more to think about

I was reading an article the other day about Monica Seles, the tennis star. I hadn't heard her name in several years but I came across an article about her battle with weight. Who knew? Certainly not me. You think tennis star, okay she is fit for life. Not so with Monica. After the infamous stabbing she was out of the spotlight for a while and her Father was dying from Cancer. Her weight gain was only about 20 pounds but to an athlete it was extra hard for her. She practiced and worked out 8 hours a day. Can you imagine how much she had to eat to actually put on that weight after all that exercise. She said that she gorged on pizza, pasta, chip & specialties of whatever foreign city she was in! She said she got it together because she was fed up and ashamed of her image. The one thing that really stuck out to me was that she had a "20 second rule", she said when she grabbed a bag of chips she had to wait 20 seconds before she opened them, That allowed her to ask herself if she was really hungry or what she was actually hungry for. She has since shed her weight and back in top form. It was really exciting because anything that helps the mental aspect of weight loss I am always looking for. Try it, I know I will!

Doing too much?

I am feeling so tired and run down, it's time for a vacation from my vacation. After spending the weekend in New Jersey with the hubby and kids at Six Flags Great America I am beat down. The crazy thing is when we arrived Friday, we went straight to the pool & then to dinner and then I went to the fitness center. It was a modest center but had just what I needed. I hopped on the elliptical for and hour and then did weights for about 15 minutes. This really wasn't the greatest idea in hindsight I should have just rested up for Saturday because I knew working out would keep me that much more wound up which it did. I can't sleep in anyway so I was up at 6:30 am Saturday morning. Sleeping late for me is 8 am and I just knew I would sleep until then but no. So it was on to our big day at the park and I mean big. We were there from 10 am to 10 pm. So you know I felt no guilt for the pizza I had at the park. I needed a serious carb load for the walking we did. So here I am back at home Sunday washing clothes and packing again for another almost week long get-away next week. Am I crazy? I am feeling a little sick. I think the fast food and the constant on the go this weekend has got me screwed. I had fun don't get me wrong but when your activities through you outta whack you have to re-evaluate. So I am planning to get rest, eat well and balance my exercise for this next trip. We as mothers, wives, sisters, friends so often over extend ourselves and then we tend to neglect ourselves which affects our health. We need a balance regarding our weight, our nutrition and of course our mental health!

Feeling Fragile

As I was scrolling through my TIVO last night deleting recorded shows I was deleting Oprah because she takes off in the summer and repeats are shown and since I've seen them all I just deleted the repeats. I thought to myself she'll be back on in mid-September and I usually look forward to that because she usually has a great theme going. I thought back to the New Year and her "Best Life" series. She kicked off the series talking about her weight gain over the past year or so and talked about how she couldn't believe she still can't get it right. How was she back here again? The truth is you never have it licked. Here she is a billionaire with unlimited resources; trainers, chefs, nutrionist, weight loss experts. If she can't keep it off I'm doomed for sure. I have to remember to take it one day at a time. You can never relax and so "Oh I got this!" You just can't because you must stay focused all the time. If you don't focus you are doomed to repeat the terrible habits that got you overweight in the first place. As I have said before I am so fearful of slipping into old habits. I have to write this out to see the words on the screen to keep me focused. I am out of town this weekend and have my workout clothes packed so I can workout at the fitness center at the hotel. Staying focused on your goals doesn't take a vacation always stay mindful of your goals and own them!

Keeping the Momentum Going

I am so trying to stay focused! I am working out like crazy and wondering if that is sending my appetite through the roof. Of course I know that working out does make you hungry but I am trying to figure out if I am eating more because I am hungry or greedy. I am willing to bet it's the latter of the two but maybe a combination of the two. My drive seems to be dwindling as far as my great eating habits. I fear I will slip back into my bad habits but I do know my limits. I just don't want to slip. I need to keep my momentum going and stay on track! I know I will and it feels good for me to write about and read it in black and white so I can make sure I take ownership of what I need to do. I think this is driven by fear but I have to conqor the mental part of the this weight loss thing to. That means giving myself kudos for my accomplishments and not beating myself up over things!

Food Diary

When I first started LA Weight loss on my quest to lose weight one of the main reasons I chose this program over others was because I didn't want pre-packaged food. I knew I wouldn't be eating pre-packaged food for the rest of my life so that was realistic for me. I needed to know how to balance my diet, control portions & chose the right foods. That is exactly what they taught me but part of the program involved keeping a food diary. I cringed at the thought of this but found it fantastic. Since there was no calorie counting this took that stress away and allowed me to see that I was getting my vegetables in and getting my fruits in and getting my healthy fats in etc.! It really was an eye opener. It also helped me spread out my foods throughout the day so I wouldn't be hungry. WRITE IT DOWN! Yes it can take some getting used to but you'll find it so helpful. Get a mini notebook with a pen attached and carry it everywhere. Write it down! Try to get in your bread carbs early in the day like whole wheat, high fiber toast, oatmeal or whole grain cereal, when you see you have had your bread carbs for breakfast and some for lunch, try protein such as fish or chicken for dinner with a salad of dark greens or your favorite green vegetable. Seeing is believing and it also helps you stop mindless eating. When you reach into your child's Happy Meal or take a handful of chips from someone you'll realize that is eating too if you write it down. Some people follow meal plans to a tee but then don't count all the mindless eating they are doing in between their "plan" meals and then wonder why they are gaining weight instead of losing weight!

Phantom Phat

I read an article yesterday about people who have lost a significant amount of weight and still see themselves as fat. They called it "Phantom Phat." It takes longer for your brain to catch up with the actual image you see in the mirror. This is something that I have struggled with and still do to a certain extent. The image I see in the mirror is still not the image that is actually there. It is better for me now because it's been a couple of years but when I first reached my goal weight I saw the same fat girl in the mirror. I only saw the weight loss in pictures. I knew it was true because I saw the pictures and over the several months it took me to lose weight I saw the clothes falling off. It was a horrible irony however not to see it in the mirror. Also the article spoke of how people, especially women are often disappointed with their self image after significant weight loss because they thought if they lost weight they would automatically have the PERFECT body. I can relate to this as well. Not that I thought I would have the perfect body but my nemeses, my stomach would some how be gone. Soooo not the case. Don't get me wrong there is a whole lot less of it than it was but still the one area of my body that I really want changed. I often try to focus on the parts of my body I like and I have transformed through exercise verses focusing on what I see as flaws. As I have said before we are our own worst critics and we zoom in on trouble areas that other people probably don't take a second look at. The bottom line is I am happy to be me and completely satisfied overall and it feels great!

Use your resources

If you are reading this it's obvious that you are already doing what I'm writing about but are you using it to your full advantage? I don't know how I ever survived without the world wide web. It has been instrumental in my weight loss. On days I need inspiration, new work outs, new recipes, new tips; anything relating to weight loss I turn to the internet. It helps in so many ways. Instead of reaching for the chips or a donut, click on Fatt2Fab, fitness.com, google the words fitness, healthy recipes, weight loss or eating light and you will have millions of hits. The hard part can be weeding out the junk. Please share any helpful sites that you have I would love to hear about them so I can search them. I love fitness.com and I subscribe, there are also great light recipes on foodnetwork.com and there is a BMI calculator on the NIH website. Also I love Morning Star Farms veggies products & they have a great website that has dozens of recipes and tips for preparing their veggie products.

Back in action

Okay I have been out of commission for a few days sunnin' & funnin' in Miami & Key Biscayne Florida and yes it was great. Yes I rocked my two bikini's and was lovin' it because that is ALL they wear in Miami. It was wonderful. I will be doing extra crunches in the gym tonight to work off those Margarita's and nachos but it's all good. Moderation is the key so I didn't go overboard and I must admit I really missed spin class on Saturday. The good thing is I was able to take advantage of the water for my exercise. Running in place in the ocean will really give you a workout! Wow that current is somthing else and you can really feel it. I was using my arms too and since the water was almost to my neck I could feel it all over. I thought about going for a morning run but that is all I did was think about it. That sun was hot as heck even in the early morning hours and since I hate to run as it is I stuck with my water exercises. Join me and let me know how you stay on your routine during get-aways. You can be creative still have fun & stay fit!

Motivation!

I have found it hard to stay motivated in recent days. I am still on track with diet and exercise but my drive to share it all has diminished some what. I am sure this is just a phase but I get discouraged when the same people come back to me asking me for help but continue not to listen. So they think what I am going to say will be any different from the last ten times I told them the exact same thing? If you are reading this you know who you are! Find your motivation. Just as I have stated before doing this blog and knowing that I do have some really dedicated followers helps to keep me motivated but what will do it for you? Trust me I know how hard this journey is and I am not kicking anyone while they are down. Reach out and find whatever it is that you need to help you get on track. Not to say that you won't fall off but don't let falling off mean falling out! Don't let one slice of pizza turn to three and don't let going hard with the exercise turn to sleeping in front of the television. I would suggest to all of you to find the worst off guard photo taken of you in recent days and really examine it. Ask yourself if you are happy with what you see. Let's take it further and ask yourself if you think you see a healthy person and person someone would call fit. If the answer is no make a plan for yourself and exhaust all of your resources to achieve your goals! I have added the pic that was my motivation. This pic was taken in hot Disney World in August of 2006! I didn't recognize myself. I was fat, tired and run down. I looked at it and said she has to go. It took a lot for me to add this pic because to this day I think it is so horrible but in a way it's the best picture I have ever taken because if I hadn't I would not have changed my lifestyle! So I am grateful for it forever!

It's All About Me!

You have to make it all about you in your journey to a happy healthy you. This helps you stay focused and stay on track with your weight loss. WARNINGS: FEELINGS MIGHT GET HURT! I had someone ask me recently how I handled co-workers who asked me how much weight I lost because she has lost a lot of weight and found that folks were being plain nosey! I would tell everyone who asked and shouted it from the roof tops but then you begin to wonder when the same person would ask again and again and again. "What? Do you think the number is going to change?" That's when you begin to wonder if they are truly interested and happy for you or hating on you or being nosey! The bottom line is it doesn't matter! If there is any indication in your mind that someone is trying to throw you off your game be it innocently or purposely change the subject, walk away, set something on fire or do anything that will distract you from the negativity!

Going off the deep end

Well it's a holiday weekend there are parties and cookouts and dinner with friends. How do you push the plate away? Well I've done okay but definitely have had more food than usual this weekend and more of the foods that are on my no-no list. But to that end I have still been on my workout regimine that has not waivered a bit so I do feel good about that and the alcohol is another story. Hard liquior of course has lots of carbs so keep that in mind with your favorite cocktails! Happy 4th!

What's holding you back?

I have had so many different conversations with so many people over the last few years who have had problems losing weight. A lot of the time the motivation never lasted. They start out the gate with a burst of determination but it dwindles as they round the turn and never reach the finish line. So many of us make excuse after excuse and wonder why they just can't seem to make this commitment to themselves. Look around ask yourself what's holding you back. Maybe it's not you, maybe you have toxic people in your life or other burdens that are weighing on you so heavily it's smothering the real you. First I would ask you to pray, pray for strength and ask GOD to show you the way. To release you from your burdens and people that add no value to your life. If they aren't givers, they are takers it's that simple! Look around your home, is it cluttered? Clutter is a burden and smothers you as well. What able your financial health? If your finances aren't healthy more than likely neither is your body. Everything we do in life and the decisions we make affect our health and well-being. Make today the day you take charge of everything in your life. When you can do that you'll find your efforts for a healthier lifestyle and body will fall into place!

Happy Happy Joy Joy!

Keep happy thoughts to help you stay focused. If you have cheated today or didn't get your exercise don't beat yourself up just vow to do it tomorrow. I know for some people tomorrow never comes but make it a reality. Every day you stay on track is one day closer to your goal!