Bulking Season!

The nip in the air tells me it is officially bulking season! I love bulking season because it means fewer work outs, more food and rewarding results. 

It is a commonly held myth that bulking season is only for men, but it is great for women too. Ladies, this is your chance to get stronger and let your body bulk up with out worrying how you look in a bikini - it is amazingly freeing.

My boyfriend and I schedule out two or three “bulking” workouts each week. These workouts consist of a whole body, heavy weight movements. An example workout for this would be 5x5 squats, 5x5 bench-press, 5x5 barbell rows, and then a super set of 2x8 pull-ups/pull downs, 2x8 lateral raises and 2x8 sit ups.

Then between the bulking days we do light running, yoga or a light target day (swimming would also be great if you have access to an indoor pool).

For diet, we eat similarly to ketosis but we include more carbs. Our day to day meals look usually look something like this: breakfast - greek yogurt (all fat and low sugar) or protein shake; lunch - chicken, full fat ground beef or turkey, or bacon and eggs; and for dinner - pasta with meat balls/meat sauce, and lots of cheese, or crock pot beef stew. 

We also eat plenty of the snacks throughout the day like rice cakes, apples, baby carrots, dried figs, etc. The key to bulking season eating is higher protein and carbs, but still maintaining a balanced diet with fruits and veggies.

Carmyn is an opinionated keyboard pecker, graphic designer, part time model and bikini enthusiast.

Benifits of Yoga!

Yoga is unique from most kinds of exercise because it requires the participant to slow down and focus on themselves. In almost no other form of exercise is your breathing pattern so crucial.

The structure of yoga, the breathing, deliberate flow of motions and the the introspection that occur during practice are both healing and strengthening. Yoga is great for anyone who feels overwhelmed or just needs a little "me time". It has always been a crucial pracrice for me before a big project is due. Yoga gives me peace to unwind.

Growing up, one of my aunts was a yoga instructor so I have been able to witness the benefits first hand. It is a fairly user friendly activity - my aunt had a steel rod in her back and she was still as capable as any other instructor I have ever had.

Also, yoga fosters endurance and strength. In the world of growing popularity of lifting heavy weight, the benefit of body weight exercises are often forgotten. However, yoga defines muscles by using your own body as resistance while at the same time increasing flexibility.

You can also ramp up yoga's intensity by going to hot yoga (my personal favorite). Hot yoga is practiced in a studio heated from about 90°F to 104°F - so don't forget to drink plenty of water before hand. Hot yoga is awesome for detox and weight loss.

So next time you are feeling stressed or maybe just need to focus on you. I definitely recommend giving yoga a try.

The Ketogenic Diet

With Halloween candy, Thanksgiving meals and Christmas dinners just on the horizon, eating healthy and dieting seems to be a growing topic of conversation. In our house we like to prepare ourselves for the holiday season by cycling on and off of Ketogenic eating.

The Ketogenic diet consists of high fats and low to no carb intake - think 8-20 grams of carbs a day. When participating in the “Keto lifestyle” you have certain trade offs. You can have as much butter and cheese (and other fats) as you want, but sadly you have to strictly monitor your carbohydrates.

The biggest complaint I have heard about this style of eating is that “I like my fats on my carbs” like butter on popcorn or parmesan on spaghetti. So for me this means trying to find tradeoffs. 

Instead of pasta we eat spaghetti squash with a low carb marinara sauce, butter and as much cheese as we please. You can also make taco shells out of cheese, bread chicken with coconut flour and even make a veto friendly cheese cake.

For me the trick to successful Keto is meal prep. You have to make sure you eat often enough, because your body will be burning through the fats much faster that it would normally, and that you are keeping track of your carbs. 

So if this sounds like your cup of tea, hit up Pinterest and get to exploring the wonderful world of Ketogenic eating! You can even check out my board “KETO LIFE” on my Pinterest page, https://www.pinterest.com/ccook757/keto-life/

Carmyn is an opinionated keyboard pecker, graphic designer, part time model and bikini enthusiast.

How to Take Care of Yourself While Working From Home

How to Take Care of Yourself While Working From Home

It seems that as technology improves, more and more people are getting to work from home. From a wellness perspective I have found this to be both a blessing, and a curse. Ideally, I should have the time to meal prep delicious and healthy meals, hit the gym, and have a perfect ergonomic set up.

However, these goals are easier said than done. Because trust me, it is easy to stay in your pjs, eat mac n cheese for lunch every day and work from your bed or couch.

To combat falling into this lazy cycle I have found it best to set your own rhythm and stick to it. 

Get up and start your day with a light breakfast (think fruit, yoghurt or protein shake/bar) and go work out. And lets be real, workout clothes are almost as comfortable as pjs so it won’t be that rude of an awakening.

Or if you don’t feel like hitting the gym or going for a run I like to plan a light body weight circuit to space out my day that I can jump into every two or three hours. For me that means crunches, push ups, planks, air squats etc. Do a little research and find a circuit that works for you - I recommend Pinterest or bodybuilding.com, both are simple to use and have a million ideas for circuit workouts. Another benefit of circuit workouts at home is that way you are not sitting too long. Sitting and staring at a screen for too long can cause muscle cramps and eye fatigue so I try to do all I can to combat those.

Next, to force myself to eat healthy I do crock pot meals on Sundays and keep healthy snacks on hand. By making food in the crock pot all I have to do is heat up small portions when it is meal time, making eating as easy as possible. As far as snacks go I try to have trail mix, cheese sticks and other high protein options to keep me full.

Lastly, an ergonomic desk and chair would be ideal. However, if you are like me and saving up to that set up, then you need a different solution. Do you best to elevate your screen so you are not over extending your neck. By having a raised screen it also gives you the option to stand. Stand whenever you can to improve posture and blood flow.

I hope these tips help!

Instagram @carmynisabella, Freelance page isabellajamesdesigns.com 

The Dangers of Self Appointed Expectations

Wellness can be a very personal topic. Carmyn's first Wellness Wednesday piece is a little bit of an introduction to her, she touches on a topic that many of us have struggled with, and discusses the realization that helped her cope. Many of us get a idea in our head of where our life SHOULD be at a specific time and point. We feel like we are failing at life because real life doesn't match that idea. Don't let those feelings set you back. 

Be sure to check back weekly for Carmyn's Wellness Wednesday feature each week, where she will discuss mental, physical, dietary, and emotional wellness!

I never thought that I would classify myself as mentally unwell. I am generally a happy person. I have a loving family, the best boyfriend and two purry fur babies.

I recently graduated from the University of Tennessee in May and ever since then I have been doing whatever I can for work, making cold calls and cleaning houses included. After receiving the chancellor’s award for “Outstanding Professional Promise” in April this is not where I expected to find myself at all.

Mentally I became somewhat unwell. I experienced a mental barrier between what I thought I deserved and what was offered to me in terms of a career. This caused me to shut down on my job search and to hesitate on going to the gym, which is usually a staple for me.

It all seemed to culminate on a haphazard beach trip that we took to “relax”. While on the trip we managed to lose the one set of keys to our rental, forget all of our clothes in the dresser, and to top it all off, I found out that I was passed up for a job that I thought was certainly going to be offered to me.

The culmination of these things should have made me explode. However, it forced me to mentally let go of thinking that everything was going to be perfect just because that is what I thought it should be. As cliché as it is to say, life happens.

Upon realizing that nothing is going to happen a certain way just because that is what I want is refreshing and freeing. So if you are like me, and are having feelings that things are not going your way, I implore you to take a step back and take a deep breath. Define what is in your control and what is not and let go of what isn’t. I think that you will find that your mental wellbeing will improve exponentially. 

Carmyn is an opinionated keyboard pecker, graphic designer, part time model and bikini enthusiast.

How to run a business as an introvert

How to run a business as an introvert

Today we have a guest blog by Clare Diston. Clare is a freelance editor and proofreader who loves working with independent authors. She works on fiction and non-fiction through her business, Human Voices Editorial Services.

I am an introvert, no question, and I also run my own business. Are those two things incompatible? Some people might think so, but the real answer is an emphatic NO.

There are lots of definitions of the term ‘introvert’: it can mean someone who is shy and quiet; someone who directs their attention and energy inwards; or someone who gets their energy from being alone. That last definition is my favourite—I used to be extremely shy, but now I like to think I’m OK at holding a conversation and making a good impression. The difference is that, after a social binge, I need to ‘recover’ by being by myself and doing my own thing. I like people, but I need my own company too.

In many ways, I’m more suited to the self-employed, work-alone lifestyle than I am to working in an office: I don’t really like small talk and I can’t sustain it all day, I HATE phone calls, and I feel unreasonably immense pressure when I have to make anyone else a cup of tea. But being an introvert is by no means a death knell for entrepreneurial flare, and it can even be a real advantage to starting a business and making it work.

So if you’re an introvert who wants to start a business, here are my 6 tips for making your introversion work for you!

1. Acknowledge your strengths

It’s easy to look at introverted characteristics in a negative light, but if you just reframe them you can see that they’re actually strengths. You’re not unsociable, you like your own company. You’re not quiet, you’re focused. You’re not a bad team player, you’re an excellent solo star. If you know you work best alone and you come across better in writing than face to face, play to your strengths: start a business that you can do by yourself (might I recommend editing and proofreading?) and sell yourself in emails and written pitches.

2. Embrace email

Speaking of email—when you run your own business, you can more or less choose how you communicate with your contacts. I had a couple of temp jobs when I was a teenager which involved answering phones all day and it was HELL for introverted me. Now, in my business, I communicate almost exclusively over email or Skype messaging. None of my clients have my phone number. Of course, some phone calls are inevitable (and if a client wants one, do it), but it’s so pleasant to work without that constant dread of the phone ringing.

3. Allow yourself to recharge

If you do end up having to make a phone call or attend a face-to-face meeting, give yourself some time to recharge afterwards. For introverts, spending lots of time with people can be draining—especially in a more intense business situation—so it’s important to get your energy back by taking some alone time and rewarding yourself with something fun. You might dance around the living room, pelt out your favourite song at the top of your lungs, or treat yourself to your favourite snack. Plus, knowing you’ll get a reward for your efforts will make you more likely to do it again.

4. Push yourself

You might be tempted to think you can do it all yourself, but no entrepreneur is an island, and a huge part of running a successful business is making connections. That means you’re going to have to go to meetings and networking events, and you’re going to have to talk to people. Sounds scary? It is, so don’t give yourself the chance to chicken out. Book well in advance, spend money on tickets, and set yourself a target like talking to three people or giving away five business cards. Harness all that self-motivated energy to get you out of the door and you might even find you have fun!

5. Practice your elevator pitch

When you deliberately put yourself in situations where you will meet people, they’re going to want to know about you and your business, so have a brief ‘elevator pitch’ prepared. This is a short summary of who you are, what you do, why/when you started, and perhaps a funny or interesting one-sentence summary that will stick in your listeners’ minds (mine is: “Anything to do with words, I’m your girl!”). Crucially, you need to practice this, so when all eyes turn on you, you can take a deep breath and take comfort in the fact that you already know what to say.

6. Encourage other introverts

As an introvert, you’re best placed to recognised introversion in others, and to help them with it. If you’re at an event and you spot someone sitting alone at a table looking terrified, approach them—after all, you know exactly how they’re feeling! Similarly, if you notice a fellow introvert trying to say something and getting talked over by the more extroverted in the room, ask their opinion and encourage them to speak. By promoting solidarity between introverts and helping the ones who are just starting out, we all stand to benefit. Maybe one day you could even pass on your wisdom in a blog post about running a business as an introvert…

Written 2-22-2017 by Clare Diston for Human Voices titled How to Run a Business as an Introvert. Reposted with permission by Live Laugh Love Nashville – Wellness Wednesday Feature .

[The below website link will connect you with Clare Diston at Human Voices. Plus follow her on social media.]

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