Hollywood Barbie

I think now more than ever many girls of all ages are under the pressures of Hollywood and the strive to be thin... almost to the point of malnourishment. I take pride in the fact that there are still women in Hollywood that don't conform to the "should be's" of that lifestyle. Two women I view as great role models are Jennifer Lopez and Beyonce Knowles. Both of them aren't afraid to have curvy bodies instead of becoming scarily skinny and thin. I believe America's view on what true beauty is is so overly distorted. A friend of mine showed me this video. Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYhCn0jf46U. It's a video made by Dove showing how much models appearances are tampered with in order to make a "suitable" billboard advertisement. No wonder so many girls are being affected by trying to be this "beautiful" that hollywood defines itself as. But the thing is, this "beauty" doesn't exist.

Motivation To Exercise

I was recently going through Yahoo's Health pages and came across an article with the title "How to Find the Motivation to Exercise". Group exercise, which is what our plan is about, can help people become motivated to attend the classes. The more the merrier, right? The basic tone of this blog is directed towards the working class people aiming to get their health and wellness back on track after summer's end. Basically, be real with yourself. Don't tell yourself you're going to do 2 hours of cardio after working an 8-10 hour shift, especially if you're a mom; it just won't work. I think that the best motivation is when you feel the turning point of you're physical well being (not even pulling in the benefits of mental and emotional well being). That point where you can feel your body start to reap the benefits of all the exercise sowing you've been doing!! Check out the article for yourself: http://health.yahoo.com/experts/rockertraining/12023/how-to-find-the-motivation-to-exercise/

Engagement

Okay, so this doesn't pertain to anything for my PED class... but I just wanted to share my good news! I just got engaged on the 20th! I'm superrr happy! Haha...just figured i'd share. =)

JC - Jenny Craig? or Just Crazy...

Here recently I met someone who has been struggling with their weight for years. She's tried everything: from weight watchers, to the south beach diet. None of these methods made her see results... that is, until she joined Jenny Craig. This boggled me so I decided to do a little research or what Jenny Craig offered and see how, if at all, it is different from any other "diet". I went to http://jennycraig.com/. The biggest thing for me in any health plan is safety. It is NOT safe to drop 10 pounds in a week! Good and effective weight loss, to me, is about 2 pounds a week. I feel that any more than that could do more harm than good to your body. On Jenny Craig's website they say the following: "At Jenny Craig, we put your personal well-being first. That's why the Jenny Craig Medical Advisory Board has been guiding the ongoing development of our program since 1989. Their invaluable expertise on nutrition and exercise ensures that our Food, Body and Mind approach takes your health as seriously as your satisfaction." Another thing I noticed was that Jenny Craig answers a lot of important myth questions. For example, many people try and eat as little fat as they can, thinking that it will improve the body's function and help lose weight. But in reality, Jenny Craig says, "Fat serves many important functions, such as storing energy, transporting certain vitamins and providing flavor and texture to foods. When it comes to weight loss, calories are the bottom line." Another myth is that people seem to think that you can turn fat into muscle. However, "fat and muscle are distinct tissues. The only way to positively change your body composition is to lose fat by burning calories and gain muscle by engaging in resistance activity." My big thing about all this is that people weigh too heavily on weight loss weight loss weight loss! Sometimes your mind, just like your body, needs a break after exercising it for so long. In a recent clinical trial, Jenny Craig participants lost over 5 times as much weight as those who dieted on their own.* (*Rock CL, et al. Obesity. 2007; 15: 939-949.) Jenny Craig? or Just Crazy? You decide.

Day Before!

Today is going to be a day full of anticipation! Tomorrow I'm going to NY with Patrick to meet my "in laws" as he calls them, haha! It didn't start out too well this morning though, because he just found out his 80 year old grandfather is extremely ill and in the hospital... which isn't normal for him. He's as healthy as an ox. Maybe he'll turn out to be okay...Hopefully.

So, I've been starting my search for Physical Therapy schools that offer a Doctorate. I could go just for a Masters, but in about 10 years, I'm going to need a Doctorate to be able to see patients without a referral (or so says my advisor). I figured I may as well just do it all now than have to go back a couple of years after I finish my Masters and obtain the Doctorate. I think there are only 3 schools in NC that have that degree available to me: Duke, Elon, and Western Carolina. UNC and some others have it, but they only have Masters available as of right now.

I know its early, but it doesn't hurt to start looking at schools right? As far as out of state goes, the only other states I'm considering would be Georgia, South Carolina, New York, and Colorado. Not quite sure where my schooling will take me!! =)

My 1st Blog

Okay, so since this is my first blog, I really don't know what to talk about. Is there something specific I'm supposed to say? Something about physical education? Maybe exercise science or nutrition? I guess I'll just start by saying what my major is. I'm a physical education major with a concentration in exercise science. I want to go to physical therapy school for a specificity in sports and athletes. I'm a huge fan of sports -- especially hockey (NHL) and baseball (MLB). I'm not a fan of college level sports. My favorite NHL team is definitely the Carolina Hurricanes -- Eric Staal is my favorite player, by far. Boston Red Sox are my favorite MLB team. David Ortiz, Jason Varitek (our captain, catcher), and Josh Beckett (one of our pitchers) are my 3 favorite people. I like Varitek alot, and this picture is 1 of my reasons:

I find it one of the best possible pictures in MLB history. Our catcher, Varitek, got pissed at A-Rod (Alex Rodriguez from the Yankees) and just took it out on his face. Beauty at it's finest. =)

A little bit about me... I was born and raised in Raleigh, NC and I'm such a family oriented person. I have the best relationships with my immediate family and I wouldn't have it any other way. I also date the most wonderful man, Patrick Baldwin. He's a infantry mortarman marine stationed at Camp Lejeune. He's my hero. I have many acquaintances, but only few I call "friends". My favorite color is yellow. I love leopard print. And hopefully, one day, I'll be able to own an Aston Martin DBS. =) But until then... I guess there's always the big city.