Today’s post is inspired by this Science Daily article–> Key Culprit identified in breast cancer metastasis

As the proud owner of two breasts, this stuff piques my interest.   As the female member of a family prone to breast cancer, this stuff really gets my attention.  And as someone who never got to meet her maternal grandmother who died of breast cancer WAY too early (she was 28, my mother only being 3 at the time), I can’t help but read this stuff and think: “What if…?”  {sigh}

So on to the gist of the article.  Things you need to know first (much of it quoted directly from the article above):

• Regulatory T cells = cells found in tumors of breast cancer patients, these cells’ job is to help mediate the body’s immune response
• RANKL=an inflammatory protein normally involved in bone remodeling (note: high turnover is the name of the game with bone cells), high levels of it make lab mice with breast cancer more prone to developing metastatic lung cancer
• Regulatory T cells produce RANKL, which appears to hasten and intensify the spread of breast cancer to distant organs and, in doing so, dramatically increase the risk of death
• The studies mentioned were done on mice. (Animal studies make me cringe too.)  And we’re not mice, we’re humans, so keep that mind.

Researchers figured out RANKL’s role by injecting synthetic RANKL into the tumors of breast cancer mice, and noticed that it made the cancer spread like wildfire.  Since RANKL was already known to have an effect of slowing bone loss in post-menopausal women, researchers tried a RANKL-inhibiting drug on the breast cancer mice and noticed that it controlled metastasis of the cancer to other body tissues.  Interesting.

But what I personally found more interesting was this: “Other breast cancer studies have linked RANKL to early stages in the development of synthetic progestin-driven breast tumors. According to the Women’s Health Initiative and the Million Women Study, hormone replacement therapy and contraceptives with progestin significantly increase the risk of developing breast cancer.”  If you take birth control pills or hormone replacement therapy that use synthetic progestins, this should have your attention, particularly if you or your family members have a history of breast cancer.  It’s been long known that synthetic hormone use can predispose people to cancer, especially when compounded by advanced age, genetic predisposition, poor lifestyle choices like smoking, etc.  But this information indicates at least one reason why this is so.  Likewise, inflammation is known to be at the base of many (some would say all) diseases.  Medications inflame the body.  The efficacy of synthetic hormones versus bioidenticals is controversial.  So it just all makes sense.  What it also does is keep me up at night when I think of so many patients and friends taking these types of hormones.

I have a very close friend who deals with devastating migraines and menstrual pain.  BC pills help control those things but she wants off because of what she knows as a health professional.  What’s a thinking girl who wants optimal health and longevity to do?

Food for thought, comments welcome of course.  Some things to consider below.  Please add yours.:

• Does this mean that some day with your new prescription of birth control or HRT, you’ll also get a prescription for a RANKL-inhibiting drug, just to hopefully cover a base?
• What happens if, out of fear, legions of women toss the birth control pills out the window in favor of other methods?  (Think about things like potentially: higher pregnancy rates; lower STD rates; higher rates of things that women control via birth control pills or HRT like migraines, cramps, acne; lower rates of some cancers; lower infertility rates; etc.)

Disclaimer: This blogpost is just that–a blogpost.  This one in particular is just a discussion of the article linked at the top.  Do not, under any circumstances. take anything written here as “medical advice”.  To that end, do not discontinue use of, decrease or increase dosage of, or otherwise change your prescribed medication(s) without medical advice and supervision.  If you have questions or concerns about any questions raised due to this post or any comments about the post, contact your medical care provider.

In memory of my biological maternal grandmother, Margaret (”Marge”) Ryba Mack. I’m sorry we missed out on each other.  I’m sure I would have loved you.

I am so grateful to have so many wonderful things going on in my life right now, one of them being that I am getting married on August 20, 2011.  Planning for the wedding has been an interesting experience, most importantly going shopping for a dress.

Now, I love to shop, so this should be a fun experience for me….right? I must admit it has been a bit of a challenge.

I loved Jodi’s post from yesterday, so I am jumping on board here and sharing one of my experiences from this week.

I am a petite women and I have always been thin, I am healthy, eat well, love to exercise and dance, I love my life.  I am happy.

But no matter how great life is every woman has experienced a time when one negative encounter can really floor you for the day.  I hear women tearing apart their bodies in the locker room of my gym everyday and it kills me to hear them being so negative.  Life is to short.

Jodi faced the grim reaper when getting on the scale at the doctor’s office and I have the sales women looking at me when shopping for a wedding dress, shake their head like nothing in the store will look good on me and make rude remarks about me needing to “eat a burger” or “how not normal I am.”  Whatever your experience is either way it doesn’t feel good when we judge each other as woman or ourselves as individuals.

So why is it such a big deal what the scale says and what the women at the dress shop think of my body?

Well, it shouldn’t be a big deal…so why make it one? I believe in standing up and loving your body, creating a positive mindset, being grateful, and being confidant in who you are right now.  Is is a great way to overcome feelings of not being enough, who you are is enough.

Beating yourself up about getting on a scale at the doctor’s office and not feeling good about yourself because it is 10 pounds more than your scale at home is just as unproductive as letting the sales women in a dress store make me feel less about myself for being a thin, petite woman.

I could not agree with Jodi more when she says get off the scale, it is just a number and I would add to that to love your body everyday no matter what, because no one will love it and take care of it better than you.

Have a great weekend!

If you hang out with me for a week you are in for an adventure simply because my life is crazy and honestly, I love every minute of it. I have a good amount of people that I see during the week as well as those that I get to love all over through our online services and our bootcamp class. But having that eclectic of a week somehow puts me in the wildest situations that either provide a really good laugh or give me some material for the “odd fodder” of the week. This past week was no different although what I am about to mention happened to me and not to one of y’alls.

So glad this happened to me and not to you! 

Looks Like I Picked A Bad Week
…to step on the scale at my doctor’s office. Yes, you heard me. What’s with the doctor scales of the world? By habit alone I weigh myself every day. Unlike some of you crazy ladies, it doesn’t bother me what it says so I can get on it every day and read the number as if I was checking the weather. It fluctuates just the same as it does for you (please read that again—I feel as if that was a word to deliver some of you out of scale bondage every day so for me it’s just a matter of Que sera, sera. So I have a doctor’s appointment yesterday and the lovely nurse walked me down the Hall of Judgment to step on the scale. Automatically my mind begins to think about the setup. First, I am at a “woman’s” appointment. Need I say more? So that means the only clients that these folks have are women…why is the scale in the hallway? Again, this isn’t for me. My mind starts to think of all of you that I speak with every week. This is NOT a good setup. A man set this office up and then left it for women to run and they, feeling boxed in like a velvet rope, stuck with it because I can’t think of one of my clients who would want to step on a scale in a busy hallway that has a digital readout large enough for Stevie Wonder to see. Anybody hearing me on this one?

As nice as she was, the clipboard gave her true intentions away.

She motions for me to get on the scale and I realize that she has the same outfit on as the grim reaper. What is that about? Regardless, I hop on. Ladies, it read ten pounds more than it did 3 hours ago in my bathroom.

Yes. Ten. Pounds. More.

I didn’t say a word. I smiled at the nurse, checked the brand of the scale and made a mental note about it and then I looked up in time to catch the look of judgment from Ginny Reaper the nurse. Now was she really judging me? No. But that scale read ten pounds more than what I am and at THAT moment SOMETHING was judging me!

All I could think about is what that phone call would like…

“Hey girl, what’s up? How are you this week?”
No hi, no lead in, can hear heavy breathing on the phone.
“Jodi. The scale read ten pounds more at my doctor’s office than what I am at my house scale.” Voice is at an alarming pitch that within the pitch seems to scream, ‘You better pull the best trainer rhetoric you have stored in that creative mind of yours or I’m about to lose it in 3 languages.’
I try to interject, although at this time I am beginning to panic and I don’t even know why.
“Girl, what did I tell you about the scales in doctor’s offices? They always read at least 5 pounds mo—“
I get cut off by a shrill tone that now has escalated to a fever pitch which sounds like, ‘I’ve been waiting all week to sink my teeth into you , don’t tell me anything you told me before. I am no longer rational.’
“Yes, but Jodi”, oh I’m in trouble now, “it read ten pounds more. Not 5—10. How can that be?” You and I know that last question was not one that was to be answered because I would most likely try to open my mouth to speak and she’d just cut me off right then and continue on…
“Does that mean 5 of that is mine? Am I really up 5 pounds? That can’t be water. I don’t understand. Which one is right? How can 2 scales differ that much? Isn’t it a professional scale seeing as it’s in my doctor’s office? Isn’t that the most accurate? Have I weighed that much all along? I can’t go on vacation now/I can’t get married/I can’t go to work…now.” These statements are coming faster than the 5 pounds she gained from the home scale to the doctor’s scale. At this point I choose the easy way out and I gnaw off of a limb with a wild animal I found in my backyard, claimed medical emergency and told her I’d call her back after the limb was re-attached.

Out of my imagination and back to my doctor’s office…

Second, Ginny now leads me to the patient room where I am to now wait for the doctor to come.

By myself. After I have just been judged.

I suddenly realized that there were no sharp objects in the room anywhere. I don’t think that’s by accident. I half expect that they have a room somewhere in the office that when you open the door it goes to nowhere. It’s a cliff and every woman they just put on the scale of judgment heads over there some time during their appointment and hops off. I bet if I went into the basement of doom there would be a pile of women on top of each other, writhing in agony while screaming loud screams of torment about “10 pounds” and “how could it be?”

“Beautiful scene.  And below you will find a heap of women who jumped off after getting on the scale at their doctor’s office.  Don’t get too close to the edge.  Let’s move on folks, we have a tight schedule.”

I truly sat there thinking two things: 1) I have to write about this and I pray they see the humor in this and our behavior as women and 2) that’s not cool of my doctor’s office to be that out of whack for a scale measurement. Heck yeah I am sticking with their scale being wrong! Now granted, I was dressed when they weighed me and I had already eaten but I would have had to have been wearing a bear rug with the bear still in it for crying out loud to make the scale go up by 10 pounds! I am going to be so transparent right now and tell you that that did not bother me because of my weight, that bothered me because of the phone call I would have had to have because of that erroneous piece of metal on the floor! Seriously self centered on this one. But this really drives the point home that it’s just a number and we really cannot live our lives bound up by it.

 Don’t be fooled by this innocent face.  I have gotten some of my best ‘why does the scale read’ training from this fierce woman. 

So what did I do sitting in the office? Text the one person who could seriously feel the drama of the situation…Kas. Tuesday girl. Kas sent me back the best detached lawyer response ever, “Ok well, that’s a bit disconcerting. That really is enough to make you scream.” At first glance you may be thinking that that is a rational, calm response. I have known Kas long enough to know that the following thoughts were flowing through her mind (in no particular order):

What the…
Better you than me…
Right now I am up to my whazoo in tax crap, don’t put that stress on me…
Could that happen?…
Wait, she didn’t tell me which one was the right one…
I’d need some drugs to make it through that appointment…
I’d cry…
If she’s texting me, she must be upset…if Jodi’s upset I’d kill myself…wait, I can’t think about this now, I’m up to my whazoo in tax crap…but was she upset?…

Hahahahaha!! I love Kas. And I honestly do not know if she was really thinking this or not, but I know I’m close!

Ladies, get off the scale. Know it’s just a number. Enjoy your life. It’s too short to be bossed around by a box on the floor. I love you way too much to let that happen.  The email series starts today. You know where to find me. Peace.

Make sure you know what you’re doing before you try and slap on that orange. OY!

Lip Color

With the make up mini-series winding down, we come to lip color.  Weirdly it’s one of the very last topics.  If you’re like me, you began your relationship with make up at lip color, or at least lip “gloss”, which back then for me meant clear and goopy mint flavored roll-on lip gloss or a jumbo-sized Dr. Pepper flavored lip balm, the latter of which hung on it’s own cord proudly around my neck.  I thought I was so cool!

It’s also weird that lip color is towards the end of the list because it’s easily what I own the most of.  You too?  There are just so many gorgeous colors I end up not being able to choose and buy them all.  It’s a good thing because I go through it like crazy.

With all that being true, it’s interesting that it’s the element of make up that I have on the least.  I choose the perfect color, put it on, love it and within 30 minutes, I’ve wiped it off.  I have an aversion to lip gloss or lip stick on a coffee mug or glass (I’m not sure what that’s about) and I don’t want to ingest it so I wipe it off before I eat.  I have three in my handbag and two or three in my car, and lots in my make up kit, and hundreds in my make up drawer, but I put it on, and then … take it off.  I never do that with foundation or eyebrow color, but it’s exactly what happens with lip color.  Go figure.

I started out wanting to say something about lip gloss and flavors but then I just got distracted by the candy bar.  Sorry about that.  Will have to come back to this when I get over the candy bar.

Lipstick, Lip Gloss or Both?

Lipstick is available in millions of colors and several formulas (matte, sheer, creamy, etc.) and in stick or pencil form.  Lip gloss also comes in millions of colors and a variety of delivery methods.  Before I stopped working to stay at home with my children I was a lipstick girl.  I’m not sure what changed, (besides my whole life) but I don’t remember glosses being all that awesome back then.  They’re better now and easy easy to wear alone or with lipstick; I almost wear glosses now exclusively.  They don’t last near as long as lipstick, but that’s just perfect for me (see above).

Lip Liner

Lip liners usually come in a pencil form.  When I was into lipstick, I was a lip liner girl too.  I liked mine to match closely to whatever lipstick I was wearing.  In fact, when I purchased a lip stick, I usually bought the matching liner.  Although lip liner is not necessary, I still like liner with lipstick as it gives it all a little more polish, especially with a creamy or sheer formula, which liner helps keep from smearing.  Coloring in the lips all the way with the pencil helps any lip stick color last a little longer.  Try liner with just a gloss for a change too.  If you’re going to use lip liner, resist the temptation to line way outside of your natural lip line or create a different shape.  Although it should make them look bigger or better, sadly it doesn’t.

Choosing a Color

Like eye make up color, some shades are better on faces with this or that color skin or hair, but like eye make up colors, it comes down to preference.  In general though, there are some tried and true guidelines that are worth trying out to see if they fit.

The color of your lips when gently bitten or the color of your healthy gums is probably your best, most flattering lip color.  Look for colors in this general family for an easy go-to color.

The older you are, the better you look in paler, natural and more subtle colors.  The smaller your lips are, the better they look in lighter, paler and subtler colors too.  Brights work well on small lip and mature faces, but in general, avoid dark colors.

Pale nude colors look very pretty with a touch of shine.  I’m not a fan of matte nudes.

Beware very pale.  Nude is one thing, white is another entirely.  I’m all for a pale, nude lip, especially with a strong eye, but there are some lipsticks that look like concealer.  Be careful!

Think about the rest of your make up when choosing lip color and attempt to coordinate a touch (not match) your blush and lip color.  For example, if you’re wearing peachy colored blush, choose a coral, peach, orange, beige, tan, or nude color for your lips – not hot pink or rose.

Subtle lips look gorgeous with a strong, heavily made up eye.  For example, dark smoky eyes and nude lips let the focus be on gorgeous eyes.  A strongly colored mouth works well with eyes that are less made up.  For example, the classic red lips are perfect with eyes lined simply in black liner and mascara, letting all attention be in the mouth.

Ok, that’s all for lip color.  Got anything to add?  A favorite (I could never whittle it down to a few favorites so I didn’t mention any brands, sorry)?

Next week, brushes.  Yay!

If you haven’t noticed by my past few posts, right now is a busy time for me.  With the amount I am working, the stress levels that come with work deadlines, and the lack of sleep; it is no wonder I am worn out.  Couple that with the fact that I really don’t like to miss workouts and will get up to get my butt to the gym, even if I haven’t slept enough; and you have a recipe for disaster.

 Of all people out there, I know how important sleep is.  When all is right with the world, I get to bed around 10pm and get up at 5am.  When all is really right with the world, I’ll go to bed at 9pm.  But when stress kicks in and I don’t get home from work until 8 pm or later, I end up staying up until 11pm or; dare I say it, midnight.  I can keep this going (the stress and staying up that late 1-2 times/week) for about 2 weeks and then it catches up with me like a bad hangover.  Add on a lack of weekends because I am working, and it gets really ugly. 

 Last week was my breaking point.  I ended up taking 2 rest days instead of 1 (oh the horror) and pushed the snooze button more times than should be legal.  Despite repeated conversations with friends and family that I needed to take time to rest, I kept pressing forward.  Thankfully, I completed three large projects last week which allowed my 80-hour weeks to slow down to a 55-hour week.  My mind and body must have sensed the ability to rest and took full advantage. 

 But prior to that rest, I have to set the tone with my Friday and Saturday workouts.  On Friday I had every intention of getting up (like I normally do) and getting to the gym.  That didn’t happen.  Instead, I went to the gym after work all set to get in a lift AND cardio.  Well, half-way through my lift I could barely move.  I started trying to try and figure out ways to cut the lift short.  The very thought of cardio was a distant memory.  I managed to finish my lift and made it home to bed.  Unfortunately, I was still high-strung from the weeks of stress.  My brain couldn’t stop trying to think of something to stress over and I didn’t get to bed until 11:30. 

 Cut to Saturday morning.  Granted I slept for 7 hours, but that clearly wasn’t enough.  I woke up and dragged myself to Jodi’s Beyond Bootcamp class.  Have you ever gone to do a burpee or a squat jump and no matter how hard you try, you cannot get your body to move quickly?  It feels like you are moving through quicksand.  Well, that is how I felt.  I got through the workout, went out for breakfast and was home on the couch by 11:30am. 

 I did not move from the couch except to go to the grocery store and get food.  Other than that, I had a date with my DVR, curtains drawn, no lights on, snuggled under a blanket, in and out of consciousness, for the remainder of my day.  I was fast asleep at 9 and slept until 9 the next morning.  Now that was the recovery and sleep I needed.  However, I never should have let it get that far. 

 The way the past three weeks should have gone down is a different story.  I should have adhered to a strict bedtime.  I should have allowed myself extra rest days if necessary (although I must say the gym tends to set the tone for my day) or at least eased up on the workouts.  I should have built in extra time to decompress.  But we live and learn.  And since there are still 7 more weeks until the end of this tax season, I will have plenty of time to implement this strategy. 

 The point, however, is that there comes a time when you are so worn down that your workouts are pointless.  Your returns diminish to the point o being nonexistent.  That is where I was last week and knowing that, I can’t even worry about taking more than one rest day.  I had nothing to give and pushing myself any harder would do nothing but hurt me.  Those are the times we need to realize it is time to say uncle.

Among the bazillion email newsletter lists I’m on, Weight Watchers (WW) is one of them.  I just got one that highlighted “10 Foods to Always Have On Hand” and “16 Foods Losers Love”.  I like a good “Top [x-number]” list, so I went in for a look.  My reaction?  “Holy mixed message, Batman!”  The foods to have around list wasn’t bad as it was all whole, natural (or nearly so) actual-food.  The foods that losers love, however, was largely a hot mess of packaged crap.  Really?  Is that the message you want to send, WW?  That your most successful losers (of weight) are rocking a new lifestyle of fake non-food?

Now before I get crucified for being anti-WW, you can forget about emailing me to do so.  After all, I’m on their email list, right?  I have no issue with their programming with regard to portion control.  And, if done right, their plan can help you achieve balance.  If nothing else, it is educational for many who often realize when they start with WW that they are eating more than they think.  My favorite part about it?  The tracking!  It forces members to create a food journal.  That’s good stuff.  But the fake food dominant list was troubling.  It reminded me of one particular group leader of a “WW at Work” program offered years ago by the company for which I work.  I never attended meetings, but those who did even noticed that this one leader particularly pushed fake food.  Pretty soon, case quantities of Coco Via and Vita Tops (these are muffin tops, and the irony there is amazing) were showing up at the office, stuffed into break room refrigerators with WW Ones, Lean Cuisine, and (allegedly) Healthy Choice frozen meals.  “Preservative popsicles”, as I like to call them.  Some WW at Work goers, however, recognized this flaw as apparently the group leader from the year or so before was decidedly pro-whole food.  Small consolation to me, as I found myself almost wishing I’d thought up the Vita Top.  Just sayin’…  These student loans aren’t paying themselves, you know. 

I haven’t met many folks who lost fat with anything “fudgy peanut butter chip” flavored, much less a baked good.  At least not when they’re ordering by the case…

But back to the fake food pushing…  At least programs like WW are real food dominant, unlike the pre-packaged diet plans.  Even more disturbing to me is when I recall the time I consulted with a well-known dietitian in my city.  When I arrived at her office, I noticed she had dozens empty boxes, bags, and cans of packaged food items on display for clients as suggestions of better “food” choices.  You should know that I was consulting with her as I was vegan at the time, and I had a goal to be a physique competitor.  I knew I was in for a challenge: being a good whole food vegan and trying to get muscular and lean.  I wanted to make sure I did it in a balanced way, but on a plant-only diet.  She is a sports dietitian, so I figured I was in good hands.  Let’s just sum this up by saying “Thank God I found Jodi”, and leave it at that.  Actually, no—can we leave it at: I don’t globally dislike dietitians, and that I can’t think of a more challenging job than trying to change the way Americans eat?  Thanks.

Even if the previous two paragraphs have saved me from getting taken out by the diet gurus of the world, I should also probably hop on out of the fake food closet for a moment, and hope my humility provides me with immunity.  After all, I am not above some use of less-whole food to creatively work with whole food, making it more of a taste sensation than it sometimes is.  One example: There’s a certain brand of nearly fat free peanut powder I sometimes mix with broth when making a stir-fry.  Let’s face it, they’ve taken out the best part of the peanut—the oil—and powderized the rest.  Sorta weird and decidedly un-whole.  But when I don’t have any more fat grams to use for the day, I go there so I’m not stuck eating a plain Jane meal.  I assure you, Jodi is cringing right now, and this is not a Jodiojo.com sanctioned meal prep practice.  But it’s an example of occasional indiscretions in the kitchen of mine that I use to get by.  There’s a thick dividing line, however, between what I just described and those who practically live on 1 to 2 “point” bars, baked goods, and drinks.  I honestly wonder if these people poop anymore.   And is their liver calling their colon crying “I haven’t seen a green veg in weeks!”  {shudder}  I’m pretty sure most of you reading this know someone who fits this description.  It’s not pretty.  And what good is it to lose a few pounds on this stuff, only to end up with saggy odd-colored skin and constipation (or the opposite)?

One question: Where’s the stick?

At least that’s my opinion.  What’s yours?  Here are the lists to which I’ve referred to give you a better idea of what set me off:

http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=43331&sc=3017

http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?art_id=2281&tabnum=1&sc=3017&subnav=What%20to%20Buy

Our bodies are amazing, just think for a second about everything that your body accomplishes in a day.  Sometimes it is hard to truly appreciate the body that you have been blessed with, but I have an amazing body…and so do you!

Your body is a super-computer that never makes mistakes all you have to do is pay attention.

Cravings are an exciting part of a healthy lifestyle, even though most people view cravings as a weakness, they are really an important message meant to help you maintain balance.

Have you ever taken the time to look at the foods, deficits and behaviors in your life that are the underlying causes of your cravings.

When you experience a craving, pick it apart and ask yourself, what does my body want and why?

Here are a few causes for cravings:

1.   Water – Lack of water can send a message to the body that you are thirsty which can manifest as a mild hunger, so the first thing to do when you get a craving is drink a full glass of water.  Excess water can also cause cravings in the body, so make sure that your water intake is balanced for your body.

2.   Lack of primary foods – Being unhappy, stressed, bored, uninspired, or being imbalanced in any aspect of your life can cause emotional eating.  This type of emotional eating can be used as a substitute for entertainment or to fill the void of primary food.  Be sure you are always doing what you love, life is to short to miss out on the things that truly make you happy.

3.   Lack of nutrients – If your body has inadequate nutrients, it will produce odd cravings.

4.   Yin/Yang imbalance – Some foods have more yin qualities (expansive) while others have more yang qualities (contractive).  Eating extremely yin or extremely yang cause cravings in order to maintain balance.

Remember that everyone has different reasons and levels of cravings and it is up to you to listen to your body to detect what works for you.

Have a great weekend!

A false sense of security mixed with a fragile self image makes for a desperate woman on cardio.

Last week I spoke of how hard it is to get lean the second time around. How you think you will just do all that you did the weeks before and it will just magically fall off again. Umm…WRONG. As we go full steam ahead into this series, let me dispel some myths so we can all be on the same page for this series:

Law of Equitability
Basically, you cannot ask the body to less and somehow you miraculously get more out of it without some type of major “reset” in your system. This is a very hard concept to get through to people but I will try my hardest to explain.

If you just spent 12 to 16 weeks eating 1200 cals/day, doing 60 min of cardio/day, lifting 4 days/week, you are not going to lose weight doing anything less than that any time soon. So let’s say you gain 10 pounds back and you are ready to lose it again. It’s been about 2 to 3 months since you hit goal weight and you have been at this new weight that long. You decide it is time to get back to that miraculous weight you were at before and you think you are just going to start back up again and the weight will fall off. Most of us now know that it does not and what actually happens is that we can stay at that weight doing all that we were doing before forever. Why? Because your body responds to *change*–not absolutes. Whatever you were doing before now must be equal or greater to be able to affect a change in your body. The danger in this is that you can find yourself down to 1000, 900, 800 calories while doing 1, 2, possibly 3 hours of cardio/day to get the scale to move. Do not fall into this trap.

No matter how much water you pour in here, it can only hold 20 ounces.

Law of Diminishing Return
There is a point where no matter how much more you do, you got whatchu got. You ain’t gettin’ no mo. Got me? If you are lean for the first time, hear me as I speak: Pull back on what you are doing to do the least amount that you need to do to get what you want. Don’t get on a cardio “high” and start banging out more than necessary. Or even worse, don’t become paranoid that you need to do a small Olympic trial every week to maintain what you have. You are setting yourself up for failure when you go to lose weight again—and I can guarantee you you will have to lose weight again. The more you do now, you will have to do at least that and most likely more to get lean again. So if you start out gang busters at an hour of cardio/day, guess what? You own that now and then some later on and that is a slippery slope that is not going anywhere good, fast.

Law of Continuation
Taking a fat burner? Tried some other stuff here and there? Messing around with hormones or supplements? If you have introduced them into your diet for any significant amount of time (and this varies/substance) they directly reduce your chances of being able to lose the weight again without them. And just like the law of equitability, you must have more, use more, etc. to get more.

Yes, we’re jackasses.  But we’re still cute.

Law of JackAssery
Unfortunately, we all suffer from this one. Here is what this looks like…

You lose a ton of weight and you look great. To do this you are doing cardio 7 days/week, eating very clean—almost no cheats and lifting like a pscycho. You hit goal weight and your event/wedding/vacation comes and goes. You begin to slip on your program. At this point, what we all should do is enter into a place of maintenance where we back our plan down a bit and settle into a comfortable weight we can maintain. Sometimes that might be 2 or 3 pounds more than what you are right now but you still look good. But mentally we can’t do that. We’ve either been beaten into submission by the scale or have such a fragile self image now that the mere thought of giving up where we are sends us right to the stair master. So we begin to cheat and fall apart WHILE still doing 7 days of cardio, super clean diet and lifting like a psycho. We have more and more days of cheating, we become more and more tired and then suddenly we are up 7 to 10 pounds. But now, shoot to the law of equitability and we see that we’re in trouble. We have gained weight *within* our “cleanness” and now there’s nowhere to go but extreme. Whatever you do, when you know you cannot hang on or it is time to call “uncle”, open up your diet and back your cardio down. Let me repeat that, open up your diet and back your cardio down.

So much to talk about and so little time!

I want to welcome all the new people to the blog, we appreciate you reading us. And we want to welcome all the new ladies who have signed up for updates, we appreciate you as well. I have not sent out anything on this series, yet, because so many new folks were signing up but I will now. Too much to talk about!

Start looking at where you are in your plan right now. Is it sustainable? Is it reasonable? Do you need an intervention? If you can relate to any of this, I want to hear about it below or email me at Jodi@trans4mationstation.com and I will be happy to chat with you.

Yes, she’s gorgeous.  But you know what really draws you to her is her eyebrows.

Eyebrows are just so cool.  Great, well-shaped brows to the face are like the perfect pair of shoes making the outfit complete.  If I have 20 seconds to do something to my face, I’m adding a little color to my brows (and concealer at the first red light).  That’s how much polish a defined brown can make to your face.

Eyebrow shape actually had styles over the years.  Remember the high, super thin and rounded brows of the black and white movies, Brooke Shields awesome caterpillars, and the thick, black, painted brows of Elizabeth Taylor?  Somewhere in between, well-shaped, moderately dark and strong, will always be timeless and beautiful.

Perfection.

The basics of shape haven’t changed:  the brow should align with the center of the nostril, the arch should peak somewhere past the iris, and it shouldn’t extend too far past the edge of eye; tapering out in thickness towards the outer edge.  Diagrams of this abound on the internet if you’re interested in shaping your brow yourself.  But since brows come in all different shapes and textures, and if you’re starting from scratch, my best advice is to leave major shaping to a professional.  Ask the beauty at work or the gym with gorgeous, perfectly groomed eyebrows who does hers, and go see that person.  A pro will usually use wax to groom the brow into shape, but threading gives good results, as does hand tweezing.  Beware walk in eyebrow salons with just any old stranger.  Growing out a bad brow wax is misery.  Do your homework and go to the best you can find and afford.  It’s worth the effort and expense to get a really good result.

Once you have a shape you’re happy with, just tweeze as needed to maintain.  I used to have mine waxed regularly but they got thinner and thinner each time, until I realized they were too thin.  Ugh.  They grew back in, but I learned a good lesson, and now I do my own; tweezing two or three hairs on each side every day or so is usually enough to keep the shape maintained.

Your eyebrow color can make all the difference in the world. Choose wisely.

Now that your brows are nicely shaped, do you need to fill in the color a little?  Powder brow color or eye shadow is the most natural looking and the easiest to use.  Choose a MATTE (glitter-yes, shimmer-no.  Ha!) color that matches your natural brow color as closely as possible.  It’s normal and natural that brows are a different color than your hair color.  If your brows are very fair and you want to darken them, choose a dark shade of tan, light brown, blonde or taupe that is very close to the natural brow color.  When the brow make up color and natural brow color are too different, it’s obvious and looks bad; better to go without than look weird.  The better cosmetics counters are a good place to look for color advice if you’re in doubt.  Apply powder brow color or eye shadow with a small, wedge shaped eyeliner or brow brush.  Bobbi Brown makes a great brow brush, as does Essence of Beauty (available at drugstores).  But my very favorite brow brush is the so awesome Instant Brow by Claudio Riaz.

If you don’t need to mess around with adding color, and your brows are well shaped and naturally full, consider using a clear brow gel for light grooming.  Even hairspray spritzed on an old toothbrush or hair gel combed through brows helps keep unruly brows in place.

What about if your brows have no hairs left?  Say you’ve over tweezed or waxed for so long, they just stopped growing back (this absolutely happens, so be careful!) or you’ve lost your brows due to a medical condition or treatment?  Brows can be drawn on, but it isn’t easy and almost never looks natural.  In my opinion, this also calls for professional guidance.  Eyebrows are an important part of your face; it is just really noticeable when they aren’t there.  I did not know this until researching for this post, but there is such a thing as brow wigs.  Real human hair woven into little eyebrows that you put on with an adhesive tape.  Now that’s cool.

Things not to do …

Do not over pluck!  A very thin brow looks unnatural;  a very thin brow with a high arch looks sinister and evil; at the very best, very thin brows it make the face look permanently surprised.

Beware the magnifying mirror!  This is where over plucking begins.

Thicker brows are more youthful looking than thin brows.

It is very difficult to wax your own brows well.  Tweezing is the easiest way to remove brow hair.

Clean your tweezers in alcohol regularly, especially if anyone else in your house uses them too.

Ok, I’m dying to hear your brow disaster stories.  Anyone but me?  Ok, I’ll start, but you guys have to add yours!

So I’m 14 or 15, 9^th grade, and I tweeze in between my brows so much that there was easily three inches between them, and the brow itself was like an inch long.  And that’s the only place I tweezed, not underneath.  So I had wide, one-inch brows.  What’s worse is I didn’t even know that it was bad until, like after a few months, my friend told me how awful it was.  I was mortified.  I think I cut long bangs to cover them as they grew back it.  I remember the brow out being ugly.  Never did that again.

Hectic does not even begin to describe my life right now.  It is tax season which means extremely busy hours, stress and exhaustion.  It also means that I need to prioritize everything, including my training.  I workout in the morning and on a normal week, if I decide to sleep in, I go to the gym after work.  However, when I don’t leave the office until 8pm every night, going to the gym after work is simply not an option.  Thus, making it to the gym every morning is of the upmost importance.

 But, there are even some mornings when I am so exhausted I hit snooze for an extra 30 minutes.  You know what that means?  I slept through 30 minutes of my training time.  I still need to get a workout in, but might not have time for a lift and cardio, if that is what I had planned.  

Knowing my life is going to be like this for the next 8 weeks, I have to accept some things aren’t going to happen.  I won’t necessarily be able to get in every training session I want, but there are certain sessions I won’t miss.  If I have a choice of missing a lift or cardio, cardio is out the door.  Lifting is far more beneficial than cardio. 

If I have to choose between a plyo workout over steady state cardio, or an interval cardio session over steady state, the steady state cardio loses out. 

Although I will toss cardio out the window that does not mean all cardiovascular exercise is gone.  I’ll throw a crank in between giant sets.  Or I’ll add on some type of plyo after every set. Or switch to full body workouts three times per week to keep me. 

 So when all else fails and you can’t fit in every training session you want, here are some pointers to keep you on track:

 Prioritize lifts over cardio,

1. Make lifts full body or add in plyos or a crank,
2. If you can fit in cardio, go for the hard one, the crazy intervals,
3. Do not be too hard on yourself for having other priorities in life that are taking a center stage.