Learning A New Trick From My Dogs

Harley (black & silver) Allie (chocolate/brown)

I love my little dogs.  Those two, one year old miniature schnauzers, Allie & Harley, have stolen my heart!  They are so lively and full of energy and so much fun to watch.  It is "Wrestle-Mania" at my house 24/7.  It does not matter if it is morning, noon or night, or whether they are put away in their kennel or running wild around our house.  They entertain us for hours with all of their playful wrestling and jumping on top of one another.  It is with carefree abandon that they take a huge leap from the sofa onto the chair and back again in an attempt to blindside the other one.  You rarely see one without the other close behind.  They are even inseparable in their rest.  If one finds a cozy spot on a pillow the other is nestled close beside the other or should I say on top of the other.

Watching these two little puppies during the past year has given me many hours of enjoyment, unconditional love, and many fond memories.  But over the past few days I have begun to see life through their eyes.  Every morning before my clock goes off at 6:00 am my "pre" alarm goes off.  It is called the "Barking & Whimpering Alarm Clock".  It is one of the most annoying sounds you can hear, and it  does not have a set time to go off every day, except it always finds a way to go off  before I actually need to get up to start my day. 

Their day begins the same every day.  Once they have awoken me from my slumber, I drag myself to their room (the laundry room) and open their kennel to more kisses than a woman can handle at this time of the morning.   Then they begin jumping and licking and doing everything in their power to get my attention including nibbling at my hand.   I reach down and pick up their bowls and offer them a serving of food to begin their day.  Next it is time to hook them up to their leashes and take them out for their morning outing.  Then once they enter the house the "Wrestle-Mania" begins.  I then sneak off to prepare for my day and get myself dressed and ready for work, but  before I can get all of my things together I see the two of them huddled up in their little bed resting from their first round of "Wrestle-Mania".  I then send them back to their room for an extended rest while I leave for work, and once I leave, a similar routine repeats itself when my husband begins his day.

So you are probably wondering, What in the world does the two lively puppies have to do with my journey to a new me?  Well I thought you would never ask!   By watching these two petite dogs, and I am talking very petite for miniature schnauzers.  Harley is between 6-7 pounds and Allie is all of 8 - 9 pounds.  These dogs are now full grown and they are still slim and trim.  So how do they do it?  Do they just have an active metabolism?  I believe there are several reasons why they are in the shape that they are in and here is what I have observed.

They begin their day with a healthy breakfast.  A healthy breakfast sets the tone for your entire day.  Did you know that the reason the first meal of the day is called breakfast is because you are "Breaking A Fast"?  Which just means that from the time that you stop eating one day, go to bed and rise the next day and partake in your first food of that day, you have then broken your fast. 

So Rule # 1:  You must break the fast.  You must give your body something to get it going in the morning so that it knows that it's time to burn calories.  Other wise you are fasting which means "Storing". 

The next thing that I noticed is that when I take them outside, they take care of their business.  This is a very important function that we all need to do on a regular basis.

So Rule # 2:  You must take care of your "business" every day.  If your lucky enough to take care of your  "business" in the morning, you may get another opportunity later in the day.  Which could be considered a double blessing.  By consuming more fiber you can accomplish this very easily.

Once my puppies return back into the house their daily exercise regimen begins in the form of "Wrestle-Mania".  They know that getting exercise every day is a vital part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

So Rule # 3:  Follow my puppies example.  Make time every day for some exercise.  The type of exercise is not so important.   What is more important it that you make it part of your regular daily routine.  Most of us lead a very sedentary lifestyle and moving more and exercising more can have great benefits for a healthier you!

And finally after eating, taking care of their business, and exercising they take time out to rest.  They know when their bodies have had enough and they can't make it another minute without getting some rest.

So Rule # 4:  Know when you need to rest.  Listen to your bodies clues to over-exhaustion, fatigue and general tiredness.  It does you no good to run on "fumes".  It is better to get the rest that your body needs than to become overly tired.  If you come home from work and you feel sluggish or sleepy try taking  a 20 minute power nap, or better yet, turn in early for the evening.  By getting a few more hours of sleep you will be able to rise and shine the next morning and have more energy to do the things that you need to do.  And who knows, you may even be able to get in a little more exercise than normal because of the new found rest that you took advantage of.

There are many other things that I could probably learn from the smallest members of my family.  The lessons are there to learn, I guess I just need to pay more attention and see how that I can implement them into my journey to a new me!  I guess it is true "A dog is a man's best friend" and in this case I believe this applies to a woman as well.

The First Step To Doing, Is the "Do"!

Looking back over the past thirteen months of my life I have seen so many changes in myself. Not just on the outside, the physical that everyone else can see too, but I see things differently on the inside.  Things are more clear to me now.   Things that would have bothered me in the past and would be an excuse to eat everything in sight now seem to have little or no affect on me.
Why do I share this with you today? Because I think that the real change in me began from the inside out. The first step to doing anything is the "doing". This word is actually one of  the smallest words in our vocabulary, do. The word "do"  is a very powerful word as long as you add one ingredient.  In order for it to take hold, you must put it into action! 

I remember many years ago when learning to bake homemade crescent rolls with my
mother-in-law.  She is probably one of the best cooks and bakers that I have ever met.  She  taught me the importance of adding an "active" ingredient to the mix.  She explained that without the active ingredient, which is yeast, the crescent rolls would not rise and bake properly.  Without it I could still go through the motions of baking crescent rolls, but without the active ingredient they would never rise.  The crescent rolls would not be delightful to eat but almost impossible to get down.

Well the same is true with the little word "do".  The word "do" does not do to much on it's own.  I have found on my journey to a new me that it is when I set this word "do" into action that I see results.  When the "do" becomes doing  then I have changed everything surrounding my circumstances.

In the beginning of my journey the "doing"  was more to do with my food choices and calorie intake than anything else, but now it has extended to more.  I am "doing" more self-reflection.  I am "doing" more in regards to my exercise, and I am "doing" more when it comes to encouraging others who may have just begun their own journey.

So here are a few questions to ask yourself.  What do I need to "do"?  What is stopping you from doing it?  And why don't I put some action into my thoughts and get started with the "doing" today?  Like the old saying goes, time is awasting!  Stop thinking about it and just start doing it for yourself!  I can speak from experience. You will be glad that you did!