Quality Person

One of the first life changing lessons Brother Eggett (my institute choir director) taught me 3 years ago was about becoming a "quality person". At first I didn't fully grasp the concept of it, but a couple times a week he would teach us something that makes up a quality person. I found myself really understanding who quality people are when I a.) started watching my incredible friends in choir and how they acted like quality people and b.) when I started constantly asking myself "is this what a quality person would do?"

What is a quality person then? A quality person, in my opinion (and Brother Eggetts) is someone who simply consistantly does the right thing. Who goes out of their way to do the right thing. Who goes out of their way to help someone else. Who never holds back their gratitude for someone else or who never holds back from complimenting another person because of pride. These are Brother Eggetts most recent thoughts on what makes a quality person... (he has given us countless examples over the last 3 years..)

A quality person leaves when the job is done, not when their tired. At parties, ward functions, work, church, even family dinners. If you benefited from whatever it was that you were attending, don't you think you should stay and help clean up? If you ate dinner shouldn't you help clean it up and not just leave it to whoever it was that cooked for you? If you went to church and benefited from it, shouldn’t you stay after and help stack chairs or help clean-up in whatever way you can….? “We leave when the job is done…”

A quality never criticizes their church leaders. Sometimes we forget (myself definitely included) that our church leaders don’t get paid one penny for all of the work that they do! Our Stake Presidents, Bishops, Relief Society, Elders Quorm, Young Women & Young Men, our teachers, the sacrament speakers and musical numbers, etc….. they all willingly do ALL of that extra work for free…. My dad was the bishop for 6 years and I’ve seen first-hand just how much time and energy is required to be a bishop. And the thought of anyone ever criticizing my daddy when he was the bishop makes me sick. But how many times have I criticized my leaders and teachers?? Way too much. A quality person is grateful for ALL of their leaders and expresses their gratitude to them often!

And a quality person always does their best to do the right thing. They consistently live their standards, they don’t gossip or speak negatively of others, they work hard and they go out of their way to do the right thing. Here is one really simple and really dumb example of how Brother Eggetts “quality” talks have changed me…. I shamefully admit that I used to be quite the liter bug. I was bad! But then after my first semester in LDC and having heard the “quality talks,” I decided that was not a quality attribute for me to have, so I decided to change. I can proudly say that I have not littered since that day! But quality runs so much deeper than that…… A true quality person doesn’t just not liter… If a quality person sees liter on the ground, they pick it up and throw it away. How many stinking times have I noticed garbage one the ground, seen a garbage can in sight and still have walked right past it? Way too much! This morning walking to a class, I did just that. I saw garbage on the ground with a garbage can in sight and I walked right past it. Then, I went to LDC today and Brother Eggett spent the whole class period giving us another quality talk. And it was amazing. So, just barely, I pulled into my apartment and noticed before I parked my car that there was garbage in the parking stall. I got out of my car, started walking towards the door, and then I heard Brother Eggetts voice in my head, like the parrot in Aladin say, “would a quality person leave the garbage laying on the ground?” and then I said “uggggghhhhhhhh!!” So I rushed back over and picked up. And every other piece of garbage on the ground up to my apartment.

I promise, once the concept of a quality person settles in your heart, it will change you forever. What if we were all quality people? What if we all went out of our way to make other people’s lives easier? What if we all expressed our sincere gratitude to our church leaders AND teachers this week? What if we all did our very best to consistently do the right thing? What if we all chose to rise above the "norm," and become quality people? I know I definitely will be working towards becoming a quality person for the rest of my existence!

Need a perfect example of a quality person?

Him. Thomas S. Monson. He is the perfect prophet for our specific time right now. Never has there been a more service oriented and “outward,” prophet. He is always looking to help someone else. ALWAYS. And in return, He is helped by Christ. No wonder why he is a prophet!

I am going to strive to become a quality person!

Xoxo,

Alliecat

Exercise!

Reminder: I'm not a professional here! These are all my personal thoughts I've developed over the years. And this is information I've learned through my college health classes and my own personal research and such. Hope it helps though!

Here are my personal thoughts on exercise and fitness. Take it if you will. :)

1. If you're wanting to lose weight, then exercise 5-6 days a week for 60-90 minutes a day. It's hard, but it's the price you have to pay to get the results that you want.

2. Try to wrokout very first thing early in the morning. That way you get it over with before anything else, your metabolism gets working, and you feel incredibly energized and happy with yourself all day long!

3. Get enough sleep! Try your best to get a solid 8 hours every night. (This makes a big difference when trying to lose weight.)

4. A lot of girls are afraid to lift weights, because they think it will make them big and bulky. Not even true!! The thing that makes you "bulk," when lifting is your diet. You have to be eating lots of carbs & protein to see the bulk when lifting. I'm a huge fan of weight lifting and I do it every day when I workout.

5. Cardio is vital to weight loss and a healthy lifestyle. You have to break through that wall of fat first before you can start shedding pounds and sculpting your body and you do that through cardio. Do 20-30 minutes of intense cardio (you should be dripping sweat!) everyday or do more to see max results!

6. Doing cardio intervals is the fastest and most effective way to shed pounds fast! Start off by increasing your speed and incline every 30 seconds; then at every 5 minutes, max out the incline and sprint for 1 minute then suddenly decline back down to a speed walk while keeping the incline the same. I do this for 20 minutes, so I do 4 sets of sprints (8.0 at an incline of 15) and it burns almost 300 calories in 20 minutes!

7. Your chances of success increase greatly when you exercise with someone else, so bring a friend or go to a class! I'm a HUGE advocate of group fitness classes! The classes are designed to work you to the point if maximum calories and are trying to help you get the body you're working for.

8. Push yourself to your limit everyday while working out. Sweat a lot every single time! If you aren't sweating, you aren't doing it right!! Do the work for the body you want!

I hope these tips help you as much as they've helped me!

xoxo,
Alliecat

My 2012 resolutions

After spending this week praying, searching, and pondering about what my 2012 resolutions should be, I’ve come up with these 2 things.

1.   LIVE more fully what I believe. (spiritually, physically, emotionally and mentally) – essentially, “practice what I preach.”

2.   Try to be more like Jesus. Simple as that! The primary song, “I’m trying to be like Jesus,” is my very favorite song, ever. The message is so simple and so perfect, but the spirit of that song is powerful & very impactful. Each day when I wake up, I’ll listen to or sing this song as I’m getting ready for the day. Chessey? Maybe. Will it be incredibly impactful singing this song first thing in the morning so I can think about it throughout the day? Most likely!

"I’m trying to be like Jesus;  I’m following in His ways.

I’m trying to love as He did in all that I do and say.

At times I am tempted to make a wrong choice,

But I try to listen as the still, small voice whispers,

'Love one another as Jesus loves you;

Try to show kindness in all that you do.

Be gentle and loving in deed and in thought,

For these are the things Jesus taught.”

I’m trying to love my neighbor; I’m learning to serve my friends.

I watch for the day of gladness when Jesus will come again.

I try to remember the lessons He taught.

Then the Holy Spirit enters into my thoughts saying,

'Love one another as Jesus loves you;

Try to show kindness in all that you do.

Be gentle and loving in deed and in thought,

For these are the things Jesus taught.' "

I hope these resolutions will bring me closer to Christ and help me become the woman He wants me to be AND that I want to be.

xoxo,

Alliecat

More thoughts..

Here are some more of my personal thoughts on healthy eating. Take it if you will. :)

1. I do not believe in restrictions; I believe in limitations. Completely restricting yourself from things, especially in the beginning, is pretty unrealistic in my opinion. Come January and all of the sudden you decide to cut sugar out of your diet cold turkey is a lot harder than you may realize. So don't restrict yourself from it, limit yourself from it.

2. If it's not in front of you, you can't eat it! You are in control of what goes into your mouth, so don't buy garbage food to begin with!

3. Be moderate when it comes to eating out. When you do eat out, choose the healthiest thing on the menu that sounds good to YOU. Grilled vs. fried, steamed veggies vs. fries, and avoid getting dessert as much as possible.

4. (again, this is MY personal opinion) Why would you ever completely devoid yourself of desserts!?!? They are a simple pleasure that make life more enjoyable, so once a week, let yourself eat the dang cookie!!!! I promise that you will be more successful & happier if you MODERATELY allow yourself to eat sweets. Say no to every 4 out of 5 desserts and you will be fine. In my opinion. :)

5. Moderation in all things is another key to success! And to a healthy, well balanced life.

I would replace "skinny" with "healthy" or "beautiful"

6. Take a multivitamin everyday. Even the healthiest people don't meet all of the nutritional requirements through only food, so take one everyday. If you're a girl, I reccomend taking a prenatal vitamin in place of a multi. It's great for your hair, skin and nails and I've found they don't make me feel as sick as multi's do.

7. When you do decide to have a dessert, remember a couple of things; 1. be moderate (do you see a pattern here?) and 2. make sure it's something good! Don't blow your dessert on something stupid like candy canes or a mediocre cupcake or something... make sure it's something delicious that YOU love!

8. DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT start a "fad" diet cause guess what? They don't work!!!! Believe me, I've tried a good number of fad diets and I've never had long term success on any of them! If you feel like you really do need a diet for extra support and some guidance, join Weight Watchers. It is incredible and I have been successful everytime I've done it. So has my mom! For those of you who know my mom, you know that she is TINY and she did it with Weight Watchers and she's kept it off for almost 2 years now!! I'm a big advocate of WWers :)

9. Read the book Intuitive Eating!

10. If you've already eaten and you think you're feeling hungry again, drink a FULL glass of water before you eat again. More than half of the time you are actually just thirsty and not hungry.

11. Keep a supply of gum on handy at all times! If youre mouth is busy you are less likely to eat out of bordem. I suggest always having the dessert flavored gum by Extra to help ease your sweet tooth!

12. Lastly, make good choices. We all have a general knowledge of what it means to eat healthy, so take that knowledge and apply it to your life!

Remember, these are all my personal thoughts I've developed over the years. And this is information I've learned through my college health classes and my own personal research and such. Hope it helps though!

xoxo,
Alliecat

Goal Setting

Wasn't 2011 such an amazing year?? I know it was the hardest & BEST year of my life! I can't imagine this next year being better than this one, but guess what? It's totally possible! It's possible by setting and working towards goals that you're passionate about!

Before I blab on about goal setting, I just want to make it clear that I'm no expert here; I'm just a 22 year old girl and these are just my thoughts on the matter. :) So here are my thoughts on goal setting!

1. WRITE YOUR GOALS DOWN!! This is the second most important thing to remember when setting goals. Write them down several times and put them in several different places where you will see them throughout the day (your planner, mirror, desk, fridge, etc.) If you're not even going to bother writing your goals down, you might as well not even set any.... that is how important writing them down is!

2. Set small, realistic goals that will help you achieve your ultimate goal.

3. Make sure your goals are specific and that they have a dead line. Rather than setting a huge, broad goal like, "I want to lose 20 pounds," say, "I want to lose 5 pounds the month of January." You're much more likely to achieve that goal rather than the first one.

4. Achieving your small, realistic goals is the absolute best motivation for you to reach your big goal.

5. Consistency and dedication is the key to success. Remind yourself all the time of what your goals are and why they are important to you. That way it will be easier for you to stay strong when you're tempted.

6. Most importantly, remember to be prayerful and to keep our Heavenly Father involved in this whole process. We are His literal children and more than anything else, He wants us each to be individually happy and healthy. Pray about this and pray for your success on your journey to a healthier lifestyle. All you have to do is pray and ask Him for His help and I promise you, He will help and bless you. I know He will because I've experienced it in my life. HE is the ultimate key to success!

Happy New Year! 2012 is going to be EPIC!

xoxo,

Alliecat

Changes

This holiday season has truly been pretty perfect! Being home, relaxing, not stressing about school for a couple of weeks, family, family & more family, Christmas Eve & Christmas Day, going to the cabin for 3 days, reading, an EPIC New Years Eve, friends, and the Holiday spirit. I couldn't have asked for a better Christmas break!

Well, for those who don't know me well, one of my biggest passions in life is learning about and teaching about nutrition, fitness and overall health. I love it so much that I'm majoring in Health, I plan on teaching high school health and possibly college health courses and I also have a dream of becoming a Life Coach, and that dream is slowly but surely starting to come true! Over the summer I miraculously (literally) met a person who has been turning my dreams of Life Coaching into a reality. I know with all of my heart that our Heavenly Father put him into my life for a purpose....

So, that being said my blog will be going through some changes for the next while. I still will write about my personal life, but I really want to focus on making this a health- centered blog! I'll give some tips & tricks, facts & info about nutrition, fitness, mental health, emotional health and spiritual health. I hope you all stick around through the changes and enjoy reading!

xoxo,

Alliecat

ps
first health post is coming!