Kim's Fitness and Nutrition

Sure, we all want to be better, have better health, a fit tight body, energy to burn, and endless creativity. We are all "works in progress," and we will never "get it done." To be "willing" is always the first step to making real, lasting changes. You can want all you want, but that never provides the commitment that is required to really "do it." Willingness sounds simple, but it means that you have made a decision to put your whole heart into it and give it all you have. Often, it also means that you have reached the end of your rope, and you have thrown your hands in the air and screamed, "I give up!"

Both of these can be very tall orders, especially considering most dis-ease is accompanied by discomfort. The discomfort tends to repeatedly draw our attention to it, and then it becomes very challenging to restrain from thinking about the dis-ease. Abraham teaches, "That you can have arthritis in your hips and be in despair, or you can have arthritis in your hips and choose to be hopeful ... in hope you are moving in the direction of the cure, and in despair you are moving in the direction of more arthritis."

In can be surprising just how many foods, as well as drinks, have very high levels of caffeine. There has been a lot of controversy over caffeine. For a very long time it was thought that caffeine was very bad for our heart and kidneys. Then a few years ago, there was a complete 360-degree turn, and it was announced that caffeine, in moderation, was actually good for you, that it stimulated circulation, and a cup of coffee prior to aerobic exercise was even recommended.

You may have heard of the phrase "monkey mind"? What that refers to is our thoughts running
rampant ... the mind zooming from thought to thought quickly with little to no rhythm nor
reason. Then there is "ruminating," which is when the mind becomes obsessed with an issue or
situation and chews and chews and chews on it. In either case, you are not going crazy or in
danger of doing so. It is a simple (not necessarily easy) matter of taking control of your thinking.

I'm sure we have all noticed those people at the gym that are there rain or shine, Monday through Saturday, (even Sundays), are always on track, working hard, looking good, driven. Most of us peer at them with envy and mild disgust. Some of us outright hate them. They are the ? percent of the population that is self-motivated and can push themselves joyously along their fitness trail. They are VERY rare, and that is the real truth. Human beings, by nature, are not self-starters ... we're just not. It's okay - it is what it is. If you are among the blessed few that are up at 5:30 a.m. or earlier to beat the rush at the gym and get that workout in before anything else can get in its way, God bless you, and may you always be that way. For the rest of us humans, be gentle and please try to understand that it, quite simply, is NOT the nature of the beast. Once we can begin to be more loving to that sloth-like part of us that would much rather lay on the couch and read a good book or mess around on the computer, or just take a nap, we can begin to gently coax ourselves into moving that body.