terribly unhealthy

Eiko says...

For the hundredth time, I have decided to pick up my exercise routine.

I really ought to just keep to a particular exercise routine and go at it so I won't have to go through the trouble of my regaining lost stamina and strength, and having to schedule and time things all over again to fit a work out, and cooking food. Unfortunately, when a crisis happens in my life, the first thing that tends to get kicked out of order happens to be my health and everything tied to it. I get depressed or emotional--> I eat chocolate and drink lot's and lot's of alcohol, --> When I drink, I smoke--> I don't wake up early enough to fit in a work out--> I get lazy and my lungs get weak, and my blood sluggish--> after a week or two, I feel terrible--> working out is the last thing on my mind--> I continue on in my lazy state and ...

THAT'S about time when I put my foot down and call it time to get back!!

Right now is right about time where I'm putting my foot down and getting back into a healthy schedule, but I just started my monthly the other day, and I am in quite a bit of pain. Yuck. It will just have to wait. . . some more.

he calls it being 'appropriately selfish'

Eiko says...

Oooh, la la! It's been quite a while since I've posted anything on this blog! Lif has been keeping me quite occupied recently, and blogging is probably in the bottom 5 of my to-do list along side flossing and eating fruit, both of which are healthy and which some poeple swear by, but also is something I couldn't care less for. Yup. Blogging is definitely in the bottom 5 of my to-do list.

I've recently been trying to put a greater emphasis on exercising. I've been reading a few articles by Tom Venuto about health and fitness, and he said something quite interesting on the lines of making your health a priority in life. It's good to keep things in the right perspective and really knowing waht your priorities are. I think Tom got it right.

"There are fires burning all around you. I know. Kids are screaming, other kids need a ride to school. Spouses need attention. Bills must be paid. You're late on your tax return. Clients need service. Your boss needs you there now. There are phone calls to return. Information overload is driving you insane-there are books to read, TV shows to watch, news to keep up on. And E-mail! You're drowning it! Life is moving faster than ever before. How will we eer get it all done? Where will you find the time?

I know, I know. Almost everyone is feeling the same way too!

Here's what to do.

STOP!

In the middle of all the chaos! With fires burning all around you! Just STOP! Stop moving. Stop thinking. Take a deep breath. Take two more deep breaths. Center yourself. Now shift focus to what's most important in life.

Then tell yourself, "None of this stuff that's stressing me out matters-not one bit of it-if I'm sick, immobilized or dead. I want to look good. I want to feel good. I come first. I can only take care of my family and my business, and I can only feel good and look good if I've taken care of myself first.

Then calmly and quietly go take care of yourself. Go take a work out. Go take a stress relief break. Go calmly int o the kitchen to eat a healthy meal or prepare your meals for the entiere day, neatly pre-packaged if necessary, in anticipation of the hectic, fast paced day ahead. Go shopping and stock your kitchen with healthy foods.

Person life values are important. They are precious. They include things like your family, humanitarian endeavers and even your spiritual beliefs. So I'm not going to tell you what your values should be. That's your personal business. But I will tell you what ORDER yoru values should be in- your health goes first. Above all esle.

Is that selfish?

Yes.

But it's appropriately selfish. Being appropriately selfish is not about bucking your responsibilities. It's not about ONLY taking care of yourself. It's about putting your priorities in the right order. And it's one of the keys to great health, happiness and personal success. "

Now, I don't have any kids, and I'm not married, and I don't have any clients or important phone calls to return. I'm young and have my whole life ahead of me, and therefore, the time factor isn't really a huge issue as opposed to the "lethargic-human-nature" issue. But if I start letting my health slide now, and take my young energy for granted, and if I don't make health a priority and a habit while I'm generally free from any major pressing emergencies to attend to that life tends t toss in our path on a fairly unexpected, regular basis, it'll only be a matter of time before my un-checked lazy nature will have it's way with my life. My future will suffer, and I will suffer if I don't form the good habit of putting first things first, and health is definitely something I consider a priority in my life.

An interesting thought.

balance

Eiko says...

It's so easy to let your physical and spiritual health go down the drain when things are crazy busy, and when there is no end to the things that have dead lines etc., but I realized that if you really do let go of your physical and spiritual health, and you try to become a human fix-it-all-machine, you come to the sad realization that there really is no end to the things that have dead lines, and the very best you thought you could offer will never be quite enough. And that really sucks.

Ever since the end of the Kids Camp, and getting sick, and moving to Lodge Home, I had pretty much lost all the balance in my life, and everything was suffering for it, and I realized that I was getting a lot less done than I could have, had I been taking proper care of myself, PLUS I was miserable because of it!

Being that our Home is trying to open a cafe and also being extremely short-staffed, with the Home to run and children to educate and care for, even just taking a few moments off for yourself seems quite selfish. But I realized that if you don't prioritize right, than you will just be a human-chicken with your head chopped off, accomplishing very little, and feeling like a ... well, a human-chicken with your head chopped off!

A.K.A STRESSING-ZOMBIE, READY 2 COLLAPSE!

Sad.

Anyhow, after a long day of baking for the cafe opening, and organizing a very unorganized and dirty kitchen all the way till 10:00 PM, my body was literally begging me to take better care of it. I decided to listen, and although it was quite late, I decided that a work out was a MUST!

After the work out, I felt like I was on the top of the world! The contrast was amazing!

Must get the balance back.

It makes the world of a difference.

If you've been cutting back on sleep, take a nap. If you've been neglecting exercise, than dedicate a chunk of time for it. If you'be been cheating on Jesus by putting other gods before him, well, that's not so smart, and will eventually be your grave.

I've got a lot to learn about balance and prioritizing, but I think the situation that I'm in now is gunna help me become better @ it.

Ganbarimasu.

tsukareta

Eiko says...

"You've got 30 seconds to catch your breath!"

My life flashed before my eyes as I collapsed on the floor, sweat oozing from every pore of my body, hands shaking, my heart beating out of my rib cage, and my face flushed beet red.

"You've got 15 more seconds, guys. 15 more seconds!!"

Shawn T's nigga voice echoed in the back of my brain somewhere as I tried to recover from his INSANE routines.

Pant. Sweat. Wheeze.

" 8, 7, 6, 5..."

Pant, Pant, Pant,...

"3, 2, 1 ... SUICIDES!! GO, GO GO!!"

"I'm gunna KILL YOU SHAWN T!!" I yelled as I jumped up from the floor, new strength coursing through my tired limbs as I began another set of suicides.

"This is INTERVAL TRAINING, guys, INTERVAL TRAINING!!"

"SHUT UUUUUUUUUUUP!" I yelled at my computer screen where Shawn T and his no-fat-super-lean-insane-crew-members were sweating it out.

I gave a quick glance at Yuya who was INSANE enough to join me, and managed a, "Are you alive, Yuya?"

"Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Was Yuya's very-much-alive response.

"Great!" I replied between pants and more pants.

"Drop down on the floor! Push ups!"

ARGHHHHH!


Ummmm. Yeah. So that's how it is these days. It's an excellent way to work off the stress and tension that tends to build up when you live on planet Earth in human form. I could barely make it through the warm ups when I first started. But now, I can make it through one of Shawn T's Insanity Work Outs till the end, although barely.

It's good stuff.

Da 2nd coming of Shawn T

Eiko says...

I was focusing all my energies on keeping up with Shawn T's cardio work out, when all of a sudden, the teens, who were working out with me broke out in giggles which quickly escalated to laughing. I turned around to see what they were laughing at, ready to show 'em who's boss if they so happened to be laughing at me.

As I turned around, what I was face to face with was all the teens, rolling on the floor, laughing away, and the only person dancing, and hip thrusting away was my Dad.

I joined the teens on the floor, jerking and twitching with uncontrollable laughter.

Dad, slightly flushed, but still getting his work out, was quite the sight indeed! None of his moves came even close to resembling a Shawn T work out! I strongly believe that my Dad should make his own workout video, with the work out being Dad doing his special dance moves with nigga music ploaying in the background, and you working out your entire core because you're laughing so hard! I mean, I honestly don't think you'll be able to keep a straight face with my Dad dancing, bouncing, shimming, and hip-thrusting in front of you.

Anyways,

I'm tired of the work out videos on my computer, and soon my body will get used to the routine, so I'm on the look out for something new and challenging. Of course I could just exercise without a video, but I'm lazy by nature, and having a work out video is easier for me then to plan up a routine.

When I don't feel like exercising, and I give into my emotions and just stop, I become a very miserable, slightly-more-moody individual, and that's no good. I always feel alive after good exercise. I seem to be able to make more sense when I talk, I'm happier, and more friendly, and more energetic, so I think it's definitely worth it to fight through my spasms of lethargy, and work myself up for a sweat.

And when my work out videos stop doing the trick, I'll just watch my Dad do a Shawn T work out. I'll have Jesus-abs in no time!

feeling quite satisfied and smug after a super-sweaty work out

action vs food

Eiko says...

When you're emotional, or moody, or stressed, what is your default?

Are you a...

emotional-->ACTION (a run/jog, major pumping in the work out room, punching things, hitting things/people, etc.)

or

emotional-->FOOD (chocolate, ice-cream, potato-chips, any kind of junk-food, etc.)

kinda person?

Me? Well, I'm a girl, so I'm usually in the emotional--> food category. It always puzzled me how guys could actually work out or even put enough power in a punch when they're emotional.

Dude: You know, I've been getting pretty big these days.
Me: Ahhh, been putting on the pounds with all that emotional binging you've been doing?
Dude: Haha! I meant I've been in the work out room to get my mind off of things, you know?
Me: No, I don't know. I mean, I don't understand.

But since most guys work out, run, punch, or hit when their moody, and they all testify to how it helps, I figured that it must really work, and I decided to give it a go next time I'm stressed. "Next time" happened to be this evening. So instead of attacking the fridge (which never has much of anything inside anyways) I decided to focus my pent up energies on a work out, and I was very happy with the results. It got my mind off of things, and I really enjoyed myself.