health Archives - Tiffany Joy

Mentally Healthy Bagel

by tiffanyHealthy Bagel, Life September 5, 2019September 22, 2019No Comments

I have primarily talked about physical health and my journey with weight loss. However, that is not actually the main focus of this journey. Instead of working towards a physical health goal, like weight loss. I have been trying to be mindful of the reasons behind my habits and my mindset that caused me to not be my physical best. Basically I am working on the inside out this time.

Your mind is where every action or inaction stems from, so you should pay attention and take care of it. Why am I eating what I eating? It is because some part of my brain said, “Yes, tuna fish is what you want to eat right now.” It could have very easy decided that I actually should go to the store and buy a large thing of ice-cream, but it didn’t. Looking at the reason behind your actions or inaction can teach you so much about yourself.

Once I fully grasped the concept that every action or inaction comes from my brain, I realized that I can control and change my mind. I didn’t have to stay stuck with the same thought patterns or reactions. This is really when I started my health journey.

Why I think Dieting fails

Yes, I had tried dieting before and living a healthier lifestyle many times. I would typically fail, because I was just doing what I thought I should be doing and not looking at the reasons. The reasons didn’t resonate deep enough for me to keep with it and what I truly wanted to change was not actually being changed.

Most of the time the reasons we want to change our outward appearance has more to do with how we see ourselves and inner minds. That is why I never saw lasting change. I wasn’t changing the foundation or inner life, so my outside appearance was only always temporary.

Let me rephrase that for you:

If you don’t change the inside your outside appearance will only be temporary.

A few months ago

I realized the need to change my inner life and thought pattern a few months or maybe even a year ago, so I started my deep dive. That is when I started “Healthy Bagel.” I wrote the first blog post, but didn’t publish it and then backed away. Something was holding me back. I realize now I didn’t really want to do the deep dive into my mind. However, that was the only way real change would happen.

When I finally did look honestly at myself I realized the real reasons why I wanted to get ‘healthy.’ I use quotes, because I have no chronic illness, I’m hardly ever sick, and can be pretty active.

Here is what I realized about my reasons for being physically fit

My BMI (Body Mass Index) defined my health in my mind and I used the BMI system as a way to keep my confidence down.
My desire is to be more attractive
I want to feel better about my physical body.
Mainstream society’s weight limits and attitudes dictated my own.
If I was a smaller size it would be easier to find a bra.
Finally, I want to prove to myself I can be as fit as I want.

To put it simply I want to feel good about my body and increase my confidence.

How am I using my reasons to get healthier?

First I am looking at the beliefs behind the reasons. Why do I equate BMI with health? Why am I not feel great about my physical body? Why do I want to prove that I can be more physically fit? Why is my confidence tied to my physical appearance?

Some of beliefs are influenced by the society and culture I am a part of; others are more personal. I’m still explore which ones are which and how to overcome the limiting beliefs.

I do know that being physically active is a good thing and I do feel better when I’m taking care of myself, so that won’t change. I want to be the best version of me and currently that involves taking a journey towards being the healthiest I can be.

For more on my health journey check out the previous blog posts.

Healthy Bagel Confession

by tiffanyHealthy Bagel June 20, 2019January 3, 2020No Comments

I have a confession I must share with you. I’ve already had set backs on this journey.

In the past month I’ve wanted to quit . My mental focus has been on my setbacks. It’s hard to start a new lifestyle. It’s hard to continually put the effort towards being healthy. That is what this whole thing is about. I’m really on a quest to find and live the healthiest lifestyle for myself.

I want to be healthy and be the type of person who just naturally chooses the healthy options. It would be great if I just naturally ate less sugar and less carbs. I would be happy if it was easy to decide to go for a run every morning.

Of course if that was the case then I wouldn’t be writing this blog or on this journey. I’m sure I will learn more and more things as I decide to do the hard, but healthy things.

The end result and quest itself may look different for you, but I hope you jump on this band wagon with em. It’s hard and the wagon may break down sometime, but it is worth the journey.

Even with the stumbles and set backs I have noticed a few changes, that no one else has noticed, yet. The changes have been slight, but they’re there. I’ve starting to see that my muscles have the desire to show themselves. They’re still shy and hiding behind a couple layers of fat. I’m also noticing my clothes are growing.

I’m still in the orange zone (191-199lbs), but honestly feeling okay with my progress at this moment. I currently have a great amount of energy, which is why I am feeling good about my progress.

1st Thing I’ve learned

Being emotionally, physically, or mentally drained are the cause of my setbacks. Willpower does take energy, so it makes sense that when I don’t have a lot of energy my willpower depletes quickly.

2nd Thing I’ve learned

I have also learned that when I eat like crap I feel like crap. If I eat sugar or carb filled stuff at night I’ll wake up feeling low or emotionally heavy, which makes me want to grab for a quick fix. The quick fix of course is sugar and carbs, which will help for a bit, but just repeats the blah feeling.

It’s also easier for me to continue to eat things I know is not healthy, because I swear sugar and carbs mess with my sleep.

I was eating clean, or clean for me, for a week; checking the sugar and carbs in everything and restricted my carb intake. I felt great and woke up fully refreshed, which I didn’t even realize was an issue.

Why Being Nice To Yourself Is Important

I had one or two slip ups, but regained control after my clean eating week. I still had plenty of emotional and mental energy to pull myself together.

Things were going well for about a week after that and then outside forces emptied my tanks of their energy. I’m slowly refilling my energy tanks, but as they fill I’m focusing on being kind to myself.

I don’t want to forgive myself for eating a pint of ice cream in one sitting or having pancakes with extra honey, but I know I should.

After I convince myself I need something unhealthy or eat too many desserts I need to forgive myself and move on. Holding on to regret or guilt, only makes me want to eat junk food more. Junk food can be a quick fix and fast comfort, but it’s fix and comfort fades just as fast.

I’m not giving up on my health though. I am re-evaluating and adjusting what I’m doing.

Like any goal or achievement you aim for you need to stay focused on the achievement, but be flexible on how you get there.

Starting A Healthy Lifestyle Voyage (Healthy Bagel)

by tiffanyHealthy Bagel, Life May 23, 2019September 15, 2020No Comments

I’m starting a healthy lifestyle voyage. Let’s start it together. I may have started my journey before this blog post, but I’m still just starting this trek.

Everyone has their ideal weight. Mine is 155-165 lbs.

We also have ranges and limits, or at least I do. These weights change how you feel or think of yourself. I’ll share you my ranges to show you what I mean.

My Ranges:

Note: These are just my ranges, your ranges will be different

Blue (my favorite color): 155-165 lbs. I am great, healthy, and people should look at me.
Green: 166-180 lbs. I’m still good, maybe I’ll make 1 or 2 switches. I’ll think about it.
Yellow: 181- 190 lbs. Yeah, I’ll make those 1-2 healthy switches.
Orange: 191-199 lbs. Maybe I need to watch what I eating and exercise more.
Red: 200-209 lbs. Major diet changes and exercise routines need to happen.
Critical Alert: 210 lbs and over. No! I didn’t even know I needed this range. Red zone should be the end! It’s time to really focus on my diet and being more active.

Where I am starting:

Currently, I’m in the orange zone at 194.8 lbs, but in August of 2017 I was in the Critical Alert zone. I wasn’t paying attention to my weight or life style; working at a desk then coming home to work on my writing or visual art. I was not active and went for quick food rather than healthy.

It had been a slow climb to 210. On my phone I have an app that I apparently have had an account with for about 9 years. The chart looks like a good finance report that is trending up. This of course is typically bad for your weight.

9 years ago I was 160 lbs and downloaded the app to lose those 5 lbs, maybe I wanted to lose 10 at that time.

I have bounced a bit since 2017 and haven’t really been too focused on my physical or mental health. That is until a few months ago, when I finally decided that I should start making my goals priorities.

First I just started with journaling and doing intermittent fasting. I saw more results from journaling than I did with limiting my eating window. I have since decided to go back to counting calories and working out.

End Goals:

I will regularly increase my exercise until I am working out for 6 hours a week.
I will weigh 165 lb.s by January 2020, unless I have proof of low- average body fat.

I also have mental health goals, but besides journaling they are harder to quantify and example.

Introduction to Healthy Bagel

by tiffanyHealthy Bagel April 25, 2019March 24, 2020No Comments

My story is not uncommon when it comes to weight loss and healthy living. Like most I’ve tried a few different methods to weighing less.

I know the basic knowledge of all healthy diets and weight loss programs.

The less processed a food is the better
Eat less calories than you burn, but you need nutrients and a certain amount of calories to not go into starvation made.
Exercise is important, so you should be active.

I know these things, but it takes something else to actually make that knowledge count for something. It takes self-disciple, will power, and commitment.

Healthy living is a life-style change that I am making. Unlike other times I’m doing something different. I’m committing to working on all of me, not just my physical self.

My idea is that as I work towards my physical health I will also look at my emotional and mental health. This will help me create a true life-style change and not just a temporary diet/ exercise adjustment.

I will start by posting a “Healthy Bagel” post once a month and then increase as I have time and need. Most of the posts will focus on my physical health journey, but I will also add in thoughts about my mental health, since your body and mind are intricately intertwined.

Before I leave you I should note that I have already made progress on my journey. It started a couple years ago, but I am just now truly moving down this path to my healthiest self and joining in both inner and outer health together. It was like I stepped on the path to health 2 years ago and studied it, but only took a couple steps. Now I am steadying walking down it.

A Healthy Week To Boost Fitness

by tiffanyother updates, Physically Healthy Me July 28, 2015One Comment

A few weeks, well maybe a month ago, a friend and I were talking about getting together a hardcore diet/ fitness plan that would last one week. This would be to boost our healthy habits and jump-start our thinking about getting healthy and staying healthy.

I did some research, forgot about it, and then did a bit more research. Through research and the knowledge I already had I came up with a little system that I will be trying out. I think this system should only be done for a week as a boost, since it is to push you to be healthier. I also don’t believe in restricting your permanent diet and fitness all at once. That has failed for me in the past. What has not failed is gradually becoming healthier and knowing why.

Before starting anything where goals and a desired outcome is involved I believe you should ask yourself two questions. That being said if you want to join me with this health boost, please ask your self the following question. 1.) Why are you doing this? What are your reasons? Write this down.

Now on to the real system thing that I made. I broke down being physically healthy down to three parts habits, diet and mixed. In this healthy boost system I am going to be focusing on 1 new habit, 2 new diet items and 1 that is a mix for the week.

The lists are as follows:

Habit

Do short spurts of exercise every day. Doing at least 20 minutes of fast exercises. This could be 4 five-minute walks, 2 ten-minute intense spurts of exercise, or even 20 one-minute work outs.
Take deep breaths and relax when you are getting stressed or cut down on stress. Maybe at one point in your day you take a walk by yourself to release your stress.
Exercise 3 to 4 times a week. This should total 3-4 hours.
Add 30 minutes of sleep or get closer to 8 hours of sleep.
Make a list of favorite exercises and pick at random from that list for your work outs.
Work out 1st thing in the morning every day.
Find work outs you can do while watching television or do sit still while watching television.
Exercise for a total of 1 hour every day or an intense sweaty 30 minute work out every day for this week.

Diet

Take vitamin C or get vitamin C into your daily diet.
Focus on eating good fats (avocado, dark chocolate, coconut oil)
Add spice to your dish
Pop some Iron. Iron helps blood transport oxygen apparently.
Sip green tea, it has antioxidants.
Go a week without processed sugar or starches.
Only eat Protein, good fats and veggies.
Never skip breakfast, just make it healthy.
Make dinner your lightest meal
Don’t starve; make sure you eat at least 1500 calories a day.
Drink green smoothies every day for breakfast.
Do not eat any processed foods for the week. This means only fruits, vegetables, meats and unprocessed grains.

The Mixed list

Drink water (2-3 liters a day)
Drink coffee 1 hr before exercising (Do not add a lot of sugar or cream, try to keep it fat-free milk [if you can].)
Use smaller plates. (It may seem silly, but you will get full with less food. It also helps with portion control.)
Eat every 3-4 hours but eat small meals.
Put down your fork between bites
Designate one place to eat and eat there. Also cut down on distractions when eating.

I also am on pinterest and have a few boards that may help you boost your health. The first is my boosting healthiness board, where a lot of the research and ideas were pinned. Follow Tiff’s board Boosting healthliness on Pinterest.Next is my general fitness board, where I put a bunch of different exercises, work outs on and a few quotes to help me stay motivated. Follow Tiff’s board fitness on Pinterest.

The last two boards are my healthy eating and smoothie boards. These are focused on the diet part of being healthy.
Follow Tiff’s board Healthy food on Pinterest.

Follow Tiff’s board Smoothies on Pinterest.

Finally, I want to leave you with an important tip. Do not weigh yourself every day. Weigh yourself before you start and after. Also measure yourself before and after the week. Do not do it during the week. Plus the number on the scale or on the measuring tap is not what is important in the long run. The goal should be becoming healthier, not skinnier or lighter.

I hope this helps you. Let me know if you are trying this and I will let you know the end results.

DreamWard Bound With Where I am

by tiffanyDreamward bound February 14, 2015No Comments

I took some time today to figure out where I am with my goals, what I am doing, and what I can change. I know that I don’t want to push myself too much. I don’t want to burn out like I did before Christmas. I do want to keep on keeping on with them. I do want to work towards my goals, challenging myself as I do.

I realized that for now I need to have a more relaxed format and although I will be trying to do more and more as time goes on I am only going to do a little with each category of my life that I want to focus on.

With God and the Bible I have been listening to an audio Bible instead of reading it. I allow myself to relax and have even fallen asleep listening to it. I know this is not ideal, but at least I am listening and going through the Bible. Now when I try to read it I will at least have some knowledge of all the books. I am also starting to listening to two podcasts on my way to work. At least I am trying to start listening to the podcasts, but technology is fighting against me.

Next, I did have a goal about my family. I want to talk to them more. I realized though, I want stronger relationships with everyone in my life. That is why I am going to still try to contact my family members at least once a week, something that I still have not mastered, but I am also going to be intentional with the people around me. I going to try to encourage my BJJ classmates more, help my friends, and talk to people more. I am going to try to be intentionally more friendly and more open.

As far as my novel goes I am going to be focusing the most sit down alone time to that. I want to keep my deadline and to do that I have to edit 1.5 chapters a week. I am planning to spend most of this weekend with my characters and story. Hopefully I will be able to polish it up nicely and only have to go over it one or two more times. I want to be finishing up with it this time next year.

My health is next on the important scale. Since I have started Brazilian Jit Jitsu I have found a want and almost need to be healthier. I want to push myself harder to be healthy in my eating and activities. I am not going to jump right over to the super healthy side of things. If I do that I will wind up giving into the not healthy eating patterns that I fall into so often. Instead I will start gradual and listen to my body. I will be eating more salads and vegetables. I am also doing a 100 day exercise challenge, which I mentioned in another post. I did revise the challenge, since I did not have enough space to safely do any sort of rolls. As it is I have to reset my shrimps and hip switches at least 3 times. I am doing the challenge though. I am at day 15, so far. My fitness and health will be steps towards being in the best shape that I can be. It will be a long journey, but I am on it.

Now, there is my acting. It is on the back burner and I am not really focused on it as a career or really an actionable goal at the moment. However, that does not mean I am doing nothing with it. I am still going to my improv group almost weekly. I have had to take a few weeks off in this new year. It seemed like I was either sick or burnt out by Thursday. I am getting back in the rhythm of life it seems, though. I am even leading a group this coming week. Since, this is my only outlet for acting I will be intentional with it. I am going to focus on growing my skills, learning more about improv and hopefully leading when needed.

Finally, there is this blog thing that I am trying to do, also. I love writing and seeing people visiting what I wrote. I enjoy the feedback, even if it is mostly just likes. I am learning what people like to read and what is the most interesting to them. I am also learning what pulls them in and how what I say affects the stats of the site. This blog is a learning experience for me just as much as it is about the writing and making me focused on my writing. Although I am learning and enjoying having this outlet, like I said last week I believe, I need to not have this be my main focus. I will be trying to do at least two posts every week, one being the DreamWard Bound posts and the other being my weekly writing prompt posts, that have been a lot less than weekly.

Those are all the thoughts I have now. I know this post is longer than my recent posts. I am sure I will go back to basically having no updates next week. It is the whole thinking about my DreamWard journey, that makes this one long.

I do hope you enjoyed this and like always, please, let me know what you think.

The Me I Want To Be (a poem)

by tiffanymy creative self, Poetry September 8, 2014No Comments

I have put off writing this poem. I haven’t really wanted to truly face my ideas of loosing weight and why I want to get healthier. I also feel like I don’t have to share my reasons behind wanting to lose weight. Yet, this poem keeps bugging me, so I will write it if only to get it out of my head,

I hope you enjoy this poem.

Dear media,
Dear society,
I see the type of woman you ask for
I see your demands.
Media please know
I do not believe in your ideals
Dear society
I do not want your either.
I simply want to be me.

Yet the me in the mirror
does not match the me in my soul.
I do not know the woman
staring back at me.
I do not know the body
that I am in.
I am too young
for these ache.
My heart has more energy
than my body can take.
I yearn to do more
and be more
but how can I
when there is still more
more inches around my body
more acne on my face
and more aches in my knees.

I see you media
I see you society
and I almost want to embrace
this more type of me,
but I can’t.
I don’t want to me in your mold
but I want to me in mine.
I wish you did not demand perfection
so that every one will know.
I simply want to be the me
that I know.
I simply want to be the me
that is the same age as my soul.
I simply want to be me.

So I will.
I will turn my life back around.
I will fight these aches off
while the inches run away
and the pounds disappear.
I will fight my unhealthy cravings,
struggle to do what is right
and smile while I sweat.
I will fight until I am exactly who I want to be.
I will fight until I am
the me I want to be.

Dear media,
Dear society,
my health, my body
has nothing to do with you.
My health, my body
is mine and I will fight for it
despite of you.
I will fight until I am
the me I want to be.