Step into a Slim Gym.

As the "scrawny kid" in high school, I never really saw much point in going to the gym. For starters, I absolutely loathed working out. I was on Swim Team all throughout high school and loved the fact that there was no running or throwing or catching involved in that sport. Mind you, it isn't that I am lazy! I love doing outdoorsy stuff like hiking or riding bikes or rock climbing. And between us girls, the larger I got in the brassiere, the more uncomfortable running became for me. Ditto with any other sport that involves jumping, hopping, or flipping upside-down for any period of time.

When I graduated high school, I stayed at a relatively similar weight as I had been for the past few years. Sure, I gained (and lost) some weight my Freshman year of college (who doesn't?)... but for the most part I stayed around the same number on the scale. But something happened that I DIDN'T expect or notice for a while: my clothes fit differently. While the scale comforted me with familiar numbers, the numbers on my jeans went up and up. Where I was once a size 0 or 1, suddenly I was buying size 7 and 8 jeans. It isn't that this is a large jean size, but for a 5'4" girl who hasn't gained any pounds, it's a pretty big leap. I chose to ignore it and remain satisfied that my beloved scale was still nice to me, at least. I dabbled in working out once in a while... 20 minute yoga videos, an evening walk. But I never really "exercised." And quite frankly, I never really wanted to so why should I, right? Wrong.
Studies show that women of all ages are looking to the wrong things to determine their health. We do daily weigh-ins, we yo-yo diet, we suck in our guts. But it isn't the women who eat diet food and weigh in every day that are healthy. In fact, it isn't the women who society deems "thin," that are healthy at all! Many women out there depend on coffee and cigarettes or diets consisting of lemon juice to lose weight. But guess what? You're not losing the RIGHT weight! When you diet and don't feed your body the nutrition that it needs, you aren't losing fat at all. The first thing your body is going to dispense of is the muscle in it. This is why my jeans weren't fitting after high school. I was losing weight, and also gaining it at the same time. I lost a lot of that lovely muscle I had gotten from years of swimming, and gained that weight back in fat. The scale showed the same amount because muscle weighs more than fat, so that I would lose a pound of muscle but I was gaining more volume of fat.

Think of it like a pound of bricks vs. a pound of feathers. The pound of bricks can fit in a relatively small bag, right? Now think of a pound of feathers. That pound of feathers is going to need a lot of volume to weigh that much, so it takes a much, much bigger bag. Your body is that bag. Need me to be more specific? Your ass is that bag. Your body can weigh the same and either have that pound of bricks in it, or that pound of feathers... your choice.
Interestingly enough, I still wasn't motivated to change anything in my diet. I wasn't "fat," so why bother? It wasn't until I had an unrelated surgery that I started to really take an interest in what I was putting in my body. As I was saying before: women can be teeny-tiny thin and ultimately MUCH more unhealthy than what some people might consider "heavy." Try not to think of foods as "high-calorie," "low-fat," or "the all-evil carbohydrate!" Your body is a delicate system of give and take. You need energy to complete your daily tasks. Believe it or not: you actually need fat too!

Just be careful which carbs, sugars, and fats you put into your body. I'm working on a book by Dr. Oz called "You On A Diet," in which he goes over a lot of this information. No- I am not on a diet. I'm simply trying to make sure I take care of my body and am as informed on it as possible. In the chapter I'm on he tells you the 5 things to steer clear of: Simple Sugars, Enriched-bleached-or refined flour, high fructose corn syrup, saturated fat, and trans fat. These are foods that "trick" your body. They turn down the volume on the little speaker in your body that says, "Okay, I'm full!" and add more sugars to your body than necessary. AKA- bad girl. Don't do it! I will go over the why and how on this in my next post.

But this post is about the stuff going on in the outside part of you: get your lazy bum to the gym! I have, after literally years of refusing to do so, gotten myself a gym pass. No more procrastinating for this young thing. I've discovered the most awesome part of going to the gym: being alone in a room of people. Yea, this sounds like a recipe for depression, but I absolutely love it. It's exactly what I've been needing for the past few years.

Every day I go to work. At my job, I am told what to do. I am told how to do it. I am so busy sharing my time, in fact, that I have had to answer the phone IN the bathroom. I transfer the phones to my cell phone on my lunch break and have to answer with a mouth full of food. My time is someone else's time for 8 hours of my day, 5 days per week. I get off work and go home. Usually I end up meeting up with my boyfriend or roommates or friends. We sit and chat about every one's days. We listen to each other's little dramas. I try, as much as possible, NOT to hog the conversation. My ears become my friend's. My shoulder becomes theirs. I chime in on their lives and meet up at their houses and places of work to talk. My time is their time. But when I go to the gym a wonderful thing happens. My time is MY time. I set the pace. I listen to my iPod and control exactly what mood I will have for the next hour or two. I can go when I want and stop when I want. And it's lovely, and it's selfish, and it's exactly what I need.
To close out the longest blogspot EVER, here are a few pump UP songs to download for your (hopefully) new thirst for gym time, and a few cool down ones as well! (Ps- if you hate running like me, I have fallen in love with the bikes there. Try it!)

PUMP UP:

AFI: Beautiful Thieves

ALICE IN CHAINS: Would

AUDIOSLAVE: Show me how to live

BEYONCE: Sweet Dreams

BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE: Tears don't fall

CHEVELLE: Send the pain below

DEFTONES: Minerva

FINCH: What it is to burn

JAY Z/ RIHANNA/ KANYE WEST: Run this town

JUVENILE: Numb Numb

A PERFECT CIRCLE: Judith

RISE AGAINST: Dancing for rain

WIND DOWN:

THE BLACK KEYS: Psychotic girl

BRAND NEW: Sic transit Gloria... Glory fades

CALEXICO: Two silver trees

THE CARDIGANS: Explode

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: I'm on fire

THE DECEMBERISTS: Summersong

DEFTONES: The chauffeur

ERYKAH BADU: Bag lady (remix)

MURDER BY DEATH: Three men hanging

A PERFECT CIRCLE: 3 Libras

QUEENSRYCHE: Silent lucidity

RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS: Wet sand

REGINA SPEKTOR: Eet

SHINY TOY GUNS: Putting on the ritz

Love,

Lula Mae

Me, myself, and moi.

I believe that no matter what your physical appearance looks like, no one can be complete without having some kind of emotional and spiritual balance in their lives. I know that when I lose that balance I usually end up running myself into the ground, completely frazzled. Trust me, I am not here to preach any kind of religious belief to you- I have always felt that was personal within people. But there is ONE extra special person whom I feel you must make an emotional connection with in order to live your life completely and spherically: YOU.

I know it may sound selfish but I have always been one of my number one priorities. I don't see that kind of behavior as self-absorbed, but rather outwardly concerned. I feel that one can never give fully of themselves to the world in need if they don't have themselves relatively figured out. You have to be at peace within yourself in order to bring any kind of joy or peace to the people whom you care about. But herein lies the modern woman's dilemma... where on Earth do you find time for YOU?

I find it fascinating how busy I am, and I mean really amazing. I am young with relatively few health problems, no children, no spouse, and while I try to involve myself in the community- I'm not exactly heading up any PTA boards if you catch my drift. So why is it that I seem to be running around like a chicken with my head cut off at almost all points of my day? A typical day for me looks something like this:

Wake up, rush to get ready for work, commute 30 minutes to my office, work all day (usually without a lunch break), get off work, commute 30-45 minutes home, take a shower, tidy up the house/my room/what appears to be my boyfriend's indoor tornado, help cook dinner/help eat dinner that my loving boyfriend has cooked while I clean up his tornado, watch a TV show, fall asleep.

You will notice that nowhere in there does it say, "Take a relaxing bath surrounded my Lavender candles," or, "Brush my hair 100 strokes." It rarely even says anything like, "Go to the grocery store," because there never seems to be the time or energy to do any of those things. And it took me some time, but I finally realized why. It isn't that I have no time on my hands, it's that I don't have any ENERGY left to give to doing much towards the end of my day. I have nothing left to give once I have been answering phones and assisting customers all day. And the reason? Because I need to take some "me time" before I can give anyone or anything else my time.

Me time is important because it gives us a chance to stop and breathe. It allows us to collect ourselves and therefore have a better "us" to present to the world. If I don't have a chance to stop and connect my thoughts together I will inevitably proceed with scrambled thoughts until I do.

Interestingly enough, Me Time doesn't have to be spent in solitary confinement. You can squeeze in some small amount of self-meditation in the darnedest of places. I read an interview with a Tibetan Monk who emphasized the ability to basically stop and smell the roses no matter where he was. In Tibetan culture, they take over an hour to drink their morning tea. This is because it is about so much more than drinking tea for them. It's the process of enjoying the tea. Taking sip by sip, rolling the flavor around in your mouth, and considering what you like about the tea itself. This may sound unheard of to most Americans, but it sounds just lovely to me. We all know better than to think life is about anything else but the ride.

I'm not saying that we ought to disregard our jobs and families and sit around dwelling on the meaning of Tea all day. I simply think that if we can find a few moments to clear our minds and focus on enjoying the things around us that we can subconsciously collect our thoughts and throw out the unimportant things clouding our minds. I, for one, have two things that I do to relax and meditate: showering and laundry. Showering to me isn't just a way to get clean. It's a way to rinse off the troubles of my work day and start my personal day fresh and worry-free. I have a difficult time going from work to play without mixing in a shower first. Laundry to me is the same thing. I enjoy the organization of separating laundry, and better yet the smell of it when it's clean and fresh. I take that time to have some "me time," and not think about the world at large. If I have an hour to spend on nothing in particular, reading or painting serve as my Me Time. It's all about what you can fit into your schedule that day. Spa days at home are also excellent when you have the time to commit to it. No matter what I do, my goal is to come out of it clear-headed and refreshed. And I usually do.

I highly recommend spending time with yourself. At the risk of stealing a line from L'Oreal: You're worth it!

Love,

Lula Mae

Reccessing riches

So as a girl who loves fashion, fashionista if you will, I love nothing more then finding that perfect shirt, bracelet bag etc. (okay its kind of an addiction) But as we all know all to well, times are tough and cutting back is something we've all got to do. But lets face it, I don't want to stop shopping! With the majority of my paycheck going to bills and student loans I need to get creative with my money so I still can afford to spend some money towards clothes. I recently discovered the BEST solution for a girl (or boy!) looking for some extra cash- Buffalo Exchange!! This place is awesome! I may be a bit late jumping on the bandwagon, but better late then never! I have to give a special shout out to the costa mesa location, the workers are friendly, and they keep the line to sell moving! I never realized what a profit there is in selling old clothes. For those of you like me that are new to this whole buy trade sell thing, the way it works is they go through each item you bring in, and if they think they can sell it they put a retail value. You then have the option of taking 50% of the total value in store credit, or 35% cash. Needless to say, I took the cash. I ended up with an extra hundred bucks that went towards those oh so cute new Tory Burch sandals I have had my eye on for months, which make me so much happier then some old clothes taking up space in my closet.

So the lesson is-

I highly recommend going through your closet and take anything you haven't worn for 7 months take it, sell it, and go buy something you will wear! Have a hard time letting go? I use to have this problem, so what I would do is things I hadn't worn in over 7 months I would put in a container in my garage, and give it a month. If I didn't go out and use, time to get rid of it!

Enjoy selling!

x0x0

lula mae

Green Giant

I have a confession to make: I am a closet foodie. I love to talk about food, I love to watch people make food, I am borderline obsessed with looking through recipes for that oh so perfect meal. The problem is that I don't really cook. It isn't that I can't cook, mind you, only that I don't really do it. I have no doubts in my mind that once I decide to hone my cooking talents I will blossom into a gourmet chef... I've just been too busy with my comings and goings that I never try to make anything much.

Since I'm a young, unmarried gal, though, I tend to have a bit of solo meal time. I don't have kids and my boyfriend (the real chef here) usually does the cooking when we get together- but I DO have nights alone where it's just me making a plate for one. For the longest time I would rely on diet TV dinners, but the more I read about different real meals, the more grossed out all those preservatives and freezer-burned vegetables seemed to me. Today I want to talk to you about one major part of realistic meals for one (or two!).

The number one rule I have learned in my quest for good health is that hardly anybody gets enough vegetables. Think about it- did you really get your recommended 3-5 yesterday? And no, potato chips don't count as a veggie! Come on, lovelies, didn't you get the memo that vegetables give you better hair, skin, and overall health?

Studies are finding more and more that women in the US are getting plenty of meats and dairy in our daily meals, but no where NEAR as many of those little green monsters. Here's the great news: vegetables are one of the easiest things to cook for just you, yourself, and you! The tricks are: incorporating it into your meals and considering portion size. The "best case scenario" dinner plate looks like this:

You should have HALF of the plate filled with vegetables (or fruit, but really it should be veggies), and a quarter of it meat/protein, the other with a starch. Yes, I know you can see that already, I'm just sayin'. So your main course, per se, of your meal should be that veggie! The problem is that lots of people don't quite know how to cook vegetables that aren't boring and bland. There are lots of awesome things you can make that will light up your plate AND your palate. Another trick, too, is using what is in season. Trust me, it will be a lot fresher and yummier- not to mention more "eco-friendly," if they don't have to ship it from some Lab in Timbuktu. There are a few different basic ways to make vegetables. Number one is steaming. If you don't know how to do this- it is SO easy and takes almost zero hands on time. All you need is a pot and a strainer of some kind. A few of my favorite things to steam lately are: Asparagus, Bell Peppers (I recently fell in love with Orange ones), Sugar Snap Peas, Carrots, and broccoli. I like to either dust them with a bit of butter, seasoned salt, or some Parmesan cheese for flavor. The best part about this kind of cooking? You can make as much or as little of the vegetables as you need! It's not like with a casserole where you make a ton and feel like the lonely cat lady as you eat it alone. Another great way to make vegetables is to fry them in olive oil, perhaps with a little bit of lemon juice and some Sea Salt and Black Pepper. I just found an cooking article with Asparagus, lemon juice, salt, and lemon rind that Im pumped to whip up. This one sounds dangerous due to the whole "frying in Olive Oil," but as long as you don't cook out all the great antioxidants- you need not fear Olive Oil. The studies on this bad boy are getting better and better and with that Vitamin C from the lemon juice this one sits to be a heavy hitter in the benefit arena. Another option is to bake them in a thick and yummy sauce- but it's a little higher in fat and should be used sparingly. Broccoli in a cheese sauce or Asparagus (clearly one of my favorites) in a peanut butter sauce can be delicious if baked correctly. Want to get an even easier meal? Buy yourself a Spaghetti Squash. It sounds complex but it is one of the EASIEST ways to sneak veggies instead of a starch into your meal. And it's delicious too! The "how to" is usually on a sticker on the squash itself- no research required!

The benefits of vegetables are amazing. chock full of Vitamins and Minerals, don't ignore these little buggers! If you are in a huge rush or (like me) don't have a stove and 30 minutes on your lunch break at work, you can buy microwave steamable veggies. If you're REALLY lucky you have time to get to your BBQ and cook your vegetables on the grill. This can be one of THE most delicious ways to make them. Kabobs are an excellent way to get your fill of the whole shebang. And not that it's closing in on Summertime it's the perfect opportunity to fire it up and invite a few friends over for some good low-fat eats. And now I leave you, hopefully pumped on the greens (and Reds and Yellows), with some pictures of your potential new best friend: awesome (and healthy!) food- totally doable by the solo diner:

Dieters Be(A)ware!!

Today's post is about dieting. Now I have read a LOT about dieting, myself being a major magazine-aholic. I think that a lot of women, particularly one's who try to "wing it," don't know diddly squat about the way their body works. Now I am not a dietitian, but let me share a couple of things that I have learned from magazines, books, and personal experience.
1. Eat something! I know we women have our emotional roller coasters and sometimes lose our appetites. But not eating is one of the worst long term things you can do. I hardly ate for like 2 months one time (over some stupid breakup). I got into my size 1 jeans again, I looked good in my bikini... it was awesome. Or so I thought. I also had sunken eye-sockets from malnutrition and my hair looked like crap. I had zero energy and my brain wasn't functioning properly. But, hey! I looked skinnyyyyy!!! Unfortunately I didn't understand the way my body worked. I was skinny because my body was literally feeding on itself, mainly the muscle (and less of the fat than I had hoped). Not to mention that at some point, I got over that boyfriend and back on my feet. Aaaannd... back in the kitchen. My appetite was still small, and I wasn't eating junk food. But my metabolism was SO screwed up from adjusting to a smaller diet that any food I DID eat went straight to my no-longer-size-one ass! I'm not saying I got hugely fat, but my point is that your metabolism WILL have it's revenge. It took me months to get back to my normal weight AND metabolism. Trust me: the no food diet sucks.
2. Eat for your environment. Our bodies adapt to the environment we live in for a reason. Even the color of our skin adapts, as you will notice that people closer to the equator are taller, leaner, and darker. People further from it are shorter, heavier, and lighter skinned. The human body is an amazingly adaptive creation. We have existed for centuries based on the food the land provides for us. We have adapted to technological changes that have enabled us to not walk everywhere and to import food from around the world. And these are all awesome things. But it's important that we respect our environments as well. The fact of the matter is that if you live in a colder environment, you NEED to eat heavier food to keep your body warm. If you're living in, say, Southern California, there IS no real cold. Therefore you don't really need to eat a Porterhouse Steak to keep you insulated. Lean meats will do, and even then you should use sparingly in the summertime. I'm not saying you shouldn't enjoy a good steak once in a while. I simply mean that there is a reason you crave juicy fruits and light meats in the warmer months and mashed potatoes when it's cold: your body knows what it needs. Respect the knowledge that has been genetically passed down to your body.
3. Drink lots of water. And I am talking LOTS. Hardly anyone gets enough water these days. Considering the fact that your body is made up of something like 92% water... it's important that you refill that or else it wont run properly. If food is your fuel to get you moving, consider water your oil. It enables the "flow" of your body and lubricates it to run smoothly. I don't really buy into that whole "it will fill you up" stuff. I DO know that it will clear up my pimples, make my brain function better, and get rid of those nasty dark circles under my eyes. I like to keep a few bottles in my car and refill them from my water jug to make some attempt to slow down the plastic use that's so bad for the environment.
4. Limit your white starches intake. This one is a "duh" situation. Sugary white foods like Weber's bread, sugar, and sweet-tooth cereals are a no-no. Get with the program.
5. Pimp your plate. There is NO reason your food needs to be boring, even if it's from a microwave. There are so many nutrient enriched foods out there it's doggone ridiculous. Bread with extra fiber, butter with Omega 3s... Why settle for something that ISN'T adding more to your intake of good stuff? And to top that idea off- don't settle for stuff from the can! Add something to everything you make. Sneak in those extra servings of veggies wherever you can! I taught my boyfriend (the smoothie KING) to add some spinach to a fruit smoothie. Not only could he not taste it, he LOVED the idea. And there you go, a sneaky super-smoothie! Make a microwave dinner (I like Lean Cuisines because they usually have no preservatives) and steam up some extra veggies. They usually sell them so you can even steam them in the microwave as well. You can add them to your food for a super-microwave meal!
I hope these are helpful tips! Have a fantastic day!

Love,

Lula Mae

A story of a brunette, told by a blonde

As you fellow blondes out there know, changing your hair color can be as scary as getting a tattoo. Why we are so attached to our golden locks? who knows. But something about it is slightly, well terrifying! For years I have been talking about taking the plunge and giving my strands some chocolate lovin' and go brown!

It literally took me over 2 years to actually get the guts to do it, and finally I did.

On February 11th, I celebrated my twentieth birthday, I guess you could say I felt older, more mature, and was ready to say goodbye to the look I have had since 9th grade. I

suddenly felt empowered and knew it was time. So February 12th, I died my hair brown.

Sitting in the chair as I saw my platinum blonde streaks rapidly change itself, I had a mini panic attack.

I was FREAKING out. What if its horrible? what if I hate it?

But as my hair stylist blew out the last strand and the look was complete, I was jumping out of my skin I was so excited!

I felt like this whole new person. I looked more mature, older, and someone that people would take a bit more serious then the platinum blonde.

Also I felt something I haven't really felt before, sexy!

I found myself looking at my reflection over and over, not in vanity but just shocked to see that I didn't even recognize the girl staring back.

Now out of the salon how do I like the hair? Im still in love, I just feel like the brown hair really brought out the true me.

Is that lame to say a hair color can do that?

So my lula mae readers, never fear if change is near! Change is what makes life exciting, and who knows, you might like the change more then where you started!

x0x0,

the newly brunette lula mae blogger :)

I'll let you be the judge..the brunette me..or the blonde?

CVS=Certainly Very Spend-thrifty!!

I discovered a lovely little secret last week: CVS Pharmacy! What a gem. I've been going to this place since I was a kid, but I never realized the quantity of CVS Brand beauty products they have that are JUST like the big-name brands. And for a fraction of the cost! Here's the thing (in my humble consumer opinion)... there are definitely some things you want the original formula for. I would not buy CVS brand self-tanning lotion, for example. But there were SO many CVS products that had essentially the same ingredients as their more expensive cousins sitting proudly next to them. Here are a few of the awesome beauty products CVS makes:

$5.49
Compare to $6.99 L'Oreal Eye Make-up Remover

$6.29
Compare to $10.99 Aveeno Body Moisturizer

$10.49

Compare to $13.49 Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream

$13.97

Compare to $21.99 Olay Regenerest Daily Thermal Mini Peel

$12.99

Compare to $16.99 Aveeno Positively Radiant Moisturizer

$2.09

(And this one, no joke, smells WAY better than the expensive one. It reminds me Tropicana Suntanning Oil... YUM!)

Compare to $5.99 Palmer's Cocoa Butter Lotion

$5.99

Compare to $7.99 Neutrogena Acne Stress Control Scrub

$4.99

Compare to $5.99 Venus razor

All in all, I have a feeling that I will be doing a lot more of my shopping at CVS these days! Happy shopping to you too!


Love,


Lula Mae