So it's been awhile since I've posted. I totally hit the ground running this semester as far as classes go. On top of a normal work load I have tons of music to learn and a lot of performances. Not that I'm complaining; being busy in the world of the performing arts (and any profession I imagine) is a good sign. It's nice to have so many opportunities, if not a bit overwhelming.
One of the things that I've been doing to help manage my stress with such a high work load this semester is to really be serious about exercising. My new years resolution for 2013 was to get fit, and one of the steps I took towards achieving my goal was to buy an aerobics pass at the ASU gym. The pass is $60 for unlimited classes all semester at the gym, which is a pretty good deal considering each class individually costs about $10. I've been going multiple times per week to yoga, zumba, and cardio kickboxing, all of which have been super fun and definitely help me release some built up tension and stress from the day. Cardio kickboxing especially has been an adventure. The first day I went I didn't realize how difficult it would be. Nearly everyone in the class is an athlete (at least they look like it) and by the end of the class I was sweating more than I ever have working out. Even though literally every part of my body hurt the next day, I still felt great and even went back the next week to get my butt kicked again.
I've also found that having exercise apps on my iPhone is really helpful for those days when I can't get to the gym. So far I have the Nike Trainer app, which has workouts of all levels that you can do in your home, and the C25K (or Couch to 5K) app which does interval training. Both apps are free and are really great. I used the C25K app today to enjoy the outdoors while getting a bit of exercise.
So if you find yourself stressed or worn out from the amount of work you have to do/did during the day, take at least a half hour for yourself. Do yoga, go for a jog, take an aerobics class. I guarantee you will be less stressed afterwards.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Praise for Pears and Yoga
Today has been my second successful day of eating well and exercising! Wa-hoo! For anyone who has ever dieted/tried to change their lifestyle you know how hard it is to stay on track. In the past when I've done this (I used to over the summers when I was in college, then I just kind of stopped...woops) I've found that the first week is the hardest. So I guess you can say two days down, five to go! Then it'll be smooth sailing.
I have a lot of things working in my favor. For starters I am not what you would consider "fat." By the BMI index I am considered slightly overweight; if I lose 5 pounds I will go back into the "normal" category. I'm actually not a huge fan of the BMI index. I think it tends to stress people out and make them feel bad about themselves. At the same time it is a good way to help set goals, which is kind of how I've been using it. Also when your mom is a dancer/dance teacher you are never far away from tips on how to lose weight, from how to eat well to helpful stretches. Mom has always been a huge help when it comes to getting fit, and I consider myself really lucky that I know what to do to shed the pounds. Knowing is half the battle. The other half, of course, is following through. That's the part that I have trouble with.
My main problem over the past couple years is that I just can't help but love food. Like a lot of people I appreciate good food, even if it's loaded with butter and sugar (fat fat and more fat as my mom would say!) But I sometimes feel like I'm depriving myself when I don't give in to my sweet-tooth or eat a salad instead of a burger. Luckily over the past couple days I've reminded myself that that's bogus. I've managed to eat really delicious meals that are also healthy. The key? Fresh, organic pears from Whole Foods and goat cheese. I've been topping my salads with pear and goat cheese and the fact is they make a DELICIOUS combo. I actually craved this salad for dinner today instead of my normal cravings for In-and-Out Burger (which is I admit pretty delicious).
The other thing that I find hard to do is exercise, which again is silly because I always feel great after I do it. The problem is when I'm already sitting in my bed in my sweatpants after a long day at school the last thing I want to do is move. But yesterday I was really good; I went on a run with my roommate, which although painful at times was really invigorating and I felt great afterwards. My legs were pretty sore today (I don't normally run so it took a toll on my legs but I'm determined to get better at it), so I did a little bit of yoga and pilates. Here's a tip: if you've had a long day (which I did) and you don't want to do cardio, do some yoga and/or pilates. You will not only feel like you've done something but you'll have this great renewed sense of energy. Yoga is also a great way to get rid of added stress; something about the slow breathing and being able to just focus on your body really does help relieve your stress for the day.
So if you're trying to get fit here's a few tips. 1) Don't give up. The hardest part is the beginning, and you can do it! 2) Don't feel like eating well means you have to deprive yourself. You can still eat healthy and have delicious food, and the occasional sweet won't kill you. And finally 3) Do exercises that you enjoy doing. I really enjoy Yoga, Pilates, and being outside. Sitting inside a gym really isn't my thing. Exercise shouldn't be a punishment, but rather something that makes you feel good about yourself.
I know it can be hard, but keep telling yourself that you can do it. You can be your ideal weight, even if it takes some time and work to get there.
I have a lot of things working in my favor. For starters I am not what you would consider "fat." By the BMI index I am considered slightly overweight; if I lose 5 pounds I will go back into the "normal" category. I'm actually not a huge fan of the BMI index. I think it tends to stress people out and make them feel bad about themselves. At the same time it is a good way to help set goals, which is kind of how I've been using it. Also when your mom is a dancer/dance teacher you are never far away from tips on how to lose weight, from how to eat well to helpful stretches. Mom has always been a huge help when it comes to getting fit, and I consider myself really lucky that I know what to do to shed the pounds. Knowing is half the battle. The other half, of course, is following through. That's the part that I have trouble with.
My main problem over the past couple years is that I just can't help but love food. Like a lot of people I appreciate good food, even if it's loaded with butter and sugar (fat fat and more fat as my mom would say!) But I sometimes feel like I'm depriving myself when I don't give in to my sweet-tooth or eat a salad instead of a burger. Luckily over the past couple days I've reminded myself that that's bogus. I've managed to eat really delicious meals that are also healthy. The key? Fresh, organic pears from Whole Foods and goat cheese. I've been topping my salads with pear and goat cheese and the fact is they make a DELICIOUS combo. I actually craved this salad for dinner today instead of my normal cravings for In-and-Out Burger (which is I admit pretty delicious).
The other thing that I find hard to do is exercise, which again is silly because I always feel great after I do it. The problem is when I'm already sitting in my bed in my sweatpants after a long day at school the last thing I want to do is move. But yesterday I was really good; I went on a run with my roommate, which although painful at times was really invigorating and I felt great afterwards. My legs were pretty sore today (I don't normally run so it took a toll on my legs but I'm determined to get better at it), so I did a little bit of yoga and pilates. Here's a tip: if you've had a long day (which I did) and you don't want to do cardio, do some yoga and/or pilates. You will not only feel like you've done something but you'll have this great renewed sense of energy. Yoga is also a great way to get rid of added stress; something about the slow breathing and being able to just focus on your body really does help relieve your stress for the day.
So if you're trying to get fit here's a few tips. 1) Don't give up. The hardest part is the beginning, and you can do it! 2) Don't feel like eating well means you have to deprive yourself. You can still eat healthy and have delicious food, and the occasional sweet won't kill you. And finally 3) Do exercises that you enjoy doing. I really enjoy Yoga, Pilates, and being outside. Sitting inside a gym really isn't my thing. Exercise shouldn't be a punishment, but rather something that makes you feel good about yourself.
I know it can be hard, but keep telling yourself that you can do it. You can be your ideal weight, even if it takes some time and work to get there.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Getting Started
It's past 11:00 on a Tuesday night. Just like any other Master's student in the country I have plenty of things that I could be doing; homework, picking up the stuff that has accumulated on the floor, finally doing some laundry... But instead I decided to start a blog. Because, as any student would tell you, doing this is infinitely better than all the other things I could (and probably should) be doing.
So a little bit about me. I am a 22-year-old graduate student at Arizona State University. I am almost finished with the first semester of my Master's, a Master's of Music in Opera Performance. While this degree may seem really unusual there is a surprisingly huge number of people that want to do the exact same thing that I want to do. Saying that music is my life is kind of a given; the fact is anyone who is crazy enough to be an opera singer has to be insanely in love with music, singing, and performing. Being an opera singer is certainly not an easy career, and it would not be worth all the sturm und drang if you didn't love it. But I've been raised by parents who stress that you should do what you love, even if it means not getting the biggest paycheck in the world.
I come from a family of people in the performing arts, so I guess you could say it was inevitable that I end up in the arts as well. My dad, David, is a choral conductor and works at ASU. My mom, Susan, is a high school dance teacher and my older sister, Elizabeth (or Lizzy as I often call her) is finishing up her Master's in Theater for Youth at UT Austin. My family is incredibly close. We're probably one of the few families in the US that actually enjoy family vacations, Thanksgiving, and other normally painful but necessary family activities. It's partly my great relationship with my family that has made this first semester at ASU so awesome. I did my undergrad at Ithaca College in NY, and while I loved my time there I definitely missed my family a ton. I still can't get over the fact that I can grab lunch with my dad on a weekly basis (which I do), eat a home-cooked meal in my house, visit my pets Buddy and Figaro (the cutest dog and cat you will ever see), or see my parents' performances live. I feel so lucky to be close to my family, doing the thing that I love most every day. It really doesn't get any better than that.
So what is this blog? Well that is a really good question. I started this tonight as I was thinking about how I should eat better and exercise more, thinking that keeping a blog might be good motivation. Then I started thinking about what I wanted to do with my life, and chuckled a bit at the stereotype of opera singers being fat ladies that wear horns. The funny thing is opera singers do have to be healthy and fit. We are in a way athletes, plus all the HD broadcasts kind of require that us opera singers be easy to look at. On top of that, a couple weeks ago the artistic director at AZ Opera visited one of my classes to do his spiel on how to be successful in this tough business, and one of the things he mentioned was social media. He suggested starting a blog as a way to make yourself visible in the big bad world of the internet. So I thought why not? Why not track my progress towards a healthy lifestyle while also talking about my somewhat odd living, trying to make it in this crazy world as a performer? Though I won't beat myself up too much if I get a little off-topic :-)
Now I am getting started. I'm starting my very first blog. I'm jump-starting my way into a healthy lifestyle, full of good home-cooked food, exercise, and a free mind. And of course I am getting started on real life as an opera singer, which is scarily just around the corner.
So a little bit about me. I am a 22-year-old graduate student at Arizona State University. I am almost finished with the first semester of my Master's, a Master's of Music in Opera Performance. While this degree may seem really unusual there is a surprisingly huge number of people that want to do the exact same thing that I want to do. Saying that music is my life is kind of a given; the fact is anyone who is crazy enough to be an opera singer has to be insanely in love with music, singing, and performing. Being an opera singer is certainly not an easy career, and it would not be worth all the sturm und drang if you didn't love it. But I've been raised by parents who stress that you should do what you love, even if it means not getting the biggest paycheck in the world.
I come from a family of people in the performing arts, so I guess you could say it was inevitable that I end up in the arts as well. My dad, David, is a choral conductor and works at ASU. My mom, Susan, is a high school dance teacher and my older sister, Elizabeth (or Lizzy as I often call her) is finishing up her Master's in Theater for Youth at UT Austin. My family is incredibly close. We're probably one of the few families in the US that actually enjoy family vacations, Thanksgiving, and other normally painful but necessary family activities. It's partly my great relationship with my family that has made this first semester at ASU so awesome. I did my undergrad at Ithaca College in NY, and while I loved my time there I definitely missed my family a ton. I still can't get over the fact that I can grab lunch with my dad on a weekly basis (which I do), eat a home-cooked meal in my house, visit my pets Buddy and Figaro (the cutest dog and cat you will ever see), or see my parents' performances live. I feel so lucky to be close to my family, doing the thing that I love most every day. It really doesn't get any better than that.
So what is this blog? Well that is a really good question. I started this tonight as I was thinking about how I should eat better and exercise more, thinking that keeping a blog might be good motivation. Then I started thinking about what I wanted to do with my life, and chuckled a bit at the stereotype of opera singers being fat ladies that wear horns. The funny thing is opera singers do have to be healthy and fit. We are in a way athletes, plus all the HD broadcasts kind of require that us opera singers be easy to look at. On top of that, a couple weeks ago the artistic director at AZ Opera visited one of my classes to do his spiel on how to be successful in this tough business, and one of the things he mentioned was social media. He suggested starting a blog as a way to make yourself visible in the big bad world of the internet. So I thought why not? Why not track my progress towards a healthy lifestyle while also talking about my somewhat odd living, trying to make it in this crazy world as a performer? Though I won't beat myself up too much if I get a little off-topic :-)
Now I am getting started. I'm starting my very first blog. I'm jump-starting my way into a healthy lifestyle, full of good home-cooked food, exercise, and a free mind. And of course I am getting started on real life as an opera singer, which is scarily just around the corner.
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