14 Husky
What size do you wear? Size 14 Husky. I bought some camo pants the other day. I scored big time. I had been looking and not finding. I was in Walmart for what felt like every single day that week getting last minute things. I …
Author: peggielarsen
Eating Disorder Awareness Week – 2022 – another chapter of my story.
This week is Eating Disorder Awareness Week 2022. I wasn’t going to write this, but something told me to. My story is out there. I didn’t know what else I could add to it. You aren’t alone. If you need to get help, reach out. …
How Are You Living Your In Between Time?
We aren’t promised anything. Our days are numbered. You know that, right? We have a birth date and a death date. We don’t have any in between dates. We have milestones and stories and life living. How we spend those is our choice. Similarly, how we don’t spend them is our choice.
We don’t choose that death date, but we can choose what we do with the in between dates. We can choose how to show up for ourselves. The privilege of living this life is just that, a privilege. We only get one life. We don’t get nine. We aren’t cats.
In my mind as I write this, is my dad. I made an Instagram Reel about this very thing and I also posted over on my Facebook story. His begin date was April 21, 1940. His end date was June 3, 2000. He had 60 years to live. 60 years to show up for himself.
He got dealt a hand that wasn’t the best genetically. He had lots of heart disease in his family. He had lots of alcoholism in his family. He jumped right in to those. My dad believed that if a little bit of something was good, a lot was better. He was funny that way. As a result, he would jump on diet trends. Always looking to lose weight, but always loving food. SlimFast shakes in the fridge, yep. Herbalife in the cupboard, for sure. Aloe vera juice in the fridge, of course. If a little bit of olive was good, a lot was better. Giant containers. He loved HoHos and he loved Snackwell Cookies. Low fat was way better, you know, even if you ate 14 of them.
How are you showing up for yourself in this in between time? It really is so easy to push it off. The changes. We want to make changes, yet we say there is aways tomorrow. The voice tells you to wait until next week. Oh, next month looks better. Maybe I will start Monday. Do you follow through?
I think what happens to a lot of us is the dichotomous thinking. The all or nothing. The good and bad. We forget about the gray area. We forget about the in between area. We just keep doing what we do. We keep staying stuck, because frankly, change is really hard. Sometimes we are afraid to change. Sometimes we just keep blaming our genetics. Genetics are like a loaded gun, lifestyle pulls the trigger. I have loved that quote.
Change takes time and it takes a lot of patience. Change takes consistency. If you do something consistently, you make a change. You notice the change. It’s motivating. It makes you feel good. It gives you the confidence to keep going.
Start thinking about how you want to show up for yourself in this gray area. How do you want to show up in this in between?
It’s possible to still have fun and be healthy. Do you really need to party every single weekend? Do you really need to drink wine every single night? Do you really just want to sit around and watch TV all night? Start asking yourself those hard questions. Start looking for places where you can make small changes. The small changes definitely add up to big results. But, you have to become aware first.
What are you doing now? Do you feel tired all the time? Are you trying to keep up with all the obligations? At some point, something has to give. Burning the candle at both ends and expecting to be able to live a healthy life, is a delusion.
What does optimal health look like for you? What does that person look like to you? Above all, that is what we are striving for. That is what most people want with their health. Optimal. Not okay. Not marginal. Optimal.
Remember, it’s the in between that matters. It’s not the beginning. It’s not the end. Find your in between and start working toward your optimal. You have a lot to live for.
Begin to love the Mondays. Begin to love the in between time. Begin to love the wait time.
It’s all time and it zooms by.
The Prompt: How Do You Feel When You Look At The Stars?
How Do You Feel When You Look At The Stars? This was the prompt a few days ago and I am just getting to it today. I love the stars. I always have. I remember as a kid just laying on the sidewalk and looking …
Reverse Dieting – Is It Magic?
What is reverse dieting? Reverse dieting is a buzzword that has been getting mentioned a lot lately in the fitness space. Reverse dieting has been around for a while. The term, reverse dieting, originated from bodybuilders and physique athletes who needed a better, more healthy …
The Prompt: What Is On Your Music Playlist Right Now?
What is on your music playlist right now?
This is an interesting one. I’ve been throwing it back to Matchbox Twenty. I keep coming back to this playlist.
I have a lot of different Matchbox songs and different artists on it as well. The name of the playlist is Matchbox Twenty Mix.
I would say this group is my and John’s group. This is what we listened to all the time when we first met. We listened to it all the time and I mean all the time. It definitely reminds me of us.
Some of the songs include:
Matchbox Twenty
3AM
Push
Long Day
Back 2 Good
Stop
Kody
Unwell
Real World
Hang
Here are some other songs that are included on this playlist:
Golden Gates
Did You Say Such A Thing
Case 795
Get A Leg Up
Paper In Fire
These are all Mellencamp – my favorite.
And then it is filled out by some randoms by Better Than Ezra, Daughtry, The Fray, Kanye, and Eve 6.
It’s a good workout playlist. I don’t need the – make my ears bleed – music when I workout. This stuff is good for me.
The Prompt: Where Do You Go When You Need Solitude
Where do you go when you need solitude? When I was in high school, the teen angst was real. I had a thinking spot. Actually, Mary and I had a thinking spot. A solitude spot. This was the place we would go when we …
The Prompt: What Is Your Favorite Part About Yourself?
What is your favorite part about yourself? Today’s prompt. It’s easy to think something of my appearance, but I feel like there is so much more than appearance. I have been thinking about this a lot today, as I received the prompt this morning, but …
The prompt: Write About What Makes You Feel Strong
The prompt:
Write about what makes you feel strong.
I could easily say strength training. Strength training does make me feel strong. But there is more to it.
In lifting, you are in competition with yourself. The mental toughness has to be built. You have to build the foundation.
Strength doesn’t just come easy.
Strength isn’t just about lifting 100 pounds.
Spending time. Crafting your workouts. Taming your form. Putting in the effort. Finding that discipline for when you don’t ever feel like doing it. That’s where true strength is formed.
Thinking about what your body is doing while you are moving through the lifts is important. That is where true strength comes. That is where the physical and the mental collide. Your mind is strong. Your mind wants to make you quit.
It has the voice that talks to you. It has the voice that tells you you can’t do it. It has the voice that tells you you aren’t good enough. It tells you you will never be good enough.
But you keep going. You keep pushing. You keep working. You do it because YOU want to change. You do it because YOU want to overcome that mental chatter. You do it because YOU want to feel strong.
When you can keep going when you don’t feel like it, and when you can keep going because you have silenced the voices, and when you can keep going because you believe in yourself, you just won. You made yourself strong.
You are strong.
Recipes and I’m Not Talking About Cookies
This podcast is about mentors and helpers and people with big hearts. If you’ve ever needed one or been one, you might enjoy this episode. Matt was a great one for me. He definitely helped me a lot. Thanks for listening.