Today I read a blog by Teeny Bikini and in looking at her page I was just amazed at her energy and attitude. In reading through some of her comments I realized that I have taken my focus off LIFE and put it on "The Diet" and "The Scale" and the dreaded "Mirror". All those items and ideas are basically facing inwards and when I do that, I can start getting dizzy and just plain ditzo.
Where should our focus be if not on our inner demons? I am pasting this quote I got off Teeny Bikini's page.
"Are you stuck in your head worrying about the flab on your arms, the pimple in the middle of your forehead or the cellulite that keeps hanging around on the back of your thighs again?
Listen, Hon. You don't need to lose those "last 10 pounds." You don't even really need to worry about eating more greens or less fat or more fruit.
You need to throw the doors wide open to Life! You need to let Light and Love and Limitlessness flood into your world again. They were there once but someone said you couldn't or shouldn't or didn't have what it took so you started worrying about pimples instead of passions, dress sizes instead of dreams.
Food is just the fuel you need for that gorgeous machine you're moving around in, but you... you feed on Life.
Go for a walk today, and let the colors and sounds and smells of spring feed you.
Nourish yourself with the idea that the people walking past you are perfect in every way and that you are the smokin' hot reflection of the things you think, feel and believe in.
Feast on the idea that the thing more important than the bulge of your belly is your belief in the goodness of others.
There are children being born with cancer, families taking cover from bombs and poor men begging for food in the street.
The world needs women with the courage to love in the face of adversity. Start with yourself."
I have really forgotten to focus on the Fun in Life and Dreaming my Dreams.
Forget that!
Living my Dreams!!!
Don't wait for the weight to start LIVING. Seize your life by the reins and give it a good kick in the flanks and see how far and how fast you can go.
My challenge to myself and anyone else who would care to join me is to do something this weekend that you have been wanting to do but have been waiting for the weight. Like, wearing a bathing suit in public and enjoying the water/beach; going to a dance club and dancing; asking "that guy" out for dinner; buying some sexy lingerie for that DH or significant other.
You decide. I will be wearing my swimsuit at the beach all weekend and playing in the surf and having a blast!! What will you do?
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Thursday, June 16, 2011
ARE YOU CONTENT TO STAY DOCKED OR ARE YOU READY TO SET SAIL?
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." mark twain
I read this quote and it really opened my eyes. For ten years I lived on a sailboat with my family and we traveled to various ports along the eastern seaboard of the U.S. and the Bahamas. We actually spent very little time sailing and quite a bit of time at anchor or tied up in various locales.
Leaving was always hard as we had made friends, learned where all the good shopping was and where the best places to eat good food were. In other words, it had become familiar. So, when the time came to leave, it meant putting the familiar behind and setting off for somewhere new. Questions and doubts. Excitement and Fear all rolled into one.
But as we pulled into the new harbor with eyes wide open at the new vistas surrounding us, we always knew we had made the right decision. We inevitably made new friends, found even better places to eat and there were so many new places to explore (museums, libraries, fresh food markets). Of course, some places were not as memorable as some, but there was always something or someone there that would go into our memory as unforgettable. So we would wonder why on earth were we so reluctant to leave our last anchorage? If we had stayed look at all we would have missed!
Then after a few weeks (sometimes a few months) the time would again come to pull anchor and move on. And you know what? The same fears and doubts would raise their lovely heads and the whole process would start all over again.
Why is change so hard? We know from experience that almost always it leads to much better things, but we invariably resist it. Here we are on a new lifestyle journey where so many changes are necessary. Changes in eating habits, changes in activity, changes in thinking and attitudes, most of all , changes in long established habits. We fight it, we resist it, we try to deny it's needed. "NO!", we scream. "It's too hard. I just can't." Is it can't or won't?
If we stop fighting ourselves and give in to those changes and stay the course, we see that the new harbor is so beautiful and well worth the changes necessary to get there. Our new bodies, new minds, and new attitudes only come when we step out in doubt and fear and make those necessary changes one small decision at a time.
Are you ready to set sail? Or are you content to stay tied to the dock? It's your decision.
The world awaits.
I read this quote and it really opened my eyes. For ten years I lived on a sailboat with my family and we traveled to various ports along the eastern seaboard of the U.S. and the Bahamas. We actually spent very little time sailing and quite a bit of time at anchor or tied up in various locales.
Leaving was always hard as we had made friends, learned where all the good shopping was and where the best places to eat good food were. In other words, it had become familiar. So, when the time came to leave, it meant putting the familiar behind and setting off for somewhere new. Questions and doubts. Excitement and Fear all rolled into one.
But as we pulled into the new harbor with eyes wide open at the new vistas surrounding us, we always knew we had made the right decision. We inevitably made new friends, found even better places to eat and there were so many new places to explore (museums, libraries, fresh food markets). Of course, some places were not as memorable as some, but there was always something or someone there that would go into our memory as unforgettable. So we would wonder why on earth were we so reluctant to leave our last anchorage? If we had stayed look at all we would have missed!
Then after a few weeks (sometimes a few months) the time would again come to pull anchor and move on. And you know what? The same fears and doubts would raise their lovely heads and the whole process would start all over again.
Why is change so hard? We know from experience that almost always it leads to much better things, but we invariably resist it. Here we are on a new lifestyle journey where so many changes are necessary. Changes in eating habits, changes in activity, changes in thinking and attitudes, most of all , changes in long established habits. We fight it, we resist it, we try to deny it's needed. "NO!", we scream. "It's too hard. I just can't." Is it can't or won't?
If we stop fighting ourselves and give in to those changes and stay the course, we see that the new harbor is so beautiful and well worth the changes necessary to get there. Our new bodies, new minds, and new attitudes only come when we step out in doubt and fear and make those necessary changes one small decision at a time.
Are you ready to set sail? Or are you content to stay tied to the dock? It's your decision.
The world awaits.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Get Moving in June: My Goals This Month
Made some revisions and changed my outlook on a few things. I am DETERMINED to not let the scale dictate my mood or behavior. I am on a life changing missions and I don't plan to quit until I no longer walk this earth. By then I'll be where I won't have to worry about weight or exercise ever again. Anyway, here are my goals.
Food:
Personal:
Food:
- Stay within 100-120g protein each day
- 1300-1600 calories per day
- 35g fiber,
- 3-5 fruits and veggies,
- under 1500mg sodium/day
- Log all my food each day
- Drink 16oz water/day
- Exercise 6 days a week for at least 30 min. 5 days cardio and 3 days strength exercises.
- Walk at least 3 times/week starting with distance of 2 miles and ending with distance of 4 miles
- Walk 5K on July 8.
- Record all fitness time in journal
Personal:
- Have a depression emergency plan finished and in place. This is an idea I came up with for the time I start to sink into a lasting depression. I don't mean the occasional "down" day, but the "life ending" times that creep up and sap all desire to live right out of you. I haven't had one for 6 months, but I need to be prepared for the time it rears its ugly head, or should I say, bows its weary head.
- Start my own Weight Challenge group here in my home.
- Find and attend a weekly women's Bible Study.
- Write a twice weekly blog and a weekly motivational email.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Fun Times on the Treadmill
So, this was my experience. I have a plan. Be prepared. I get the earphones, have my towel, have my water bottle, find the right music and I'm ready to go. Push the Quick Stark button and begin walking at a leisurely pace. Feeling pretty comfortable after a couple of minutes. I had read that it's more beneficial to walk with your arms swinging at your side, so after a minute or so I let go of the bar and try walking without holding on. I'm smiling. I'm walking. I'm not falling. I up my speed some. This isn't so bad.
Then one of my arms pulls out my ear phones. Rats. I reach out to my left for the bar to steady myself while I put them back in and I accidentally push the emergency stop button. All my data was erased. I'm standing on a still belt staring at a blank screen, cursing under my breath. But I'm good. I remembered pretty much what my time and distance were (about 10 minutes in) and I start up again.
After a minute or so I'm back up to my original speed. I'm walking, I'm smiling and, again, my arms pull out my earphones. But this time I learned my lesson! and just let them be and I keep walking. See, I can do this. I'm good. Look out 5K I'm coming to get you.
Then suddenly, after a few minutes of carefree walking, I realize the back of my foot is just hitting the back end of the treadmill. AHH!! and I start to panic a little. (OK, a lot.) All my fears came rushing back to my head! I'm going to be thrown off the treadmill in front of 100's of people (well, 50 at least). I'll never be able to show my face in the Y again!
I grab onto the left handrail so I don't fall and....you guessed it. I accidentally pushed the stop button again! All my new data again disappeared into the cybersphere, or wherever lost data ends up, and I stand staring again at the blank screen. Maybe I should have a tape recorder next time and periodically call out my stat's.
At that point I decided that I'd had enough for today and stopped. I had reached my 20 minutes even though I had wanted to try for 30. I think I must be very entertaining for those around me. I'm pretty entertaining even to myself. I truly believe that laughing uses more calories than frowning.
Introduction - Where I Am and Where I'm Going
As I mentioned in my profile, I am 60 yrs. old and after about 20 years of a sedentary, self indulgent lifestyle, I have come to the conclusion that I needed to do something to turn my life around. My health was quickly deteriorating, my joints were aching and I dreaded getting up every morning. I had nothing I was looking forward to and each day seemed to melt into the next with no differentiation. Basically I was just lying around waiting for life to happen or not, didn't really care. I guess it was the doctor's appt in January, 2011 that suddenly opened my eyes. And slowly began my journey back to the land of the living.
I live in Florida, was raised and born here, quite unusual for this state. I am a former English teacher, an RN, an acupuncturist and also work part time as a deli clerk. I have 5 children, all grown and one still living at home. I have been hibernating and opting out of living a full life for many years and have decided that is no longer an option. I want to get out of my shell and experience life, have friends and be active again.
I absolutely love to cook. Trying out new recipes is something I could do all day long. I also love to teach. I hope to have my own weight loss class one day soon and be able to teach others proper nutrition and how to nourish the proper attitude to boldly go where they should have already been and have a good time getting there.
Goals are very big with me. I know that without them I have no direction or idea of where I am or where I'm going. My desire is to be spiritually active and aware, mentally alert, emotionally well grounded, and physically healthy and fit. I have in excess of 100 pounds to lose, so I will be at this for awhile. For the rest of my life, in fact. However, I am a many faceted person and I need to realize that I must keep from focusing my mind on only one aspect of my person. As I have learned from painful past experience, that will only lead to disappointment and, ultimately, utter failure.
I have nutritional goals, exercise goals, etc. which I will list, but I also have other goals that are just as, and in some cases, even more important than any of those. Here are some of my short and long term goals. Also, each month I look over my past month's accomplishments and shortcomings and readjust for the coming month. I will do that here at the beginning of each month.
Short term physical goals include
1. Staying within my nutritional limits each day (1400-1600 calories, 35g fiber, 100g protein
under 1500mg sodium)
2. Log in my food intake each day. It keeps me honest and accountable.
3. To attend my weight support group each week for education, support and to keep from
internalizing defeat.
4. To have physical exercise become a habit of my every day routine. At least 30 min/day
5. Drink 16 oz water each day
6. Eat at least 5 fruit and vegetables a day.
Long term goals
1. Audition for The Amazing Race (reality show) in the Fall of 2012 (more on that later)
2. Run a 5K, the a 10K
3. Hike the Appalachian Trail
4. Vacation in New Zealand
5. Be proud of my before and after pictures
6. Maintain my physical and mental achievements for the rest of my life (no going back)
7. Look really hot (well, maybe not hot, but at least really warm)
I live in Florida, was raised and born here, quite unusual for this state. I am a former English teacher, an RN, an acupuncturist and also work part time as a deli clerk. I have 5 children, all grown and one still living at home. I have been hibernating and opting out of living a full life for many years and have decided that is no longer an option. I want to get out of my shell and experience life, have friends and be active again.
I absolutely love to cook. Trying out new recipes is something I could do all day long. I also love to teach. I hope to have my own weight loss class one day soon and be able to teach others proper nutrition and how to nourish the proper attitude to boldly go where they should have already been and have a good time getting there.
Goals are very big with me. I know that without them I have no direction or idea of where I am or where I'm going. My desire is to be spiritually active and aware, mentally alert, emotionally well grounded, and physically healthy and fit. I have in excess of 100 pounds to lose, so I will be at this for awhile. For the rest of my life, in fact. However, I am a many faceted person and I need to realize that I must keep from focusing my mind on only one aspect of my person. As I have learned from painful past experience, that will only lead to disappointment and, ultimately, utter failure.
I have nutritional goals, exercise goals, etc. which I will list, but I also have other goals that are just as, and in some cases, even more important than any of those. Here are some of my short and long term goals. Also, each month I look over my past month's accomplishments and shortcomings and readjust for the coming month. I will do that here at the beginning of each month.
Short term physical goals include
1. Staying within my nutritional limits each day (1400-1600 calories, 35g fiber, 100g protein
under 1500mg sodium)
2. Log in my food intake each day. It keeps me honest and accountable.
3. To attend my weight support group each week for education, support and to keep from
internalizing defeat.
4. To have physical exercise become a habit of my every day routine. At least 30 min/day
5. Drink 16 oz water each day
6. Eat at least 5 fruit and vegetables a day.
Long term goals
1. Audition for The Amazing Race (reality show) in the Fall of 2012 (more on that later)
2. Run a 5K, the a 10K
3. Hike the Appalachian Trail
4. Vacation in New Zealand
5. Be proud of my before and after pictures
6. Maintain my physical and mental achievements for the rest of my life (no going back)
7. Look really hot (well, maybe not hot, but at least really warm)
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