rocky Balboa...love this one

“When Things got hard, you started looking for something to blame. Like a Big Shadow.
Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it…

You’ve gotta hit as hard as life. It ain’t about how hard you hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much can you take and keep moving forward? That’s how winning is done.

If you know what you’re worth, Go out and Get What Your Worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hits. And not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you wanna be because of him or her or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain’t you. You’re better than that.”

Be Food Aware…….NOT Food Beware….

So something I would like to address and I think we all have the same issue…..Going out to eat!!! Dun Dun Dun, every ‘dieters’ nightmare, around here we don’t live by ‘diets’….we live by healthy eating and living (which actually has better benefits and long term weight loss) so let me tell you there is savvy ways of eating out. Sure don’t get me wrong I love having a burger and chips/fries when I am out but unfortunately my body doesn’t like it all of the time…so let me tell you some tips on “Be Food Aware…NOT Food Beware’.

Everyone expert will tell you…’Choose the Salad’…well sometimes you don’t want a salad…especially if you eat them a lot and you are out for a fun meal with friends or partner.. so opt for:

· Salmon Burger/Chicken Breast Burger/Turkey Burger: (Ask if the chicken is grilled/steamed)

– hold the fries and ask for salad on the side

– ask for half salad and half fries

– hold the bun on burger

Your regular burger and chips can pack in anywhere from 700 – 1100 calories PER meal, and upwards of 30-70g Fat, unwanted amount of sugar and salt :O , shocking amount! Vegi and Meat eaters alike!

· Stir-Fry / Chicken / Prawn / Salmon (Ask if they are fried and in what oil)

-Ask for brown rice if option

– Ask for more vegetables and less noodle

· Soup – Be careful – some soups are laced with Salt and Sugar and cream

-Ask if soup is made in house, usually less preservatives (salt), if any cream was used to make it

-Ask for wholegrain bread or crackers with you soup instead of thick soda bread or white bread

-Ask for side green salad with your soup instead of bread or get the salad, you may not eat as much bread as vegi’s are filling!

· Don’t be fooled by Sandwich’s/Wraps/Flatbreads on a menu- they can sometimes be just as high fat,calorie,sugar as a burger if not more sometimes (450-650 cals, 6-15 g fat avg):

– Wholegrain bread, Ezekial Bread….If you can

– An Open Sandwich (1 Piece of bread, instead of two), Take off the second piece and eat with one

– Choose lean cold meats, turkey, chicken, tuna, or eggs/egg whites or vegi options

– Watch out for hidden cheese/or ask for lower fat cheese, e.g. low fat mozzarella/cottage/low fat cheddar/goats cheese ( to put it in perspective, about 12-15g fat on average cheese sandwich, 6g SATURATED)

– Watch out for Mayo, Chipotle, Pesto, Butter, – hidden additions, ask for lower alternative or none.

· Pasta Dish’s- The creamy one’s – Alfredo/ Carbonara / Lasagna – As a lot yummy pasta dishes are packed with cream, butter and cheese let me shed some light:

– These are high calorie and fat dishes, each one can pack about 500-700 Cals per serving

– Ask for kids size portion, the pasta is filling and so is the sauce, we don’t need that much food and on a kids plate you will feel like it’s enough

– Ask your server for a little less Sauce on the pasta

-Ask for a side salad of greens, it will fill you and you probably won’t eat as much of the pasta.

· Steak/Red Meats – They are all a little more high fat/high cholesterol

– Ask for just the vegi’s with the meat and none or less of the Carbs, red meat/steak is filling

-Ask for the steak with to be grilled or seared in Extra Virgin Olive Oil instead of vegetable oil or fried

– Ask for the sauce on the side instead of having it pre-poured on the steak before it comes to your table, you control the sauce portion then.

A Note on Dressings:

Dressings on salad are often forgotten about or deceiving, a lot of them time we don’t think about them because we are ‘eating a salad’ so it seems healthy, they more often than not, are laced with salt and sugar and don’t get me started on those like ‘ranch’, ‘honey mustard’ or ‘chipotle’ . So some tips:

– Ask for your dressing on the side – You control the portion then

– Ask for no dressing but Extra Virgin Olive oil on the side and squeeze a lemon, it is good for you and a delicious combo on a salad with some black pepper

– If it is those creamy dips that come with your food, then ask for it on the side – Portion Control.

These are all tips that can be transferred to any type of restaurant, it is about thinking about your body and still being able to indulge and have fun. They can be transferred to your own cooking as well at home. We are all capable of making changesJ.

I went for dinner and a drink with my Bessie and Roomie after work last night to watch the Canucks playoffs game, believe me the menu was yummy: I opted for:

A seafood fruit Salad (prawns and an in house made CrabCake) with dressing on the side, didn’t need most it with a lovely glass of Red Wine. A followed this with some hot water and lemon! Mmmm! Go nucks! J

Daily Inspiration……

So i have come to LOVE Affirmations and daily inspirations….so much so that i have an app that gives you these wonderful affirmations as soon as you open it making you feel like a total super hero before you have even had your breakfast and making me feel like the wonderful, amazing person i am. They are great, i instantly get an injection of positive non judgmental self esteem from them.

I have seen coming from Ireland particularly that there is a total stigma surrounded by positive reinforcement of self affirmations such as saying ‘i am amazing’ ….its is picked up as ‘ego’ or ‘big-headed’ when really if you are coming from a non egotistical place and a place of total acceptance and love for yourself and others then saying ‘I AM AMAZING‘ or ‘I AM LOVED AND CAN LOVE’ or ‘I HAVE THE POWER IN ME TO DO ANYTHING’ should be totally acceptable. I reckon maybe if people said this a bit more to themselves along with thousands of positive other non-ego affirmations we wouldn’t have so much pain, hate, jealousy, greed, depression, melancholy, spitefulness, hurt, poverty, hunger, gloom, conformity, self hatred, low self esteem, along with a whole barrel load of things that these spur…..eating disorders, addictions, cancers, dis-ease’s, confusion.

I know this as a person that had a mild eating disorder and then subsequently was never comfortable with my own body, constantly saying in my mind how much i hated it, wish i had someone else’s or how it was never good enough. That mixed with anxiety, fear, bottled up anger, doubt and total confusion i was a right mess. I have since recently in the last few months/year had a wonderful movement into self appreciation and self love for the beautiful body i was given and want to give it the best clean nutrition and health and balance i can and love and acceptance for my skills and gifts that i hold.

I am no-more saying i am not good enough or i cannot do this because or its …..fault i feel like this or i hate my body, its such a mean thing to say to yourself, think about it….If someone said to you ‘I hate your body’ ..or ‘You really suck at that’..how hurt would you be….hurt enough to say Shut the ****** up anyway, well then why would you let yourself say it and hurt yourself….see….doesn’t make sense. I have only realized this recently and so Everyday i look at myself in the mirror and say “I Love you” and i mean it, everyday i think about the wonderful things i can do or will achieve, i try and give myself love and give it to others without conditions or judgment, i stopped feeling guilty about the past or worrying too much about the future and Affirmations have helped this. I listen to them, i read them, i watch them being done in the form of good deeds to others and im so not joking they are working….i have started to see myself physically differently, of course im sure there will be days where i need it more than others…and hey there is always room for self growth, learning new skills, succeeding in sports or a job or working hard and learning to be done….but for now its not about the Ego attached to them, its about saying i really Love and Accept myself and not to let others stand in the way of that.

So i wanted to share my daily inspirations with you and the story about why i find them so beneficial….

This is from the app that makes you think so positively about YOU…. 😀

A good and harder lesson to learn than i thought….

Let the haters hate….it doesn’t effect you, its their problem, not your’s.
Concentrate on love.

Some Dishspiration….can i say that? :P

Some Healthy Dish Inspiration…..Get your vegi’s

Some Healthy Dish Inspiration

If you find that when you think of vegetables or ‘Healthy’ dish’s what comes to your mind is a plate of lettuce or a plate or steamed soggy vegetables then let me give you some healthy options and exciting inspiration for your meals….think outside the box…it’s more fun out there 😉

Turkey/Chicken Taco Lettuce Wraps

For a lighter alternative to taco shells try these lettuce taco wraps. Add your favourite toppings like low fat cheddar, natural yoghurt, chives, tomatoes or whatever you like on your tacos. Making your own taco seasoning is a healthier alternative to buying packaged taco seasoning, and uses less sodium, no sugar, no preservatives and no msg.

Ingredients:

1.3 lbs 99% lean ground turkey or lean chicken mince

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp salt (optional)

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 small onion, chopped

2 tbsp bell pepper, chopped

Chopped Spinach

1 Jalapeno

Homemade Salsa / Organic Salsa/ Homemade Tomato Sauce

Half Avocado

6 large lettuce leaves from Iceberg lettuce

Directions:

Brown turkey/chicken in a large skillet. When no longer pink add dry seasoning and mix well. Add onion, pepper, spinach, Salsa/Homemade Tomato Sauce and cover. Simmer on low for about 10 minutes.

Wash and dry the lettuce. Place meat in the centres of leaf and top with cherry tomatoes, sliced avocado, black pepper, small pieces of jalapeno, small amount of grated lower fat cheese (optional) and salsa, small dollop of natural yoghurt(if you have made it spicy) or whatever you prefer and enjoy….mmmmm, should serve two people or one huuungry person.

Stuffed Roasted Peppers with Quinoa and Pesto Mozza

These are delicious with grilled chicken breast or a very lean steak, they are filling, contain both vegie and complex carbs components, very quick and easy to make.

2 Bell Peppers (any colour choice)
1small onion
Cherry tomatoes
1 glove of garlic
Spinach
Pesto
Low Fat Mozzarella
Pepper
Quinoa

Place Quinoa in pot and bring to boil, turn down and let simmer until water is absorbed. In a pan drizzle small amount of olive oil and soften chopped onions, peppers, tomatoes, spinach. Crush garlic into pan with vegi’s. Cut heads of peppers, drizzle tiny amount of olive oil on and place on roasting dish and in oven and pre roast for 5 mins. Mix cooked quinoa and vegi’s in bowl with teaspoon of pesto and black pepper. Remove peppers and stuff with quinoa/vegi mix, place slice of mozza on top and back into oven, cook for 10 minutes until pepper is soft and mozza is melted. DELISH with scrambled egg whites.

Beety Salad

This is yummy instead of your plain old salad….maybe some things you don’t always put into your salad…try it J

Freshly boiled beetroot
Half Avocado
Spring Onion
Tomatoes
Fresh Mozzarella
Spinach
Chickpeas (canned or otherwise)
Arugula or any other lettuce leaves
Chopped almonds
Dried Cranberries
Asparagus
1 Carrot

Dressing

Olive Oil
Balsamice Vinegar
Black Peppper
Squeeze of Lemon

Toss the spinach and arugula(lettuce of choice) together, mix in chopped almonds and cranberries, chop sprint onions, slice mozza thinly, dice beetroot, avocado and tomatoes, place on salad. Griddle asparagus to soften with drizzle of olive oil. In small jar mix the dressing ingredients and drizzle over salad….mmmmm too yummy with some tuna or grilled halibut.

Roasted Vegi/Chicken/Quinoa Casserole

This is hefty/vegi heart warming dish that used little additives but still gets the bulkiness of a filling dinner.

Chicken Breast/Turkey Breast
Carrots
Spinach
Broccoli
Peppers
Large Tomatoes
Garlic
Onion
Aubergine
Kale
Rosemary
Quinoa
Mozzarella Grated
Wholegrain bread crumbs

Cook off diced chicken in little olive oil, cook up the Quinoa, soften, cookies vegi’s till a little softened, mix chicken, veg, herbs, pepper, plac e in baking dish, mix breadcrumbs/quinoa/grated mozza together and scatter on top, drizzle small bit of olive oil and bake, let topping crisp ….mmmm warm and hearty!

Chicken and Vegi soup

Breast of Chicken
Carrot
Celery
Broccoli
Pepper
Garlic
Pepper
Mix herbs
Parsley
Kale

Classic easy dish to make, easy way to get some vegetable’s in without losing the nutrition in the water and you will be drinking the water in the soup. Filling and lovely on a cold day or you want some comforting, have a bowl of this with some smoked salmon roll-ups and melon…. Mmmm.

Cook off diced chicken, chop vegetables, cook in large pot with herbs, when veg soft, blend up to your liking and add back chicken in!!! Eat away….

Dressing:….

If you do already have your own signature favourite salad, think about what dressing you are putting on..…a lot of dressings contain of sugar including those low fat one’s… don’t ruin your healthy meal with a sugar filled dressing.

Make your own salad dressing…..

Balsamic Vinegar/Malt vinegar

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Black Pepper

Garlic Seasoning

Teeny bit of Pesto

Squeeze of Lemon

Shake it all around….OH MY ….DELISH drizzled on your salad J

So think outside the box oh how to get those vegi’s into you, don’t over cook and don’t over dress 🙂

Inspiration for you busy people…..exercise and health is ME time….

Keeping the inspiration alive….

So with the inspiration from a lovely friend of mine I am writing this piece too, as she said to me ‘write me something to inspire me Emma’… and she had also mentioned of an article she had read which I have also included should you fancy a gander.

http://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/michelle-obama-and-health-care

So for inspiration and motivation I am going to centre on what Michelle Obama speaks about in this Women Health article (which is doing it for yourself, your time/me time) as my friend had said that with everything she reads or see’s this was one article in particular was one that stood out to her and made her really think about exercise in a different and positive way. So if you find that other methods of motivation to get your going havn’t worked for you then maybe this will.

So ladies (or gents), clear your mind…. And think about how you have come to this decision that you need to A) Improve your Health, B) Improve your physique C) Improve your eating or D) all of the previous. Now think about how you would look with that healthy glowing skin and body that you are envisioning for yourself. Now let me guess…a dark cloud is looming and all you are thinking is “NOO DIET..” “PAIN” … “EFFORT…” well snap out of it quickly!

Now, go back to that clear mind and that lovely image and start to think of this new task as a journey and time for YOU, so ME time, your time to improve YOURself, time to relax and get happy with the thought of taking an hour each day to work on your body and think about your health when eating.

We spend so much time thinking about others; work – 40+ hrs a week in most cases, boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands, wives, kids, parents, friends, pets, bills…..basically a whole lot of other people beside’s ourselves. So why not instead try and see it this way:

We have few hours in the evening or week to ourselves, if you are dedicating some of that time to exercising or preparing healthy meals for yourself then enjoy them, try enjoying the exercise, instead of automatically hating it when you go to do it, thinking it’s a chore…we have enough of them to do so don’t let your “ME time” be a chore. Try new healthy receipe’s so it keeps it interesting and enjoyable, try exercise with a friend and enjoy the ME/WE time together. This is time when it’s all about you and your body, nobody else! There is almost of freedom and release in it. You don’t have to think about anyone else….but YOU!. Embrace it. You give so much to work and others and we give such little time to ourselves; well time for change.

Look at this excellent quote from the Dalai Lama…..its true aswell:

So come on , lets invest in our ME time and use it to make exercise and a healthy life enjoyable and a form of winding down and enjoying your body, then let the results will follow. Take deep breaths and enjoy the air filling your lungs…releasing stress, lift those weights and enjoy the feeling of strength and power in your muscles, work them and enjoy the feeling of being alive and being able to push your body, enjoy stretching and breath deep when you do. It’s very relaxing and the endorphins are addictive.

The Social Pressure of a Fitness Lifestyle….Lets take a look…

Hey all, so i was reading an article on “The Social Pressure of a Fitness Lifestyle” and thought i would share if you fancy a read.

http://www.coachcalorie.com/social-pressures-of-a-fitness-lifestyle/

I have seen this happen in quite a few situations so i thought it would be a good topic to address on my blog.

When i worked as an instructor in the gym I seen this happen quite often, people would come in for an assessment and they would tell me stories or situations where they were not supported or even scrutinised in social situations for their healthy choices (food/drink/not drinking/exercising etc) and by their friends and family no less, the people that should support you the most.

So take a read of the article, if you find yourself having been in that situation from any angle. Stick to your guns, its not you, you are not forcing this on anyone, you are merely trying to make a healthy life for yourself so stick strong. Or if you have found yourself maybe not being the most supportive of one of your family or friends healthy choices or lifestyles then try and change that, be the support system for that person, be the friend and maybe its not them you are really scrutinising…….

So lets keep some comradery here peeps! Be nice and respect others choices for their lifestyles.

Say this to your self for some self motivation 🙂