#10 TONE YOUR BODY: Transformation

Are you like me and have always been inspired by people who keep to their diet and workout regimen? Do you wonder how in the world some people have that extra accountability button in their system and never falter? Do you also feel like a total failure for not waking up at the crack of dawn to either run outside in the snow or levitate in your living room?

Well, I do-ish.

But because this year is the year of empowerment, I am patting myself on the back and am happy with the actual strides I’ve taken so far in toning myself up.

No I’m not talking about becoming muscular and going all Teresa Guidice on you (did you see her new body-builder package!?). But, I’m planning on getting my body strong.

And I mean strong so as to avoid injury, eliminate the possibility of arthritis and simply stretch the duration of the peak of my existence. Am I smack in the middle of it? What about you, where do you think you’re at in your energy loving, power boosting existence?

I’ve started to feel the difference already thanks to Yoga and SLT. You’ll hear me talk ad nauseam about yoga and SLT in my blog. That’s how convinced I am about those two requisite work-outs for a healthy body.

I highly recommend SLT (Strengthen – Lengthen – Tone) if you desire lean and powerful muscles. The 4 seconds count for each movement removes any momentum so you’re basically working out for 50 min in complete slow motion, just like any Pop Diva music video, minus drag makeup and wind blowing in the hair. This is bad-ass ugly work out that turns your body into a sculpture if you commit to it. As for me, I’m still in the mud version of my body sculpture, still a work in progress, not yet the bronze version!!

In Miami, SLT is actually called Jet Set Pilates, there are a few studios there.

Have you ever promised yourself you’ll transform your body, give it a great shot for about a couple weeks then it sort of disappears on you??

I feel I’ve made that promise time and time again in the past, have not kept at it and have simply felt disappointed when the results don’t miraculously manifest themselves. Worse than not having the body you desire is the disappointment you feel for not sticking to your promise. And that’s where the problem lies in the first place.

It shouldn’t be a promise that you make to yourself. Promises seem to carry less weight than an actual decision.

The power of the human mind comes in decision making, not in promise making. Once you make the decision to transform your life, everything falls into place someway somehow it seems. And it becomes less stressful than a promise because it becomes a life journey rather than a short-term pledge.

I enjoy following Tom Bilyeu from Impact Theory and Quest Nutrition. Reading motivational quotes is actually awesome when you’re open enough to let it be awesome. For the longest time, I wouldn’t let myself believe in affirmations feeling like it’s closer to voodoo than actual smart tools. If you don’t swallow all you read – because some of this stuff can still sound like voodoo! – and remain selective in your positive quotes that you’re willing to absorb, it’s a game changer. And I know it's not by mistake that I've stumbled into him (where again, instagram?) and I'm entering his world.

He also has Daily Impacts on Alexa devices which sounds amazing. I will try that and report back to you soon!

“Our mission is to free people from The Matrix. Said another way, we want to end the poverty of poor mindset.”

- The Impact Theory

He's truly the real deal for aspirations and inspiration on all fronts of the transforming your life battle ground. Shifting from a victimized mindset to a winning mindset is the only way to finding your path.

And there's no better place to finding your path than Instagram, right?!

Of course, i'm kidding.

But you know those before and after pictures you see on there of transformed bodies? Sometimes I day dream of what my Before and After picture would be. I do want to tackle my little body annoyances. I’m tired of the bloated mess, I wouldn’t say no to a tighter smaller butt. The new fat pockets showing up out of fucking nowhere and the aging skin are just creepy. I know there’s not much in the end that can be done about the latter. All the natural skin care in the world can ease the painful sight only, not reverse the inevitable thinning and wrinkling of the skin. I particularly dislike the neck skin situation that I attribute to ‘old’ ladies, not a fresh 40 year old lady such as myself. Please tell me I’m not alone in this… I know there are treatments, lasers, fillers, peelings, voodoo and chicken sacrifices you can do to slow down the inevitable decay but truthfully you'll have to fill me in on those.

I want to Transform my body, my alertness and energy and I need help. I ought to proclaim it once and for all to be held accountable (yikes) and to show some people out there that my journey is theirs too. My day dream of the before and after picture is still a dream and I’m interested in the middle part, not the result.

I don’t need to necessarily lose weight. But shedding a kilo or two (5lbs) would be nice.

Can’t be that hard you say? I agree, but it’s been awfully and annoyingly hard. Especially since I’m Gluten Free for tummy reasons and stopped eating meat over 3 years ago for moral reasons.

“My generosity to animals has transformed in ass-growing generosity.”

-ML.

No more chicken and salad remedy.

Yes, one often gains weight when one doesn’t eat animal protein, I’ve seen it around me and on celebrities time and time again. But, it’s damn worth it.

The joy one feels of not eating meat cannot be understood until one stops. It’s like having children. You can explain all you want the feeling of becoming a parent, it is impossible to understand any of it until you become a parent too. How can you explain what it feels like inside to having created another human? Or the feeling of wanting to kill that said human when he wakes you up at obscene hours for the 27th night in a row? It’s impossible.

That’s why it’s a little frustrating to enter opinionated conversations about vegetarianism or veganism (which I won’t here) because it’s a dead-end exchange from the start that often doesn’t include how it makes you feel, only pseudo-scientific gibberish.

It’s hard to have a fair conversation when one party is clueless to the opposite argument. And I’m not saying you should see how crack cocaine makes you feel before you have a discussion on crack cocaine at auntie’s Sunday supper. You’re not required to try Crack Cocaine to be eligible to talk about it because that’s just irresponsible and we know all too well the danger of hard drugs. But, there’s something to be said about giving up animal products all together for a certain period of time so to understand what it does to the body but certainly what it does to the soul.

Beyond the clear gut health benefits of eliminating or reducing animal products consumption and the environmental benefits of stopping all this excessive cattle/poultry production non-sense, the joy one feels at the end of the day for not having participated in too many animals to die (because let’s face it, just to be alive as a human means animals must die) is very rewarding. And remember, I hate wine, so I need to find joy at the end of the day wherever I can find it!

What does that have to do with Toning the body you ask?

Well, not eating meat does change your body. I’ve come to realize it’s less leaner at first and you must do an excruciating amount of research to reach that protein balance so you don’t simply over indulge in quinoa and starches and legumes.

That’s why I love love love Wellco’s vanilla plant-based protein powder.

It doesn’t have that over the top powdery feeling that I find most Protein powders have, it blends beautifully well with fruit and stays in the background where it should be. It doesn’t fight for after taste attention like most other powders I’ve tried. And I imagine I’ll be as hot as Elle MacPherson if I drink the damn thing, agh yes, they got me by the balls!

This morning I didn't have my smoothie as I was traveling with the fam. I recall I started to fidget for it and wish I could have one before dashing off to the airport. This is a nice feeling all together because before the Gluten Free situation, I would have fidgeted for a proper piece of bread, or three, and would have spent the rest of the day deflating. See the urgency of a gluten free life?

My intention is, and I’ve said it before, to empower myself to feel strong and on top of things. Meaning more time for working out, hence better organized schedule. I also seek comfort this year, which means a half size smaller wouldn’t hurt my ass and my ego. I’m scared of taking the leap to full on transform my body and fall deep into workout addiction although I would love to. So if anyone else is like me on this one, hit me up by email or DM on instagram and we'll come up with a buddy system we can all benefit from:-)

Until next time,

ML.