Sunday, December 31, 2023

Toast To the New Year

"New year - a new chapter, new verse, or the same old story? Ultimately we write it. The choice is ours." ~ Alex Morritt

Good morning; afternoon; and evening friends and fans! Namaste. Wow, this year is already come and now we're entering a new year. I do want to keep my New Year's Resolutions [refer to Let's Make The New Year Magical blog] but keep it for the upcoming year and will continue to focus on my health and working on being happy, even if it means being single. Yet, I really need to be less critical of myself in a negative way and learn to love myself first so I can positively radiate light from the inside out, every angle possible. Go on dates, regardless of what my mother says and no, I haven't sat down in conversation with her asking her what her thoughts would be in regards of me having a genuine love life because I feel I deserve it. What is my mother going to do to me? What, is she going to call the police on me just because I feel that I deserve a love life? Don't expect me to bring any guy home because what the chances of my mother stealing my future boyfriend just because she doesn't want to get up off her lazy ass and find her own boyfriend and go on dates that are age appropriate? Not the point, I'd have to stop punishing the next guy just because of my son's father put me through and don't get me wrong, I was 26 years old when I got pregnant out of rape, and I was going to put my son up for adoption because I felt I wasn't ready for motherhood since I had other plans I wanted to accomplish before settling down, getting married with a slight possibility of motherhood (depending on where I was at in life at the time), baby daddy's excuse on why he wasn't around was because I wanted to put my son up for adoption! I do want to go on dates, finally be happy for as long as possible with the person I'm with because I deserve it.

"Celebrate endings - for they precede new beginnings." ~ Jonathan Lockwood Huie

I'm going to continue with my fitness journey for as long as possible. Once when I've paid down my three charge cards, which should be by the end of January and once when I've got my finances in order, I'm going to focus on saving up to get my root canal done and have a crown, so I join Planet Fitness in the upcoming months once when I've taken care of the dental work that needs to be done. I already have days I want to go (Tuesday afternoon after work; Wednesday; Thursday afternoon after work; and Friday) since there are Free Fitness Training, for those interested in a Day pass at Planet Fitness, check out the link provided, and I'll do what I can to include Mondays at home once when I fire up my laptop for a full body workout, but it's not guaranteed since my mother is retired since August of 2019. 😒 [She doesn't have much of an active social life since most of her friends had relocated to other states outside of New York City, her day consists of either going to the store to get what she needs in the morning or when she has a doctor's appointment but other than that, when she doesn't need anything from the store, she stays home and watches television all day. I have made suggestions to her in regards of programs currently available at the Queens Public Library and as well as making suggestions of her going to Alley Pond Park for walks when Mother Nature is good to us, the impression I've gotten from her is a lack of interest and motivation. Even if she does go for walks, maybe, just maybe she'll find herself a love interest or age-appropriate friends in her own age group. However, I don't know what her problem is, perhaps she believes she's too good to keep herself occupied but she allegedly claims she's "afraid" she'll "fall off the bus" and I call bullshit]. Once when I've paid off my three charge cards and have the funds for a root canal and crown, I'll go for a gym membership in Fresh Meadows since it's not far from where I currently live. I'm going to continue with yoga for my own mental health so I'm not feeling overwhelmed when there is no need to feel that way. I need to do better in regards of health and happiness. I have this mentality and the need to make others happy first before I even make myself happy. I have that survival mentality that I've had for so long that I don't know how to let go of that survival mentality. Again, I should incorporate other workouts such as VICTORIA'S SECRET FULL BODY WORKOUT | 20 MINUTES on the mat. I also want to add WEEK 1 - 2024 WINTER WORKOUT CHALLENGE and among other fitness challenges from this particular YouTube channel. When I get to 150 pounds (halfway point), I want to get a lotus tattoo on my left wrist with Just Breathe or Breathe tatted underneath of a lotus tattoo. There is a spiritual reason why I've chosen a lotus tattoo, but I don't feel it's appropriate for this blog, well, look at the world we currently live in, we live in a world of ugly and there's always that one beautiful soul that outshines that others don't have or lack that "shine" and resilience that some people have. That's my reason why I want to get a tattoo of a lotus. My goal is when I get to my goal weight of 125 pounds, my intention is to buy at least two or three outfits from Trash & Vaudeville and here's an article in regards of Trash & Vaudeville: Jimmy Webb, Trash and Vaudeville's Beloved Punk, Dies at 62. I intend on doing a better job in taking care of myself through dieting; exercise; and getting enough rest when needed so I can remain healthy and happy. If I don't take care of myself now, how can I take care of my fourteen-year-old son if I am not in the best of health? Furthermore, I do feel it's imperative to take care of yourself first before you take on additional responsibilities of caring for others (I don't give a fuck how old you are)!

"I hope that in this new year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're doing something." ~ Neil Gaiman

To end this blog, I want to do more, little by little and I want to split my time between work; home; and motherhood so I can do age-appropriate things with people in my own age group. There are moments I feel overwhelmed, and I don't know how to communicate I feel in a vocal kind of way. Communication is something I need to work on so I can say how I feel and mean it. Yet, it's so much easier for me to write about it on paper than it is for me to speak about it on paper than it is for me to speak about what I'm feeling, and I'll keep those feelings to myself until I write in my regular handwritten journal. I don't expect people to understand but it's all good. There are things I truly want to focus on, such as focusing more on my health; love life or rather have a love interest but something along those lines as well as having an active social life with age-appropriate people; focus more on myself so I don't lose myself in the process; as well as focusing on saving for a place to call my own and even if this means working two or three jobs just to save up for a place to call my own. Even saving up for a school bus, renovate the school bus so I can travel and go cross country, I'm sure by the time I'm financially established enough to buy a school bus, it should roughly be around when my son graduates from high school. I'm not going to go too crazy in listing many articles and/or videos from YouTube land. Here you go to view at your own leisure: Skoolie Life What to Consider Before Living in A School BusSkoolie vs RVI'll be Surprised If You're Not Impressed with This Charter Bus Conversion; and College Student's Bus Conversion Is Nicer than most Apartments. I feel living off grid can benefit me on many levels, especially in an economical way. Who knows how long I'll be living on a school bus; it could be short term (roughly up to four to five years) or long term (indefinitely). I like the idea of living on a school bus is the idea of not having to owe rent to landlord each month. There are other things I want to work on, one of them is time management. I still need to speak up but in more of a diplomatic way without having to explain myself at all whatsoever when it should be self-explanatory for those with common sense and logic.

Blessed be,

Jennifer



Wednesday, December 13, 2023

16 Reasons You Should be Talking About Fitness Challenge

"If we could give every individual the right amount of nourishment and exercise, not too little and not too much, we would have found the safest way to health." ~ Hipporates

Good morning; afternoon; and evening friends and fans! Namaste. I've been working out for the last eleven months since I'm looking to lose weight and I'm at that point that I'm becoming discouraged since I feel like I haven't seen anything different. If need be, I'm looking to join Planet Fitness but my indentions are there as to why I want to work out and I'd say the same for Tiger Schulmann's Martial Arts. I have my reasons why I want to take up martial arts and I feel like I'm getting more for the buck so to speak. Another thing is if I were to take up martial arts but I'm not sure it's not all that necessary to do yoga as well and I figured it'll be the best health investment I can make one can make for themselves. For those who are on a budget and live in the New York City area, there is a Shape Up NYC, a lot of these programs are free to try, especially for the curious. This blog took me a while to write because I wanted to make sure I have what I wanted to say sound interesting and also make mention of what videos worked for me before feeling like I want to take it to the next step up, such as joining a Planet Fitness or a Tiger Schulmann's Martial Arts or Renzo Gracie Academy since I have a curiosity towards Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai. My main goal is to make sure my bank account is plentiful should something arise, such as unemployment or whatever the situation may come up. My goal is to go at my own pace, so I'm not so easily discouraged and purely frustrated. Of course, there'll be days where I'll become very discouraged and frustrated, disappointed but I'm determined to get my personal goal because I'm doing this for me, myself, and I since this feels natural. What I mean I want my fitness journey to feel as natural as possible is that this feeling should come from within and nothing else. I have my reasons on why I work out is because I am doing for me; I want to feel good about myself. I'm doing this for me, myself; and I; I want to stop the negative cycle of body image issues and passivity embrace my body so I can be a better version of myself before I become a better version to other people.

-Weight Loss Journey-

"Exercise to stimulate, not to annihilate. The world wasn't formed in a day, and neither were we. Set small goals and build upon them." ~ Lee Haney

As most of you already know, I've been focused on getting in shape and for the first time in over five plus years my weight has gone from 201.4 pounds down to 196.6 pounds since January of this year! I'm currently taking Jardiance for my diabetes and when I'm at my goal weight of 125 pounds, I no longer plan on taking Jardiance since there are side effects involved. However, let's see where life takes me in the upcoming months. As much walking I have done this past year, I'm surprised and a bit disappointed I haven't lost more! I don't eat a whole lot of sweets or carbs; I eat enough carbs, but I don't overdo it and I just eat a small portion of carbs. Very rare I crave sweets but when I do consume sweets, I eat sweets in a mindful way. Talk of dieting should be for a separate blog and this is more of a fitness bog than anything. I've found several fitness videos that made me feel sore for several days which is what I'm looking for as a result and I enjoy feeling sore when working out. I'm doing this for me, no one else and I want to feel good. Reasons why I work out is because of sleep (I have mild sleep apnea), I want to improve my self-esteem; reduce risk of surgery (if need be), I hope to increase my metabolic rate; increase my metabolic rate, increase my range of motion, increase functional strength; I'm looking to improve balance and coordination, I've taken notice that exercise helps with my depression, I want to control my weight and since I'm in my early 40's, it's a challenge to drop my pregnancy weight and keep it off, another goal is to reduce aches and pains, lose hidden body fat; I want to improve my energy level and for longer; I'm also looking to strengthen my back and core muscles so I'm not preventing any discomfort of back pain; I want to change my body shape; I want to feel good about myself in my own skin, a.k.a. feeling confident in my own skin; Boost my flexibility through yoga/stretching; and I want to live as long as I can because I want to accomplish more in life. I still have places in the world I so want to visit but let's start with Japan first! If you wish to keep track of your fitness journey, here is a Six-Month Body Measurement Tracking Chart you can print out for your own records! I recently purchased Booty Bands for Working Out, Fabric Resistance Bands for Working Out Women Thigh Bands for Workout Bands Resistance for Women Resistance Bands for Leg Bands for Working Out Woman Glute Bands for Women from Amazon and I love it! I have another resistance band but for upper body fitness routine. My main weight loss goal is to get my weight down to 125 pounds and will go at my own pace, I'm in no rush to lose a lot of weight but only to gain that weight back on! All that effort, for what? I'm doing this for me. Main areas I'd love to focus on are abs (oh my gosh, have you seen Janet Jackson's abs when she did the All for You tour, and Angela Bassett's arms, here's an article from Entertainment Weekly, An ode to Angela Bassett's arms - and the power they possess. As most of you may be unaware, respectfully speaking, I'm a fan of Janet Jackson (and would love. love, love to see Janet Jackson on her next tour) whether or not she's been blacklisted from whatever an event may be since that whole Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show featuring Justin Timberlake. I'm sorry, I've lost all respect for Justin Timberlake more so now than nine years ago. Justin Timberlake [as I feel] should be the one to be blacklisted from music and movies, not Janet Jackson. Not the case, I need to focus on myself, health wise for the most part.

-Information-

"There is a moment when you get older when your metabolism slows down and you don't feel like working out anymore, so you don't want to keep yourself fit anymore, but that's your decision. Why should you be judged for it?" Janet Jackson

If you wish to learn more about yoga and here are five pieces of information you can view at your own leisure. Three of them are YouTube videos in regard to yoga with an article of yoga and the other are articles of yoga. I wish you the best of luck on your fitness journey and be sure to set realistic fitness goals for yourself. Go at your own pace and that's the best way to go about. For those who are on the fence in regards on whether to begin your yoga experience and here are some videos I've watched for you to view or read at your own leisure! From the times I've done yoga [at home], it's very relaxing and I enjoy doing yoga. Here is: What Happens to Your Brain and Body When You Do Yoga Regularly. I want to also include these videos and articles for you to check out at your own time. Yoga and its connection to mental health | Nikolai Blinow | TedxSalveReginaUThe Health Benefits of Yoga - How Yoga Helps You Stay Healthy | Sadhguru8 Lesser-Known Benefits of Yoga; 20 Wall Pilates Benefits: You'll Wish You Knew About These Sooner! and Wall Pilates is the new low-impact exercise everyone's trying - but is it worth your time? At the end of the day, your own research is entirely up to you and I'm not going to force anyone to do yoga. Yet, it is very relaxing at the end of the day, and I have my own reasons why I'd want to do more yoga in the evening before bed! It's good to have Ignite by SPRI Resistance Cord and Tone It Up Exercise Sliders N' Sculpt Discs for Toning, Set of 2, Teal. Here are two additional workouts to go with the Resistance band and sliders discs: 12 min RESISTANCE BAND ARM WORKOUT | Upper Body | All Standing and CORE STRENGTH AND BALANCE SLIDER SCULPT WORKOUT. There are additional videos to go with these items on YouTube to view at your own leisure!

-Videos I've Tried Out in 2023-

"Number one, like yourself. Number two, you have to eat healthy. And number three, you've got to squeeze your buns. That's my formula." ~ Richard Simmons

Last but not least! Here are some of these YouTube channels I follow during my free time while my mother is out running her errands: fitbymikgetfitbyivanaMADFitMary Braun; and Mr. London. I do what I can while I have the apartment to myself while my mom is running her errands and it's not much time, so I squeeze what I can into a half hour to forty-five minutes, often an hour if I'm fortunate enough without taking breaks!

  1. 5 min WARM UP ROUTINE Before Your Workout | Low Impact | Wrist Friendly
  2. 25 min STANDING DUMBBELL WORKOUT | Full Body | Lower and Upper Body Routine | No Repeats
  3. 5 min COOL DOWN STRETCH ROUTINE | After Workout | Muscle Recovery
  4. 10 min TRICEPS WORKOUT with Dumbbells | No Pushups
  5. 10 min STANDING ARM WORKOUT | With Dumbbells | Biceps, Triceps and Shoulders | Zero Pushups
  6. 12 min STANDING ARM WORKOUT | With Dumbbells | No Pushups 
  7. 15 min STANDING ARM WORKOUT | With Dumbbells | Upper Body
  8. 15 min STANDING ARMS AND ABS WORKOUT | With Dumbbells | Upper Body | No Repeats
  9. 20 min STANDING ARM WORKOUT | With Dumbbells | No Pushups
  10. STANDING TONED ARMS & BACK In Just 10 Mins/Days ~ Lose Back + Arm Fat Faster (Weights vs. No Weights) 
  11. 10 Min ABS + SMALL WAIST | All Standing - No Jumping, No Repeat, Warm Up + Cool Down, At Home
  12. 10 Minute Flat Abs Workout for Insane Results!
  13. 10 min BRA BULGE & BACK FAT WORKOUT | Chest, Back & Arms
  14. 5 min GROW YOUR BOOTY WORKOUT // No Squats No Equipment
  15. 10 MIN LEG/BOOTY/THIGH WORKOUT (No Equipment Killer Legs)
  16. 30 MIN PILATES FOR WEIGHT LOSS | best calories burn,
  17. 20 MIN ABS & BOOTY - on the floor, no squats/lunges, you will feel it in your abs if done properly!
Back Fat Blaster!!! // Upper Body Workout with Weights
BACK & BRA BULGE 5 Min. Workout | Lose Back Fat in 2 WEEKS!! (No Equipment / Upper Body Burn).
Best of luck to those achieving your own personal fitness goals! 😘
-Lower Body Workout-
"The clock is ticking. Are you becoming the person you want to be?" ~ Greg Plitt
This is for those who want to focus on lower body as well if you wish to check some of these videos out to further your fitness goals.
-Upper Body Workout-
"Setting goals is the first step into turning the invisible into the visible." ~ Tony Robbins
More for your goals! Whatever your personal goals are, continue your hard work and you will see results. Keep in mind, weight loss will not happen overnight but with time and be patient because you will see results. Even if you may not see your desired results right away, I'm sure others will take notice of your weight loss. I'm proud of you for making it this far with your fitness goals and keep pushing forward. Make realistic goals for yourselves.
 -Full Body Workout-
"Don't wait until you've reached your goal to be proud of yourself. Be proud of every step you take toward reaching the goal." ~ Unknown
I'm going to end it here before I end up adding more videos for you to do. If you're looking for a workout challenge, check out fitbymlk since she has some decent workout challenges and feel free to check them out at your own leisure! Keep at it and challenge yourselves because it will pay off in the end, keep pushing yourself. Be mindful on your diet as well.

Best of luck on your fitness journey and never lose sight of why you began this journey!
 
 Blessed be,
Jennifer