Music Therapy with Miss Moon

"I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles."
~ Audrey Hepburn

"Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn't arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I'm going to be happy in it."
~ Groucho Marx

" Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life."
~ Omar Khayyam

In May, what was intended to be a routine check up with my new doctor turned into months of fear, worry, and anxiety. He called me and said that there was something wrong with my blood tests, and that my white blood cell count was unusually high. He couldn't say why, but that further tests was needed. In subsequent visits the doctor did very little to assure me or give me some idea what could be the problem. I did what most people (FOOLISHLY!) would do in that situation, and took to the internet to look into what could cause this abnormality. And I ended up scaring the hell out of myself in the process.

So for these past few months, I lived with this fear not far from my thoughts: Am I sick? Am I dying? What would my family do? Will I be a burden on them? And with the stress I gained twelve pounds, upped my cigarette smoking to a pack a day, and discovered two new gray hairs rest comfortably on Miss Mooch.

All of this worry was immediately alleviated when I went to see the Hematologist. He saw my fear, he saw the tension and spoke to me like I mattered. He said I did not have Leukemia (Which was the biggest fear, as I have a family history!) and whatever the cause... it was not life threatening! I wept with relief when I heard those words.

This journey is not over... there are still test results to look into, and I still have to figure out how I can get this resolved and fast. But in the meantime, I am going to express gratitude for each breath that I take, and each step that I make each day.

For this week's song choice for Music Therapy with Miss Moon, I wanted to pick a happy, upbeat song that reflects the state of mind I am in... I am ready to get my life back on track! I am ready to get back to everything I had set out to do on my path before I got stuck in this fog of fear! With the lyrics included in the video, I hope you all will celebrate with me to "Coolin' in the Streets" by Andra Day with a bit of help by Ziggy Marley!!

Miss Moon Gets Healthy.... And Starts Over (Again!)

Ugh! I hate that I am writing this post, y'all! The past few months have been difficult, and I admit that I used it as an excuse to slack off on my "Get Healthy" routine. And as a result... I've gained four pounds.

Now four pounds may not seem like a lot, but those four pounds felt like such a failure to me. It was the motivation I needed to cut the crap, stop making excuses and get back on the treadmill, literally!!

So I started again last week, and I discovered I felt really great about it. Despite that areas of my life that are not quite as savory, I drag myself to the gym after work, I sweat and push myself and walk away feeling like a rock star!!!!!

I am going to try to keep this momentum up. Last year I dropped two sizes and now that its August... I have less time to match (if not exceed that!). But I resolve to do it!!!

Miss Moon Gets Healthy: December Stats

I did pretty well for December, I think. It's super cold now and I admit that since the start of 2013, I haven't been walking the 4 days a week I had planned to after work. But on the plus side, I have been eating super better, and I believe I've finally found the balance between eating good food and eating junk on occasion (A girl needs a little BBQs from time to time! LOL)

Me with my Lovely Aunt at Christmas. Please note I'm wearing my eating pants and NO shaper! LOL

I'm feeling really great about the progress I made in 2012, and I'm super excited to learn what the new year will bring for me. I have one big plan on the horizon, to make up for the fact that the cold is preventing me from wanting to take my walks. I'm calling it the best Valentine's Day present ever!!!

I'm planning on getting my very first Gym membership!!!! Right now I'm sort of torn between the Crunch Fitness Downtown Brooklyn  (Close to home) or the NYSFC in Soho (Close to the job), but I'm confident that by V-Day, I will be making my first visit to the gym that's right for me!! If you go to any of these locations, be sure to leave a comment letting me know the perks! :)

Miss Moon Gets Healthy: And Learns to Eat When She's Hungry!!

I'm a woman of my word, what can I say?!? LOL

I've never been the type of woman who stereotypically overeats when depressed or sad. When life hands me lemons, I don't immediately run to the tub of ice cream. Quite the contrary, when I'm depressed, I seldom eat. I don't get much of an appetite in those times.

Life has been going very well for me lately, so of course I've been eating regularly. In starting my "Miss Moon Gets Healthy" journey, I've noticed that the potential for overeating doesn't happen when I'm sad... it happens when I'm BORED!!

As I've mentioned before, I've dealt with insomnia for most of my adult life. And on many nights, I'd be up, wide awake, and watching Bollywood movies on my laptop on Netflix. My mind would wander to thoughts like, "Mmmm.... some potato chips would be great right now!". And I would pause whatever movie I'm watching, which most likely stars hotties like ShahRukh Khan, and run to the bodega around the corner of the 24 hour 7/11 in my area. 

Recently, such a thought popped in my mind. I was immersed in the film, "Swades" (Great movie, by the way! Check it out! It's streaming on Netflix!). So I paused the movie, got dressed, and went outside to visit 7/11. This was around 3 o'clock in the morning. When I got there, I was staring at the bountiful display of potato chips, in every flavor imaginable, and a single thought popped into my mind -

"Will any of these bags of potato chips help you to reach your goals?"

The answer was a resounding "No!", so I walked over to the beverages for a big bottle of water, grabbed a green apple, and went home to munch, sip, and swoon! LOL

I wish I could say that since this moment, I've steered clear of chips, cookies and other things that taste great, but aren't great for me. But alas... I've succumbed. But I am learning how to stay away when boredom strikes me, and I am confident that I will use my self-control to reach my fitness goals!!

Wanna Wanna Wednesday... FitPlate Serving Size Portion Control Plate

This week's Wanna Wanna Wednesday is very much a Miss Moon Gets Healthy collaboration. I am doing great on my journey. The one area of improvement I recognize is that I need to master the art of portion control. I suck at it!!

This most often comes into practice when eating dinner. What I usually do now is put way too little on my plate, which results in me be still hungry a few hours after my meal! When I found out that there are specifically designed plates for portion control, I was very very excited!! There are literally dozens of these things on the market, but FitPlate ($20.90, Amazon.com) caught my eye. For a lot of reasons...

I like the fact that the product claims that will help in controlling my portions (Which is goal #1) and balancing my dinner with foods from different food groups (Which I do anyway, but its all good!). 

What really caught my eye is that printed on the plate are reminders of the food options available for each food group, highlighting the very best foods in each group (In gold). 

According to their official website, " FitPlate takes the guesswork out of what to eat and how much to eat. Simply build a meal on your FitPlate and you’re done." Sounds good to me! LOL

Miss Moon Gets Healthy: April Stats

I've been on my "Get Healthy" path for a few months now, but April was the month that I really got it going!!! I plan on  keeping this post short and sweet and just share with you how far I have come! If I can do it.. believe me, anybody can!!!

And here I am... after a walk earlier this week. I saw this Pin on Pinterest once that said, "If you still look cute after a workout... you're not doing it right!".... Judging from this picture, I am definitely doing it right!!! LOL

Others have remarked that they can already see a difference in me, but I must admit that I can't just yet. But I will continue to keep going and I know that one day, I will!!! I cannot wait to see what May has in store for me!!! Let's go #TeamGetHealthy!!!!

Miss Moon Gets Healthy: By Walking...With Gratitude!!!

I wish I was one of those women who are GUNG-HO about working out. While I find my walks tremendously gratifying, and I love the fact that I am doing something beneficial to my body... I'm not at the place where I can say honestly, "Yes!! I'm about to workout and sweat!!!" Perhaps one day I will be 24/7/365, but for now... it's a struggle to get motivated to take my walks sometime.

What's proven to be helpful in the process is GRATITUDE. Surely, gratitude is something that makes life better 100% of the time, but I hadn't thought about how gratitude can help me in my work outs before until recently. I set out to find three things to be grateful for at the beginning of my walks, which made the trek seem less like a workout and more like a walking meditation of sorts.

And I've found that during my walks I find something to be grateful about ALL the time!!! From the beautiful murals I've spotted around my neighborhood (Photos courtesy of my Instagram)...

To the beauty that only Spring in Bed-Stuy can bring....

And how can I not mention the bounty of EYE CANDY spotted at the local basketball courts?!?!? Whoooooo! Bless those menfolks!!! LOL

The moment I started finding things to be grateful for, I've started to be excited for each of my walks... if only for the opportunity to express gratitude! And I am a firm believer that gratitude=happiness and happiness=health... And since that is what the objective is, I believe I'm on the right path!!!