I Love My Quotes!

Oh how I love my quotes! They keep me grounded when I my head honestly feels like exploding. Today's quote I found helps me realize the importance of opportunities. I found it thanks to Roman Price and LifePulp. Currently I feel very overwhelmed; I have lots going on and it feels like not enough time in the day. I am blessed to be given so many opportunities and be surrounded by amazing people, but sometimes it feels like too much. Today's quote helps me to recognize how important it is to take a hold of all my  opportunities. Sometimes I don't always recognize how many opportunities I am given or how special it is to have an opportunity. This quote reminds me also reminds me to enjoy every aspect of life and especially every opportunity!

‎"Life is like a flowing river full of opportunities. It's up to you whether you stand with a bucket or a spoon." Author Unknown

Happy FIRST Birthday, TeenSanity!

One year ago, today, I started TeenSanity with no intentions. I honestly created the blog to prove to my high school director, Mr. Quirk, that I could have a better blog than him. At the time, I was officially hooked on a healthy lifestyle. I tried all types of unhealthy living; from the junk food eater who never exercised to the girl who barely ate anything and exercised more than her body could handle. I've tried it all! I truly believe a positive lifestyle is the only way to enjoy our lives, especially as a teen. We enable everything it takes to do something incredible with our lives, but I believe we need to harness the tools to do so. When I am eating my best and working out at my hardest, my mind doesn't limit what I can handle. I can be under large amounts of stress, but when I am eating healthy, exercising, and trying to maintain a healthy mindset; I can do anything. From day one, that's been my goal for TeenSanity readers, to realize how great our lives can be at such a young age!

During this past year of TeenSanity, I've gotten to blog about some awesome places, people, health food, exercises, and much more! I've gotten to play with the creator of Original Play, Dr. Fred Donaldson, and take (almost) a private workshop with him. Then share the power of positive touch and play on TeenSanity. I've been inspired and empowered by my teacher, Miss Casey, to create my own vision board and blog about it. Miss Casey has also taught me all I know about affirmations and thus giving me the tools to share here! Through my journey on TeenSanity, I've recognized the importance of exploration and what it means to truly explore. I believe when we don't explore and get out of our element, we can get caught up in the negative, instead of seeing all the good things we have. I've gotten to travel to Hawaii and taste the most incredible bowls at BASIK Acai. The owners, Derek and Jamie, have been so kind to let me share the awesomeness of BASIK and the power of 'real food'. I've had hair and makeup artist, Holly and Joe, make getting ready for prom less stressful with tutorials! Most recently, I've been blessed to have gotten the chance to interview a super-hero, Roman Price, also the founder of LifePulp. Roman has this unique ability to really showcase how simple it is to enjoy our lives. He's taught me many valuable life lessons and also shared with me the incredible, 'Last Lecture' by Randy Pausch. And these are just a few of the awesome topics I've shared on TeenSanity!

I want to thank everyone who takes the time to read my blog. It truly means the world to me! I give this blog everything I have and work really hard to try to make it a success! I really, truly, hope I've been able to inspire teens to live a healthy lifestyle! I will continue to give this blog my all and help make a positive impact on as many teens as I can!

To learn more about...
Original Play http://www.originalplay.com/
BASIK Acai http://www.basikacai.com/
LifePulp http://www.lifepulp.com/
Randy Pausch's 'Last Lecture' http://www.cmu.edu/randyslecture/

Today, my awesome mom surprised me with this balloon to celebrate TeenSanity's first birthday! 

New Favorite Workout Equipment: Dip Bar

I was beyond excited when I came home from school to see a package on my door step containing my dip bar! I do bodyweight workouts using practically no equipment just an interval timer, yoga mat, and sometimes a jump rope. Now with my dip station I can do hanging knee raises, reverse push ups, triceps dips, and much more! Of course, I've got to build up more strength, especially with the triceps dips, but I loved the reverse push ups. New workout equipment always encourages me to push harder and gain more strength. The dip bar is great because it's affordable, portable, and doesn't take up much space! Today during my workout I did 200 different kinds of burpees, sometimes incorporating my dip station. Burpees are great because they don't require any equipment, can tone your body within weeks, you can do they anywhere, they are designed to work most muscles in our bodies, enhance weight loss, and increase endurance. The steps to doing a burpee is simple, but the exercise is hard:

-Squat to the ground and place your hands on the floor
-Adjust your bodyweight to your hands, and kick your feet back to the floor into plank position
-Complete a proper push up, make sure your back is straight, hips are squared, and your elbows are at a complete 90 degree angle
-Retract your feet and go back into squat position
-The jump straight up, as high as you can
-Repeat this as many times as you like

Today I did burpees then a knee raises on my dip station! If you want a dip bar, I ordered mine from 'Ultimate Body Press"!

Apples! Apples! Apples!

By the title of the blog post you can tell I really like apples! During the fall, I tend to eat at least two servings of apples a day (just a bit obsessed). Whole Foods has a great organic cinnamon applesauce. Whenever my friends see me pull out my container filled with applesauce, they are asking me for a taste, it's just so delicious. Yes applesauce is still cool, even if your a teenager. Since it's fall and I am surrounded by apple orchards I tend to have apples and organic self-grind peanut butter as my afternoon snack. It's a heavenly combination! Apples not only taste amazing, they are really good for us. They are packed with phytonutrients, an organic component of plants, known for promoting health. They contain no saturated fats or cholesterol, but are rich in fiber, which helps prevent absorption of dietary LDL cholesterol in the gut. Since apples are rich in phytonutrients, they help protect our body from the effects of free radicals. In addition, apples are a good source of B-complex vitamins, which help as cofactors for enzymes in the metabolism. There's a reason for the saying, "an apple a day, keeps the doctor away."

I Tweet!

For all those who have a twitter or just want to see what I am doing on a day-to-day basis, check out my twitter account @TessaZimmerman or http://twitter.com/#!/TessaZimmerman! Soon I'll be working on a bit of a science experiment (let's just say it's related to what's in our food)-can't wait to share it later this week or sometime next week!

Super Foods Found in Supermarkets

'Super Foods', sounds similar to 'super hero', right? Well that's because 'super foods' are like the super heros of food! They contain higher than usual amounts of disease fighting nutrients that promote good health. Super foods are often low in calories. They are considered to be a nutrient dense food because they have high nutrient to calorie ratio. Super foods are known to have high amounts of either omega-3, fatty acids, phytochemicals, vitamins and minerals. We can find super foods in our supermarkets! Blueberries are considered a super food because they have very high amounts of antioxidants which help protect our cells from damaging toxins. Walnuts are another super food (this was a surprise to me). They are loaded with monounsaturated fats and an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids. Walnuts also are a good source of protein and fiber. It's best to consume raw, unsaturated walnuts. Tomatoes are another superfood! They contain lycopene, a super antioxidant that may help protect against various forms of cancer. Dark greens, broccoli, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, yogurt, salmon, tea, dark chocolate, cherries, and strawberries are all super foods! When your at the grocery store and considering super foods, especially in fresh produce, keep in mind the colors of your food. Different colors are for different nutrients, so buying an array of colors, is like purchasing an array of nutrients!

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture

This past Sunday I finally got a chance to watch Randy Pausch's 'Last Lecture'! Randy Pausch was a professor at Carnegie Mellon University. In September 2006, Pausch learned he had pancreatic cancer and by August 2007 he was given a terminal diagnosis. On September 18, 2007, he gave a truly remarkable lecture called "The Last Lecture: Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams"at Carnegie Mellon. I can thank Roman Price for sharing this with me! After watching this lecture, I was speechless-I beyond loved it, if that's even possible. This lecture is filled with the tools to create a mindset that will ultimately help you to succeed and achieve your childhood dreams! There were so many wonderful quotes; I kept having to rewind it and write them down! I will just share one quote from the lecture, "If you lead your life the right way, the karma will take care of itself, and the dreams will come to you." Pretty amazing, right? Here's the link to the most amazing lecture ever: Randy Pausch's Last Lecture