The Newest Additions

Ever since I could remember, we've had a garden. In the younger part of my life, we had a fruit and veggie garden.

My pomerain (Tink) loved the strawberry patch. Any time we couldn't find that dog, we looked in the garden only to find him sitting contently in the middle of the garden with a red stained beard. Not only did we grow strawberries, but we grew raspberries, peas, and tomatoes. I'm sure there was more, but those were my favorites ;) My sister and I would sit out back on the porch and eat what seemed like an entire pea plant for breakfast when they were in season. Have you ever had fresh peas? Oh. My. Goodness.... DELICIOUS. I miss those fresh peas.

Now that I'm an adult, my dream is to one day have my own garden where I can grow fresh veggies and fruits. But alas, apartment life has put that dream on hold.

Until we buy a house of our own, I would like to introduce you to the newest members of the Mueller family!

 Yay!

Sweet Mint

Cilantro

Aloe Vera

I've been seeing these fresh herbs at stores lately, and finally bought some. I'd been debating whether or not to because my last aloe plant died... oops. BUT I am bound and determined to help these little guys survive!

So You Hate To Run...

Let's be honest. If you didn't have to do cardio to lose weight, no one would do it for fun. (Mostly...)

Cardio is not my favorite thing to do. I do it because I know it's good for my body and for losing/maintaining my weight, but is there any other benefit?

Scientists have discovered that between the ages of 30 and 90, or brain matter decreases by 20 %. Most of that shrinkage comes from the memory and learning part of our brains. That means that our brains literally shrink with age! Don't worry though, there may be hope for the senile!

The University of Illinois did a study on the effects of aerobic exercise versus non aerobic and the size of the brain. 58 people in their 60's and 70's worked out 3 times a week for 1 hour. 29 did aerobic exercises, 29 did total body stretching. They had them do this for 6 months, after which they they took MRI's of everyone's brain. The results showed that those who participated in aerobic exercise had significant increases in brain volume compared to those who did non-aerobic. 

Crazy right? 

Now, I'm not trying to bash on yoga, or stretching by any means. I LOVE me some yoga and I think everyone should be doing it. But maybe next time you'll think twice about sitting on the couch instead of going for a run. You're body and mind will thank you!

The 9:1 Rule

Let's be honest, sticking to that 'four letter word' diet isn't the easiest thing to do. As much as I'd like to say I'm perfect, I'M FAR FROM IT. I have a sweet tooth, and I indulge it a little too much some times. But, as I've come to know of the 9 to 1 rule, I've been doing a lot better! 

Here's how it works:

When you start thinking about changing your lifestyle by eating better, you may start out by having 9 bad days, and 1 good day. (Hey, that's a start, right?) But as you motivate yourself, it may become 8 bad days and 2 good days. The numbers keep switching and eventually you may have 5 bad and 5 good days. Not too shabby... The goal is to get to 1 bad day and 9 good days. I'm not quite there yet. I would say that I'm about 2 bad days and 8 good days. Not quite where I want to be, but I'm a work in progress :)

If you are at the start of your lifestyle chance (I say lifestyle change because that's exactly what it is. You have to completely change the way you eat and the activity level you do) don't get down. Everybody has a different starting point, and everybody has a different ending point so don't compare yourself to others and their personal journey. 

One of the worst things you could do is compare yourself to others. 

Compare yourself the person you were yesterday, and be better.