Fun on the Road!

First of all, a GREAT BIG shout out to Helene! I saw her last night and she looks AMAZING! She is dangerously close to being a skinny b-e-a-t-c-h! She has clearly achieved much success on her healthy journey. I am so proud of her! She looks happy, beautiful and is full of energy! What a great visit we had!!!

I am completely enjoying my visit with my borther and his family. They are such a fantastic family! The "boys", now 14 and 16, are both taller than I am!!! It is SSSSSSSSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO great to see them! I miss them like crazy and am just grateful that I get this visit with them!

Yesterday I went to a local Y and did a weight and cardio workout. I channeled my very best "Kathy" (my trainer) and did a circuit in the weight room and hopped on the precor runner for my cardio. Surprise - a drop in fee at this Y was $22!!! In my neigborhood, the local Y charges $5 for a drop in visit! Then this morning I took a long walk around their beautiful neighborhood. It was chilly and I had on 2 heavy sweathirts and worked up a nice sweat.

So, I have managed to keep up my workouts so far. The next few days will be more challenging because I have to be up very early every morning and I have a business dinner every night.....uuugggghhhh. I plan on having grilled salmon and veges every night. Should be yummy and healthy!

Desire to maintain balance while on the road. Dedication to family, friends and self. Discipline to honor fitness and nutrition.

Going to New Jersey!

I am so excited. I am going on a business trip to New Jersey and I am so excited because I get to visit my brother and his family who moved there last summer! YAY! I will also see my BFF, Helene! Double Yay!

I will eat healthy for the week I am gone, including bringing my own snacks on the cross country flight. Even though I will be in a happy celebratory mode, I plan to stay true to my eating plan.

I am switching my workout energy. Instead of working always in the evening, I am going to try early morning cardio on Monday and Tuesday morning. I will keep Wednesday evening with Kathi, my trainer. I will keep Thursday evenings for yoga. Friday is my day off. Saturday, my double day, is an hour of cardio and an hour with my trainer in the morning. Then Sunday morning is reserved for the outside workout with my hubbie.

The big difference will be 2 morning workouts, leaving 2 evenings a week free each week.

I hope you all pay attention to the rhythm of your life and be open to shifting and trying something new to see if a redirection of your energy will be good for you!

Desire to try a new workout schedule. Dedication to listening to your inner rhythms. Discipline to keep working out at any time of the day.

Happy Valentine's Day and I'm Struggling.....

First of all, Happy Valentine's Day (tomorrow) to everyone! I hope you spend it with someone you love, could be another person, a furry person and/or yourself!

Last night I made a special dinner for my Valentine and also included my parents. It was their 60th Valentine celebration together! Allen proposed to me 24 years ago on Valentines Day! My idea was to serve food that was either pink or red. We started with a glass of blush champagne and a bruschetta with a spread of ricotta, sun dried tomatoes, basil and prosciutto on top. Then we had a cabernet with our sliced steak (pink in the middle) steamed crabs legs (pinky and white) and a vege of radicchio, red cabbage, red onion and red pepper. Desert was an angel food cake sliced into 3 layers with rasberries, strawberries and whipped cream between the layers. Very light and yummy. Our last course was chocolate truffles with a glass of ruby red port.

An indulgence? You bet. Was the celebration oflove worth it? You bet!

So, I am struggling because I have not lost a single pound this year yet. And I have been plateaued since last September. I recently had a doctor check up and something dawned on me....last August, I began a course of bio identical plant based cream hormones. I am convinced that this treatment, which is helping my body to regulate in other areas, is actually also stopping my body from shedding weight.

So, I will continue to strive on my healthy journey. This is the start of year #3! I am very proud of myself that I have found a way to stay forcused. I will shed more pounds this year. I just think I have to be extra patient and dilligent and watchful of my intake and exercise, while persevering.

Desire to be a lighter (15 more pounds please) version of myself. Dedication to a lifetime healthy journey, not just a temporary diet. Discipline to keep my eye on the prize - GOOD GREAT HEALTH!

What Is Your Superbowl Menu?

We are enjoying the game...so glad Green Bay struck first blood! (I don't want the Steelers to win because of what Rothlesberger did - he is sum) I don't usually care about football, but, of course, it is fun to watch the commercials! And Fergie/Black Eyed Peas are performing at half time....and Lea Michelle sang beautifully at the opening!

So, just wanted to share how I am making it through this tyical day to overeat. Of course, we bagin the morning with an awesome workout - we walked our favorite beach route with the 5 big staircases. Today, I ran up all 5.

We have family over for the game and we are eating chicken drummettes roasted in the oven, sliced chicken sausages with 2 different mustards for dipping, pop chips, hummus and lots of raw veges: brocolli, celery, carrots, cucumber, carrots, gold peppers and red peppers. YUM-O!

My Dad also brought over some fresh pork ribs. I tasted them and they are delicious!

BTW, at dinner at my folks house on Friday night, homemade cookies were served for desert and I did not even have one taste. My Mom's cookes are my kryptonite....I need to avoid them or I go crazy!

I hope you are enjoying a fun and healthy day too!

Desire to enjoy all that life has to offer to the fullest! Dedication to planning for healthy choices. Discipline to resist the urge to overindulge.

Our Lessons Come from Everywhere!

Who would think that a powerful lesson would come from watching American Idol? Well the final contestant profiled on Wednesday night's show was a young man who was dedicated to his fiance, who had been in a car accident, suffered traumatic brain injury and was now seriously impaired. His love for her and his dedication to taking care of her was a "whole box of tissues" moment. He said - "I was 2 months away from our wedding where I was going to commit to loving her in sickness and in health. What kind of man would I be if I left her now?"

It was a real MOMENT on TV. I bet zillions of people across the country were impacted by the the character of this man. (BTW, he is going to Hollywood! Yay!)

So, for me, it was yet another opportunity to reflect on my journey, and feel very ashamed of myself for worrying about truly unimportant things in life like how many pounds I had lost in the previous week. YES, it is important to stay focused on a healthy journey, and NO it is not important if we are stuck and need to get past a plateau. We have the ability and the brain power and the where with all to make choices every day that can impact our lives in a healthy positive way. The poor young woman who was injured has had her life altered forever. It makes me sit and wonder...why does God give some people such enormous challenges in life. I am humbled beyond anything to realize that my challenges are puny and insignificant by comparison.

So, embrace your healthy journey, focus on what will help you live your best life and rememebr to give back to someone else who needs your help.

Desire to accept life's lessons wherever they come from. Dedication to helping others in need. Discipline to stay focused on my healthy journey, little frustrations be damned!

Joining Friends for Dinner

I worked out with my trainer this morning and also did 30 minutes of hard cardio. Tomorrow Allen and I will go do our favorite beach walk with the 5 really long staircases.

We are meeting friends for dinner out tonight and I want to be very careful. Last Saturday night, we also went out with friends. When they heard about my recent promotion, they ordered champagne to celebrate. I wasn't planning on consuming alcohol calories, but had a glass just the same. I also tasted a wide variety of delicious Chinese dishes. Our host had ordered for the group so I did taste quite a bit. I ended up eating way more calories than I had wanted to. Tonight will be different. I know the restaurant and will place a healthy order and enjoy it!

Going out to dinner can definitely lead to extra calories consumed but I think it is all part of learning how to live in the real world and engage in normal social activity.

I shed 2 pounds last week so now I only have 3 more to go to get back to my pre-Christmas number (yes, I enjoyed gaining 5 pounds from all the holiday treats!). From there it is on to reaching my final goal in 2011!!!

Desire to celebrate life. Dedication to returning to plan. Discipline to keep up the workouts.

Travel Your Healthy Journey - Do Not Diet!

Healthy Weight Week is about eating like you are not “on a diet.” January 16 – 22, 2011 is the 18th Annual Healthy Weight Week founded by Frances Berg, RD. As her website says, “It’s a time to celebrate healthy living habits that last a lifetime and prevent eating and weight problems, rather than intensifying them, as diets do. “ The premise is to create a lifestyle that promotes a healthy weight by using techniques that prevent eating and weight problems.

This “holiday week” need not be detrimental to your weight loss goals. But the Weight-control Information Network, supported by the National Institute of Health, recently published an article which suggests that the key to weight loss is adopting healthy lifestyle habits that you can continue for a lifetime. On the heels of the goals set as New Year’s resolutions, Healthy Weight Week may be right on time. A"s soon as 20 days after the New Year, many dieters are struggling to maintain the same level of motivation they had on the 1st." So, it’s not a vacation from your weight loss journey, instead try using Healthy Weight Week to refresh your senses and take on your goals with a renewed outlook.

Frances Berg, founder of Healthy Weight Week, is a registered dietitian, family wellness therapist, and adjunct professor at the University Of North Dakota School Of Medicine. Author of 12 books, Frances touts 16 years as the founder, editor and publisher of Healthy Weight Journal. Her mission is to use the extensive research under her belt to shine a light on the inherent issues some of us have with weight maintenance. She wants us to end the cycle of yo-yo dieting.

To celebrate Healthy Weight Week, Frances Berg has issued a personal challenge that includes ten healthy living habits. Her challenge asks us to choose two or three activities from the list below to carry through the week, at a comfortable level. The aim is to continue your initial activities and gradually add others as the year goes on. Here is her list:

1. Stop dieting. Stop making weight loss goals and “waiting to be thin.” Stop weight-obsessive thoughts. Instead, be your own best self, starting right now. Decide it’s time to get on with living your life to the fullest.
2. Be active in your own way every day. Focus on the pleasure of movement and its health and energy benefits, not only on calories burned. Don’t overdo it, or it won’t become a habit. (If you’re not regularly active now, start with 5 minutes a day for the first month, then gradually increase time.) For most adults, an appropriate level is about 30 minutes a day for at least five days a week. Avoid long periods of inactivity.
3. Identify and build on your own special talents, traits and interests. Use self-talk and affirmations to enhance personal acceptance, respect, self-esteem and positive body image. Feel good about yourself.
4. Feel good about others. Expect and extend respect, tolerance and acceptance.
5. Promote good relationships and communication with family, friends and acquaintances. Spend time enjoying social activities.
6. Rediscover normal eating – eat at regular times, typically three meals and snacks to satisfy hunger. Tune in to your body’s internal signals of hunger and fullness – eat when you’re hungry and stop when full and satisfied. Enjoy your food. Notice how much better you feel!
7. Eat well. Include all five food groups every day: bread and grains, fruits, vegetables, milk and dairy, meat and alternates. Choose balance, variety and moderation. All foods can fit.
8. Relax and relieve stress in your life. Take time for a daily 10-15 minute relaxation session. Or just empty your mind and let your body go limp for 30-second relaxation breaks occasionally throughout the day. Stress can lead to high blood pressure, chest pain, back pain, indigestion, headaches, insomnia, anxiety, depression, confusion, mood swings, irritability and anger. Listen to your body. Be flexible, relax and go with the flow.
9. Respect and appreciate size diversity. Reassure yourself and others that beauty, health, and strength come in all sizes. Promote healthy living at every size. Recognize that size prejudice hurts us all.
10. You may choose to make a personal contract and give yourself a reward at the end of each week. If you’ve set your challenges too high, you’ll know it: cut back before they become burdensome. Make healthy living changes gradually, one baby step at a time, small changes you can live with for the long term.

Desire to consult with other experts. Dedication to challenge your Nelf to grow and stretch on your journey. Discipline to set small goals and achieve them.