Be Happy Rose Bailey

Simple but profound advice: Be happy

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(Sorry I haven’t blogged in a little while. We’re still adjusting to northern California and I’ve been busy with work, some new poetry projects, and of course, the fabulous Melissa Bender workouts. Later this weekend I plan to add a list of charities that I’ve helped through this My Change For A Ten project, and I’ll be back to blogging more next week. Thank you, as always, for reading.)

The Dalai Lama says, quite simply, that the purpose of life is to be happy.

To be happy. What a wonderful concept. We are all chasing down happiness. Is there happiness in material gains? Happiness in what we achieve and how we go about doing it? Sometimes if we spend a life chasing happiness down the wrong ally we end up smack face in a dead end with nowhere to go. My friend Ted wrote about this a few times on his blog, including the idea of “being content” and the idea that happiness is actually a U-Curve.I believe happiness is love, and loving others and all creatures of the universe. Happiness can be found in nature and not a mall. Happiness is giving to others and spending out days creating rather than spending. (That’s basically why I started this blog!) Yes, the whole discussion of money and happiness is an old one. Money does offer freedom and with that freedom there are less stresses about security for the future and more time to do the endeavors you are passionate about. I get the importance of financial freedom. When that green piece of paper becomes the only thing you strive for then it becomes more of an empty goal even if your bank account is full. Balance is one of the keys to happiness. Dive into crystal clear waters, climb a tree.  Worry less, smile more.

Sometimes it takes a mere reminder to let you know how lucky you really are to be alive.I was sitting at the train station, listening to my music when my vision caught a sight from across the tracks. It was a woman in a wheel chair who obviously had no movement in any of her limbs, her companion and their adoring dog. As I sat and watched this family interact with one another, I was reminded what unconditional love is all about. I watched the lady smile from ear to ear as the man gave her a sip of something cool to drink, and the dog vying for both of their attention. The epitome’ of love and family. I was not the only one that was watching, it was apparent that this moment did not go unnoticed by the commuters surrounding me. A beautiful and poignant lesson to remind me and others of the power of life and love.
Moments like this make me realize why I love to help others, and that giving back is so rewarding. Everyone deserves to be loved and appreciated, and we are all the same connected to the core that is our humanity. I admit the last weeks have been difficult, and I have challenges I am trying to overcome. But such a moment makes me realize my challenges are just minor glitches in an otherwise life full of much abundance. My challenges can be overcome, and I am here to make a difference and help others with their larger and more monumental challenges in life.
This reminds me why I chose to combine my weight loss endeavors with giving back to society. I already enjoyed helping others, but I needed to help myself become healthy again and I feel it was the perfect marriage of giving to myself and giving back. In the process I have met myself.
I am working on my latest charity and I will announce when I am on my way to deliver what I have collected. I am keeping quiet until I am on my way, since I want to make sure everything goes as planned.
Glitches in life are just that, tests to see how we will react. It is how we overcome such snafus in life that show our true character. Today I am happy. I am breathing, I have a roof over my head and a warm cup of coffee to sooth my soul. I am happy I have a cold and not anything more detrimental. I am happy my challenges can be overcome, and I am healthy enough to give back to others who need it most. I will just be.
Be Happy.
Namaste’
Rose Bruno Bailey Poem

How do you make a bad mood good again?

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Before my move to San Francisco, I had a lot of alone time — since my husband James moved a month before me. I did a lot of reading (which I always love to do). I read the book The Happiness Project by Gretchin Rubin. She took a year and found personal ways to make her life happier, and she blogged about her journey and wrote a book. Her journey was not unlike what I do about my fitness/weight loss/charity journey. I loved the book and learned a lot about the search for happiness.

It never escapes me that many people are out in the world dealing with sadness and depression. Some of us are just dealing with what I like to call situational sadness: the blues that comes on briefly (or sometimes not so briefly) related to a life issue that is not too severe but still wrecks havoc on your daily mood. For some it may be work, or the struggles of the mundane realities of life and living; stress.  I am not speaking of the bigger issues of life, but the small but seemingly monumental moments that take us to a place we may not wish to go.

I have five things I do to chase the blues away and get back to being me, in love with life and living.

1. Take care of your temple, your soul vessel, your body. Get some sleep, and get some exercise and eat right. These things combined will do so much for your mood. Sleep is a no brainer, when I am well rested everything else just comes so easy. Endorphins? It is a fact that exercise raises your happy hormones and ups the ante on your mood. Eat right, and lose weight if need be, I have noticed such a change in myself, my mood, and my self esteem since I have lost over 45 lbs. If you are trying to lose weight, my advice to you is to enjoy the journey and not worry about the destination.
2.  Listen to Happy Music. Ok I have so many genres of happy music that I could write all day about them. Big Band from the 1940’s is happy music for me. I play it while I am cooking or doing a little light writing. It puts me in place long gone by, Hollywood movies of yesteryear and war time optimism of the 1940s. It was a difficult time in our history but you would never know this by listening to swing music. I love to swing dance, and it makes me want to find a partner and lindy hop forever. I have music for running, music for dancing, music for writing. Everything I do is motivated by music. The right beat has can literally turn my cloudy skies to blue.
3. Get out into nature: I loved working out in LA outside, using the tree to do TRX. I called it mobile meditation and I still do my cardio outdoors. Running in the great outdoors, hiking up a cliff with the gift of a magestic view when you arrive at the top, walking on the beach and breathing in the sea air and listening to the waves crash against the shore. If you are in a winter climate bundle up and go sledding, just get outside daily and get some sunlight.
4. Do something for someone else: Get out of your own head and into someone else’s problems. Chances are you will really make a difference in someone’s life and in your own the realization that your issues were not so big after all.
5.Muse off how you are feeling: I write poetry and essays and now I also love to snap photographs of nature. I draw and I dance. I used to perform in Musical Theater. I love to be creative and I am always looking for an outlet to muse off of. Whatever works for you. Are you a crafter? Do you love to cook or bake? Just get up, get inspired and be creative.You are never too old, and it is never too late. As long as you wake up breathing you have a chance to be whatever you dream to be. Just be your authentic creative self.
Be fearless,  be ageless, and if need be make the changes to be happy. You can choose to be happy or choose to be miserable. You can write your own script and paint your own portrait. It is your choice to make so do not be hesitant. You have control over your life. Life is not prison, we are free to go and do as you please. Climb that mountain and move cross country.Own your own freedom and beautiful gift of life.
Happy Friday to all and Namaste’

Have fun at work (with oatmeal chocolate chip cookies)

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If you are like most people you woke up Monday morning a little less cheerful than you were when you awakened the Friday morning before. Monday’s the most undesirable day of the week and Friday’s the most revered.  There are so many cliches about the monotony of the work week and the freedom and fun that comes once that 5:00 bell tolls on Friday. Everyone is working for the weekend, work hard play harder, Thank god it’s Friday. There have even been cheesy yet catchy songs written about Friday that took the nation by storm. It suggests that the work week is void of fun and enjoyment and once the weekend arrives the party is on.

Here’s a quote I like:

A weekend wasted isn’t a wasted weekend.A witty saying proves nothing. — Voltaire
Let’s go back to this main idea. It’s a novel concept to have fun while working. It does spark thoughts that maybe work could be more enjoyable and less of a mundane chore. I think the work day can be fun if you change your attitude and engage more with the people you work with.
Today I did my part to make fun a reality where I work. What better way to spark happiness in your co-workers than to share delicious decadent treats.  I baked homemade healthy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and shared them with my co-workers. At first I got some skeptical glances and utter terror when I explained they were sugar free and flour free, but every last one of my cookies were devoured so they must have been pretty delicious. Nothing brings on a fun-like atmosphere like chocolate. I love sharing treats that are as good for the body as they are for the soul.
It’s such a simple recipe.
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
You will need only seven ingredients
3 bananas, mashed with a fork
1/4 cup applesauce
2 cups oats
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
half cup almond milk, soy milk, or low fat milk
Combine mashed banana, oats, applesauce and mix well. Add almond milk, vanilla, and dark chocolate chips and mix again. Bake for 20 minutes on a greased cookie sheet at 350 degree oven or in mini muffin tins like I did.
Let cool. enjoy and be sure to share and make someone smile.
Everyday should be National Have Fun At Work Day.With healthy treats like these you could have this much fun every single day. Tons of fun without any of the guilt.
Manga’
Rose Bruno Bailey Mantra Fitness

Weight loss can be slow; don’t worry if it is. The process is a journey.

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January is almost over — the Super Bowl is this Sunday, which is February 1st, and I’m already thinking about how to cook healthy for that — and as you get to the end of January, a lot of people have already given up their New Year’s Resolutions — concepts they set only about four weeks ago.

You see this a lot in the fitness and dieting space. Fitness and dieting-related Resolutions are alwayssome of the most popular, and always some of the quickest to fall away due to laziness, lack of knowledge, a focus on the other things in your busy life, or whatever the reason is.

There are entire sections of bookstores about fad diets, and I briefly considered some of those when I started my own fitness journey. I say “briefly” because it was really almost no time at all; I knew I wanted to try and lose weight in a healthy, productive manner — and, at the same time, challenge myself by making sure I was tied to a bigger cause. In my case? That was contributing money to charities for every 10 pounds I lost; you can read a little bit about this here.

That all said — and this is important for anyone to remember — it’s been a slow process. It took me 1 year to lose my first 45 pounds. I thought it would be much quicker, and that year required a lot of discipline, working out, healthy cooking and eating, etc. Over time, I came to look at fitness and weight loss as akin to a journey or a road trip — which my husband James and I love to do — which means it can take a while, but along the way there are beautiful things to see, even if you’re not yet at the final destination.

I recently bought a scale, but that was mostly for tracking. I don’t want to be a slave to the scale. I’m around 165 pounds, with a goal weight in the 130s — but my next step is in the middle 150s; when I lose the next 10, I’ll be donating to a charity. Right now I’m thinking about working with a local non-profit on a raffle, but I need to do a little more research. We’ve only lived in the Bay Area for a few months — moved here from Los Angeles in the fall — and I’m still getting my footing. It’s week three of my ambassador work with Melissa Bender Fitness, though, and that’s been a strong guiding force.

Sometimes it’s all about doing the micro things, too. For example, yesterday I took a different train home from work; that allowed me an extra long walk back to our actual house. It’s a small thing, but it helps.

I am a free spirit and I do not believe much in rules, but I read about a rule of fitness in a magazine.
“Never go more than two days without working out.”
This is now my own personal mantra. I will never give up.
Love and Light to all
Italian Style Chicken Strips

Healthy weeknight dinner: Italian-style baked chicken strips

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Growing up, my mom made the best Sunday night dinners. I know this can be a cliche for a lot of neighborhoods, but these were truly the kind of meals that brought the neighbors over. As I got older and started dancing, I would go off in my room and eat a yogurt to avoid the deliciousness coming from the kitchen; back then dieting meant food avoidance and lots of Diet Coke.

As you get older, things obviously change; the concept of starving and living on Diet Coke is no longer in vogue. For me, after losing my first 45 pounds, I can say I have learned what works for my body: healthy eating and nothing too extreme. I ear carbohydrates, I just do not eat them at every meal and the majority of my meals are completely clean and healthy. I am learning moderation and self-control.

Sunday I decided to experiment in the kitchen. I cooked what I had on hand, and I came up with what my husband James called a home run. I made chicken with tomatoes, onions and garlic in the oven and served it with my take on healthy mashed potatoes and vegetables.

For dessert I made clean eating oatmeal banana chocolate cookies with no sugar.

Here’s a picture of the main dish:

Rose Bruno Bailey Italian Style Chicken Strips

Here’s how you do it.

Italian Style Baked Chicken Strips
One bag all white meat chicken strips (pre-cooked); I bought mine from Costco
2 cans of diced tomatoes in garlic
1 can tomato paste
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion diced
7 cloves of garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon dried basil
Place the chicken in a large baking pan, and mix in the diced onions and garlic. Add two cans of canned tomatoes and two tablespoons olive oil. Mix all ingredients and season with salt, pepper, basil and parsley and mix once again. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes.
For the mashed potatoes all I did was boil 10 red potatoes until they were soft, and after the chicken was cooked I drained some of the tomato juice into the potatoes and added 1 tablespoon of light butter and one tablespoon of Greek yogurt and mashed them manually. Salt and Pepper and garlic salt. End result tomato flavored mashed potatoes — so healthy and super simple.
This meal reminded me of meatloaf and mashed potatoes, but without the guilt and high caloric count that comes with the comfort food I grew up with.
I hope you have a wonderful day and realize that the process of cooking and eating healthy is simpler than we all realize — sometimes it can be just what we have on hand.
Love and light to all.
Rose Bruno Bailey Cowboy Hat

Some of my early Northern California exploring

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Explorer: a person who investigates unknown regions.

If you’ve read this blog or know a little about my backstory, you probably know that I recently (within about six months) moved to the Bay Area in northern California; my husband James got a job offer in this region. Previous to this move, we had lived in Los Angeles for about four years, and prior to that, we had lived in New York City and Connecticut.

As a result, we’ve done a lot of exploring over the past few years as we discover new places.

One of my favorite things to do is to get of the rectangular box and spend time exploring where I live. I like to think I am a modern day explorer, finding new remote nooks on my journeys. Living all over the country has made my life an adventure.
Friday I did some exploring in my own neighborhood. I figured I would get a long walk in and see where my feet could take me. I ended up at the library and received my library card so I can read til my hearts content, then I walked miles and discovered a thrift store and a vintage store. My heart paused for a mili second. Treasures on this expedition? Yes, please.
Here’s the beginning of the walk:
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My healthy lifestyle requires me to be diligent about my diet and workouts, and I do not stray. That does not mean I never have a little of something decadent. I follow what is called the 80/20 rule. I eat clean, no processed food 80% of the time and  I allocate the other 20% for small indulgences. The treasures I discovered in the thrift store had my name written all over it. Mini cup cake pans for 99 cents. I bought three and I plan on making mini muffins and mini black bean brownie bites Sunday afternoon when I play domestic. This girl likes a little sweet with her coffee once in a while.
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I found a cowboy hat at the vintage store, and of course I bought it. Everyone needs at least one white cowboy hat in their closet. Who knows where I will rock the hat — perhaps country line dancing? Combining a fun night out, fashion, and cardio. That is how I roll.
You can see the picture of me in the hat at the top of this post.
This weekend we are exploring Santa Cruz CA, and I will have plenty of photos of the magnificent Pacific Coastline to share. Another chance to get in extra cardio, a brisk speed walk oceanside. I will get my Melissa Bender Fitness workout in today either before or after, but of course I do not skip.
I read somewhere never go two days without working out, and that is one of the rules I like to follow. Everyone’s body is different, I think to think after my first 45 lb weight loss I am getting to know my own body. For the first time in a long time we are now on a first name basis.
 
Life is such a joyride if you ask me, crank up the road trip music get out there and explore beyond your own backyard.
Love and Light to all

 

Rose Bruno Bailey Richard Simmons

Why did I start My Change For A Ten?

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It is amazing how often we look in the mirror. We wake up, wash our face, and get ready for our day. We look in the mirror when we check our reflection to make sure we look presentable before we walk out the door. We see ourselves constantly but do we really see ourselves as others see us?

Homer Simpson Mirror

I was a dancer. I went to school for theater and dance; I studied ballet, jazz, modern and even did ballroom/latin. Dance is my first passion. I took pride in my dancers’ form and I walked with an air of confidence that dancers earn from years of training. I also had some issues with eating disorders and kept my weight within the range of 100 lbs and 135 lbs. When I hit 35, my weight started to go up and down, but it never got truly out of control until after 40. Even at that point I never considered the possibility that I could be obese.
I actually had a sign I had a weight problem the summer of 2011, but I was in denial. I went to a doctor in Beverly Hills who insisted I needed Bariatric surgery. He humiliated me, and accused me of lying about my diet.  On my walk home I was in tears, and I was suddenly startled when I was approached by the famous director Quentin Tarantino. He asked me for a business card and stated he was interested in me for a movie he was filming. I did not give him any information and totally botched what could have been a pivotal moment in my life, all because of what happened earlier in the day with the fat-shaming Beverly Hills doctor. Even after that moment I did not believe I could be that person, a person who was on the far side of fit. I just felt I was just a little chubby.
 
I am a poet, and I was attending an open mic in Hollywood with some friends in 2013. My photographer friend Xiomara offered to take some photos of me standing at the mic reading my poetry. I felt on top of the world that night; it was my first reading since moving from NYC to Los Angeles and my poetry really resonated with the audience that evening. It was time to shine, or so I thought.
Later that week Xiomara emailed me the photos, and I could not believe my eyes. I was looking at my own image, and the person in the photo was a stranger to me. Who was she? I did not recognize my own face and body, and I was mortified that I let myself get to the point of obesity. That was the last reading I attended.
I took a self-esteem dive right into the oblivion of insecurity and body hatred:
Rose Bruno Bailey Before Pictures

It was months until I was ready to take action: months of feeling terrible about myself, months of overeating and under-exercising. It was months before I faced the dreaded scale.  I let myself sink further before I was ready to make a change. The change came in an idea — an idea that came from my writer and humanitarian side of my personality.

I wanted to start a blog.
I actually had two blogs working but the missing link was something to strive for: a journey, a path.  I also realized how much I loved giving back in the past. Yes, I gave back in little ways daily to random people I encountered. A sandwich for a homeless man, a donation to an animal rescue but I wanted, or I needed to do more. I remembered how I planned Downward Dog For Cats back in 2012, a yoga event in Los Angeles to raise money for a local animal rescue. It was like a light bulb flashed inside my  myopic mind. I gave more to others than I gave to  myself. I was putting myself last and trashing my temple. I thought what if I were to combine my philanthropic ways with a weight loss regimen and blog about my experience.
I decided to sponsor a charity with every ten pounds I lost, contacting the charity before I lost each ten pounds. I was now accountable — and going public with my journey — so I thought there was no way I could fail. I decided to be completely transparent: sharing my weight which was 210 lbs and before photos, basically sharing my whole life.
My idea was met with such enthusiasm, I was offered training from a co-worker turned friend named Mike. I was cast in a Richard Simmons video, the beginning in July 2013 started off on such a hopeful note. I would lose weight, help others, and have a blast doing it. I would have no fear, and be impeccable with my word. When I said I would do something, I did it.
My journey became a thrilling adventure and I lost almost 50 lbs and did things I would have never assumed I could do at this time in my life. I ran a 5k, missed the turn and completed a 10k. I did yoga on a heli-pad on a rooftop in LA. I have loved every minute of the ride, met some beautiful souls along the twists and turns of my road less traveled, and I am humbled that I have had the chance to do my little part to make a difference.
Now I find myself at a crossroads, here in the San Francisco Bay Area, continuing on my never ending quest to for fitness, philanthropy and feeling fearless and high on being alive. I am far from an after, but so much better than I once was before. All with a little help from my friends.

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Rose Bruno Bailey Weight Loss

Investigating my BMI

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I like to think that through this weight loss/fitness/charity journey of mine I have become healthier, fitter, and definitely wiser. I work hard, workout harder, eat clean and treat my body as if it were the Taj Mahal. With that said, I am also hard on myself when I sometimes look in the mirror. It is as if I expect to already have achieved my goals, and for my appearance to reflect that lofty ambition.

The reality is this: I am not a before, nor I am I an after. I am a constant evolution of transition and change for the better, constantly growing, steadily shifting.  I am in a far better place than I was when I began this project in July 2013, but that does not mean I am going to look as fit as my role models, at least not yet. I am damn proud of how far I have come; I am just saying I am far from done. I hope this year to work hard and earn the fittest body I have had in years, with a little help from Melissa Bender Fitness.

Stats exist for us to know where we stand — and how far we would like to go. Sometimes statistics are a bitter pill to swallow. It depends on your perspective. I am finally out of the obese range according to the BMI chart.

What’s BMI?

BMI (Body Mass Index) is a measurement of body fat based on height and weight.
Here’s mine:
Rose Bruno Bailey BMII am still in the overweight range.
I really did not need to calculate the test though, I follow my own test;  I call it the sit down test. If you sit down and look in the mirror and do not feel or look as fit as you do standing up, well there is your own personal body mass index and you have more work to do.
I consider this a positive, I was well in the range of obese when I began. My weight was 210 and my former BMI was 37.2.
I am in a far better place than I was then, and I should not expect myself to be as perfect as an athlete. I have big ambitions, and I will get to where I wish to be. This is just a healthy reminder where I stand and a reminder to keep my perspective and keep working harder than yesterday.
Love and Light
Namaste’
Rose Bruno Bailey Pacific Ocean

Balance is the key to achieving goals

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Good Monday Morning to all.  I hope everyone had a beautiful weekend. My husband James and I went exploring up the Pacific Coast Highway this weekend and stopped to see the unparalleled beauty of the mighty Pacific. I am a  firm believer that being in nature helps nurture your mind and body connection; there’s nothing like the serene beauty of the ocean to feed your soul. I am not only working on my body, but my spirit as well. The mind, body, and spirit are interconnected and to be healthy in one you must find peace within the others.

I believe to achieve your goals you need the proper tools. For me I need four major tools to continue on my quest to be in the best shape of my life, both physically and spiritually.

1. Frequent bouts in nature, working out and being in the outdoors. My body needs to breathe fresh air daily and my spirit loves to see the beauty of California. I have become a Californian through and through.

2. The tools to progress in fitness. I am grateful to Melissa Bender Fitness for her support and workouts, a huge part of the second phase of my fitness goals — as well as a gym membership, and my home fitness equipment, and of course good running shoes. I will be getting a new pair soon. With these tools I am able to follow my workouts at home and on days off at the gym.

3. A well stocked pantry so I can cook healthy meals without having to run to the grocery store daily. I am excited to experiment in my new kitchen.

4. A balanced work week to be able to make items 1-3 a reality. Sometimes my job is a challenge, but I have been working on communication and getting the best schedule for my lifestyle. Balance is the key.

Someone asked me how I am able to eat so healthy and not give in all the time.  My answer? This is not a diet but a healthy lifestyle; my body is my temple and I wish to furnish it wisely with clean food and lots of fresh water. I have challenges, I am human, but I do feel my best when I stick to the lifestyle I have adopted in Los Angeles. Having a fitness role model like Melissa Bender Fitness to turn to help me with ideas for meals as well as workouts is a godsend.

Wishing everyone a wonderful week. Change is not a chore when your choice to change is motivated by passion.

Love and Light to all
Namaste’