Just The Way You Are

Beautiful and profound words if you think about it. No wonder they are included in the timeless, classic song by Billy Joel. I have debated whether or not to share this event as it is deeply personal and a pretty big deal for me. However, at the end of the day, my goal is to be a light and inspire people though my music and message. A large part of what I write about as an artist is my life, and life experience. After all, it is what this blog is all about, my music, my life, and my dreams… and how all of those things can touch people in some small way for the better. So, after living this experience, if I can stop one person from making the same mistake that I did a long time ago, I decided it was worth it to share my experience. So here it goes. 

I am having Breast Implant Removal Surgery tomorrow, better known as Breast Explant Surgery. What in the heck in the world you might be thinking… I know Breast Implants might not be a term that comes to mind when thinking about me, but yes, I did a dumb thing when I was younger. A very dumb thing by getting Saline Breast Implants, and I am about to undo that mistake. 

It all started when I got married way too young to the wrong person, and well instead of understanding that I was fine just the way that I was… I allowed myself to be pressured, bullied and brainwashed into thinking that I needed to change myself to be good enough. When the truth of the matter is that even after I did the breast implants, they did not change that person. Because it was never really about me or how “I” looked, it was a deeper issue with that person. If you’re guessing that we did not last, you guessed correct. Nothing in life is perfect, we all have to live and learn in order to grow and become the person we were meant to be, and in love it is the same. If we do not kiss some frogs, we will never find our Prince Charming. 

If I am honest about it, I never really wanted the implants in the first place. I have always been athletic, and loved to run, circuit train, lift weights, etc. They have always gotten in the way of that, as well as making me feel very self conscious. For years I have worn compression and sports bras at all times, to try to hide them or make them less noticeable. My decision to have them removed was a culmination of many things including not only the mental & physical issues with them, but also in learning how detrimental to my heath they are. Additionally, I have a Capsular Contracture, which is the term used for when the capsule of scar tissue made by the body around the implant starts to squeeze the implant causing pain.

I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis a few years back which has taken me on a journey of learning so much about health and wellness. It really started a few years earlier during the covid years when I discovered how upside down our healthcare system in this country is. I also learned how toxic our everyday world is, from the things we put on our skin, our food, makeup, hair care, etc. I have become an ingredient detective. I read every label, and have removed most all toxic things from my environment. I changed my skincare, makeup, only eat organic food, stay away from carbs, eat healthy fats like coconut oil, olive oil and butter, do not eat sugar and exercise religiously via heavy weights, yoga, trampoline, you name it. I get eight hours of sleep a night, take a boatload of supplements, and even with all of this, I have improved my condition, but I was not getting one hundred percent better. 

Bottom line for me, having plastic which is an endocrine disruptor actually inside of my body is, I am one hundred percent certain not helping my health in any way, shape matter or form. I started researching Explant Surgery and discovered the growing movement to expose the dangers of Breast Implants and how much better women who opt. for removal become. After much contemplation, and going over it with my now husband (whom I have been happily married to for many years who loves me just the way that I am) we decided that it was time for them to come out. 

The message is simple. There is so much pressure for perfection. It has always existed, but every day that goes by with technology permeating nearly every aspect of our lives, as the need for instant gratification grows, the opportunity for comparison is worse than ever. Remember, comparison is the thief of joy. I want young girls, grown women, heck any woman to understand this one thing… you are perfect just the way you are. 

There is no prefect body, there is no perfect anything. Nothing is perfect. Life is one big beautiful mess, and it is up to us to make of it what we will. We were all created by God, he saw us in the womb before we were ever born, and if anyone takes one thing from my coming out about having this done, is that you do not need to change yourself. I don’t mean not striving to better your health or physical body through exercise and nutrition. I mean, do not do drastic things like injections to keep your face frozen for all time, and do not mutilate your body to please other people. I was naive in thinking that by changing my body to someone else’s idea of “perfection” that they would be content with me, but that didn’t happen because it was never about me. 

I want people to remember, you were beautifully and wonderfully made. You are perfect, just the way that you are. I am excited and scared, but I know that in the end I will be me again and that is something I cannot wait to see. I hope that by sharing my experience it can help in some way help people to remember who they are… The rest anything you want to change for yourself, education, to lose weight, gain weight, hair color, any of that it is fine to change, if it is for you. Don’t go thinking you need to mutilate your body in search of perfection because it does not exist. 

Do you, and if the Debbie downers of the world don’t like it, stuff cotton balls in your ears and carry on your merry way. If that doesn’t help, you could always play my song “I Don’t Even Care” on and turn it up. You just had to know I would have to get one little shameless plug in about my music, didn’t you? 

Blessings, Love & Music ~
Ava xo
www.avaaston.com 

Joy

It's finally here! In fact I'm so happy about it I've been humming a little tune all around the house for weeks now. "I've got the joy, joy, joy down in my heart..." Joy about what Greek Girl you may be wondering?

The new movie Joy starring cutie patootie Jennifer Lawrence? No, but it was a fantastic movie that I highly recommend! The characters were all very well developed, and it's a super feel good film that gets a big fat thumbs up and five stars from this film critic. 

If not that, what pray tell could be causing all that "joy" I am talking about? Why The Biggest Loser premiere of course! Why on earth am I so excited about a TV show one may wonder? Well hello... it has many of my favorite elements: sneakers (my number one favorite shoe to wear), people doing things they thought they couldn't, inspiration, drama. Sure in my opinion the show will never be the same without Jillian, but it's still incredibly inspiring, and never fails to have me in tears at some point during an episode.

I have been so inspired by some episodes in the past that I have even written lyrics to songs from watching. So for me it's a win-win. 

New year, a new chance to get up to bat and swing for one's goals and dreams in life. We all have them, many start out strong at the beginning of the year and for a multitude of reasons peter out and end up quitting. For me it is magical to watch people who have tried time after time, after time to achieve a goal who have never been able to do it, finally break through and get it done. It's just my happy place. 

Society today has so many tools to be healthy and live longer, yet it seems is getting more and more unhealthy by the second. Your body is a miracle. When you treat it right by feeding it the right things and making fitness a part of everyday (just like brushing your teeth) the results are remarkable. That's why I love the show so much, it demonstrates this principle in such a dramatic way on such a large scale, literally. 

I think everyone has the ability inside them to blast through barriers... it's just a matter of will. Not a matter of "can", but a matter of "if". Excuses can be made for everything, everyone has something. Not everyone has the "physical capability" to be an olympic athlete, this I know very well. Accidents, disabilities, many things can make a person think they "can't" be physically fit. The truth of the matter is though that there is a modification for almost everything. There is some kind of physical activity that everyone can do, and once one changes their mentality from can't to can... the entire world can change. 

So you can be your bottom dollar I'll be parked in front of the TV watching. With a hot cup of happiness a la Dunkin's in my hands (with Truvea instead of sugar of course). Will you? If not my hope is that 2016 is a year for everyone to reach beyond their limits and break though barriers to reach goals and dreams they have buried on the inside. Remember, everything is possible... you just have to believe. Happy 2016!

Blessings, Love & Music!
Ava xo
www.avaaston.com

No Excuses

Nothing can stop you unless you let it.

When you get knocked down do you stay down, or do you get back up? Most people like to think they get back up, but the truth is sometimes we don't.

Almost everyone likes to hear about someone taking a bad situation and turning it upside down. Especially if that someone is a hero like a Veteran, media figure, or a person in the public eye. I mean was there ever a greater contestant on "Dancing With the Stars" than Noah Galloway? Sheesh, I don't even watch Reality TV, but I was glued to the tube like millions of other Americans because of his story, determination and passion to give back to people. His strength is unbelievably motivating.

The sad thing though is that some of us enjoy seeing that happen for "other people" but at times in our own lives we think it can't happen for us. That the "thing," challenge, injury, hurdle, whatever seems too big, too hard or just too insurmountable to overcome.

Recently I saw a video that was truly inspiring. Every person in the world struggles with something, no one is perfect. Every human being has an imperfect body. As great as it would be to have everything work perfectly all the time like a well-oiled machine, that's not real life, nor is that how we are designed. Whether it's a goal, a dream, a passion, a physical challenge, everyone has something they want to achieve. Life happens though, things happen, and at times we get knocked down. It can be easy to fall into the excuses game. What we want to accomplish can seem so far off, so daunting that we can find it easier to just think "well so-and-so happened and so I will never be able to reach my goal." 

This video shows that no matter what is thrown at you, there are never any acceptable excuses to not achieve anything. If something happens to you, you have two choices: stay down or get back up. Pain (whether it's emotional, mental, or physical) is temporary, but quitting lasts forever. The only thing that counts is trying to be better than yesterday. Do a little every day, and one day you'll look back and be doing something you once thought was impossible. Doing the thing you thought you couldn't.

Sometimes it may seem like things can happen "to" us. Really though we can look back and realize they actually happened "through" us. Our stories can touch the people around us in ways we may never even know or imagine. So the next time you're down, remember you never know who is watching, or who you may be inspiring. In the words of one of history's smartest men...

"You never fail until you stop trying." ~ Albert Einstein 

Blessings, Love & Music ~
Ava xo
www.avaaston.com

The Return of Jillian

It finally arrived... the day I had been waiting for ever since I heard it announced (on my Birthday of all days) that one of my most favorite fitness hero's ever - Jillian Michaels was set to make her return to The Biggest Loser after a two season hiatus.

I had been so excited all through the holidays as it was getting closer and closer.  Tick tock, tick, tick tock.  Today when I woke up I felt like a kid on Christmas.  You see not just for me, but for so many people who love fitness and working out and even those who have yet to make that change in their lives, Jillian is an inspiration.

Those of us who watched saw that she did not disappoint.  She steamrolled back onto the show by throwing not one or two but three contestants out of the gym.  She does not take any bull, and she does not want to hear excuses.  Over 10,000 people submitted applications to be on this season, and I do not blame her.  If a contestant is there they should be grateful for the spot and the opportunity to once and for all fix what is broken and change their lives forever.  If they are giving her resistance, not doing what she says, whining, complaining, and still having a victim mentality then they should leave.  They are taking up a good spot that one of those 10,000 would only love to have.

Yes it is hard, yes the people have health issues, yes it is going to hurt.  The thing that Jillian whips into each and every contestant if they have the backbone to dig in and really grasp what she is there giving her time to show them is that - there is no "TRY" you either do something, or you don't.  It's that simple.  All the chatter in your head, if you do not tap into your will and find the why - you will not find out how strong you really are.

We have seen it season after season.  Just when you think you have seen it all, in comes another heartbreaking story and inside my head at least I'm thinking, my gosh my heart is breaking for these people who have lost their will.  Jillian has a way to break through all the crap and get to the heart of person and help them to find their "why" and push and push them to reach their goals.  That is, if they can get past her tough exterior.

There are those that like to bash her in the media for this or that, methods, yada yada.  Muckery I say.  I used to be a little fat kid, just like she was.  The kids picked on me, and I struggled with weight my entire life until I was an adult.  (That is until I discovered my love for sneakers ;) ) Her methods - they work.  Because I like to workout at home (as I'm not really into being ogled at the gym when my face is all red like a tomato head) I have every single DVD she has put out, and trust me I have every workout system you can think of just about.  P90, p90x, insanity, slim in 6, tapout, turbofire, rev abs, urban rebounder, the firm, tae bo, Bob Harper, Jackie Warner, and on and on.  I love them all, and I always no matter what I'm doing incorporate Jillian's workouts.  Why? Because Jillian's workouts are effective and do not waste time.  You do not have to be super coordinated or able to do a bazillion push ups in order to do them.  You just have to keep going even when you do not "feel" like it.  She has workouts as short as 20 minutes, from beginner on up to advanced, all give results you can see and feel.

Anyone can go buy any one of her DVD's or systems, put in the DVD, push play when the calendar says to and see the results for themselves.  The best part, they do not cost a fortune.  So literally anyone can workout at home and watch along with the Biggest Loser week after week and see her help people while they are getting in shape at the same time.  I don't know about you, but for me, it is so inspiring.  To see people with serious weight issues change their entire lives.

Some Awesome Jillian Quotes:

"Unless you puke, faint or die, keep going." 

"Transformation isn't a future event, it's a presant activity." 

"Pain is fear leaving the body." 

"Your legs are not giving out, your head is giving out, keep going." 

"When you have a Why, you can tolerate any amount of How." 

So it's no surprise that this Greek Girl gives The Return of Jillian (also a Greek Girl) a great big Giamungo Thumbs up!  Can't wait to see what this season has in store.  Happy losing.

Blessings, Love & Music ~
Ava :D xox
www.avaaston.com