Day Late and Half a Pound Short!

This weekend was one of those that was busy busy busy.  It was all good fun stuff, but I did not make time to post a message.  Sorry!

On Saturday, we had dinner with my brother-in-law, his gorgeous wife and 2 adorable kidlets.  His wife, KrisAnne, prepared a delicious and healthy dinner for us all.  It was a big salad with tomatoes from their garden.  DELICIOUS!  We brought ice cream for desert and selected 4 Ben and Jerry flavors, mostly for the kids to choose from.  Three things struck me as notable about the dinner.  First, these kids, ages 5 and 3, LOVED the salad and even said so during dinner.  They obviously felt a connection between "their" tomatoes that "they" had grown in "their" garden.  It warmed my heart to see them gobbling up such a healthy nutritious meal! 

Then, when we served the ice cream, one of the kids told me that I had given him too much!  What kid asks for less ice cream????  But - how GREAT that this child has learned at such an early age how to self-moderate his intake???  AWESOME! 

Finally, I did not have any ice cream.  I am really limiting my intake in anticipation of our upcoming vacation to Hawaii.  I want to save my calories for then!  My brother-in-law said..."how can you not eat ice cream?"  He simply could not fathom not having ice cream if others were eating it. The answer is, it is simple, just say no. 

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend too!

Desire to help raise healthy adorable kids. Dedication to preparing for success.  Discipline to just say no.

Back to the Beginning - Success!

So, following the celebrations for my parent's 60th, I returned to my original diet plan to get back on track.  Now, I did not go hog wild at all.  All I did was have a few glasses of wine, bites of some deserts, a piece of bread with olive oil...you know the drill. A bite here, a nibble there, a few sips of something else yummy, and the next thing you know, you are staring at a higher numbr on the scale.

NOT TO WORRY! I am happy to report that I dropped 3 pounds this week!  I went back to egg whites, lean proteins, lots of vegetables like lettuce, cabbage, carrots, celery, cucumbers, tomatoes, edamame, some avocado, small amounts of nuts, olive oil, one piece of fruit a day, decaf tea and coffee, I had small cheese crumbles on 2 salads, I had oatmeal one morning and I enjoyed adzuki beans.  I did allow myself a sugar free popsicle (15 caloreis) at night as a sweet treat. 

So, my body reacts well (aka drops weight) when I eat this way.  I know it means no sugar, bread, crackers, chips, rice, pasta, potatos, very little dairy, low fat, etc but at least I know what I respond to!

So, I am going to do this for 2 more weeks, then take a birthday break and jump right back in!  I am happy and excited.  It feels goo to be on track!  JOIN ME IF YOU WANT TO!

Desire to drop more weight.  Dedication find what works.  Discipline to follow my best path.

Pause and Remember

I join millions of other people in saying...today is for pausing and reflecting on the lives that were lost 10 years ago. Always remember, never forget. May they rest in peace and may we find peace as a nation.

Today, we went to church as a family in honor of my parent's 60th anniversary...the priest saying mass was awesome....he had my folks sit up on the altar and renewed their vows. When he got to the point where he re-pronounced them husband and wife.....then...you may kiss the bride...the church erupted in applause! It was awesome!!

I know those are two random thoughts to share today. Part of any healthy journey is pausing to be in the moment of what life brings your way. I hope you have many moments to enjoy AND that you take the time to enjoy them!!!

Celebrating Labor Day!

I hope you are enjoying a nice long weekend!  We are!  It is such a great time to pause and reflect on our many blessings of the "labors" in our lives:

Labors of working out - yesterday I was doing team training with Kathi.  It just so happened that the other 4 women working with her that day were significantly younger than I am.  I heard one of them move into an exercise that I had just vacated.  She tried to use the weights I had used and complained to Kathi - "these are impossible?  Who could lift these???"  Kathi pointed to me and said "she does".  The 30-something person said - "Jeeeeez - she is really strong!".  It made me feel happy to have developed my strength to where I am today.  I am strong and fit and today I pause to honor the labor it took me to achieve this level of fitness.

Labors of work - we all do something, some type of work to earn our way in this world.  If you are reading this and you are independently wealthy or just won the lottery, I salute you!  Most of us have to work for a living.  Our work takes many different forms and flavors, but it is work.  It is so easy to complain about going to work.  This weekend, I suggest we pause and reflect on the good fortune that we have work to do!  With so many people unemployed, if we have work to do, we should be very grateful!

Labors of finding nutritional balance - this is the category that repeatedly kicks my booty.  Yet, this weekend, I am grateful to have the sustained motivation to stay on my healthy journey, always seeking nutritional balance.  A friend of mine has found better health being gluten free.  She recently also came off of dairy.  She swears off of any fried food.  She eats minimal animal protein.  She is stick thin.  Her path is right for her.  I am toying with the idea of trying a gluten free plan.  Could gluten be holding me back from achieving greater health?  What about you?

Labors of love - God has been great to me in this category.  I am overwhelmed with the abundance of love in my life. Allen is the great romantic love of my life, an amazing supportive husband and life partner.  My parents, siblings and extended family members are specatular examples of a loving supportive network.  I treasure each one of them.  I am also blessed with the best group of friends on the planet.  Each one of the special people I am honored to call a friend is like a rare jewel, sparkling and priceless to me!

So, thank you, Universe, for all the wonderful reasons to celebrate Labor Day this weekend.

Desire to labor on what truly matters in life.  Dedication to investing labor for the highest returns in all areas of  my life. Discipline to labor long and hard to achieve lasting meaningful results.

Something To Look Forward To!

I am working on a fun project that I will soon have to share with you all! 

I have been working with my trainer, Kathi Potts for several years.  Everytime we work out, I write down the workouts in a small binder.  Now, I am in the process  of transcribing my workouts into a soft copy.  Then Kathi and I will select the "favorites" for an easy workout and the "favorites" for a killer workout.  Initially, we will package easy vs. killer workouts and then post them on Kathi's website for sale.  Since you are my faitful readers, I will offer them to you for free!

From there, I am thinking about turning the workouts into a book format.  The working title for the book is "The Ironman in Every Woman".  Kathi is a 5 time Ironman.  She has done countless half ironmans and Olympic lengths, as well as sprints.  I admire that so much in her!  She has helped me find my "Ironman" in me.  She keeps me motivated to keep up with  my weight training.  I have become really strong and am very happy with my strength and stamina. 

So, stay tuned.  Let me know if you are interested in receiving some of the workouts, easy or killer style.  I look forward to completing phase one and getting you a copy!

Treats, Treats, and More Treats!

We have been having so much fun with my beautiful niece!  If ever there was something to celebrate, it has been her visit this summer!  We have been having fun everyday!  On top of exceptional workouts together, we have also been shopping, spa-ing and enjoying the occassional treat!  Yes, I have, in the course of 1.5 weeks, managed to pick up a few extra pounds!  I decided to not freak out about it, but instead, to enjoy the love that it represents. 

I love myself enought to buckle down on Tuesday (when she goes back to college) and return to a very measured eating plan.  Now, mind you, I have NOT been going hog wild, by any stretch of the imagination.  But I did have a glass of wine today and 3 bites of her pancakes this morning and then some fat free frozen yogurt after dinner today.  It may not seem like much, but my body responds to these extra calories and stores them as extra weight.

The amazing thing is that an extra pound is supposed to be due to 3,500 extra calories.  I can promise you that I have not ingested that many "treats"!  But my body responds the way my body responds and that is my reality.

So, again, I will breathe, accept, refocus and move forward.  I do love the love that Alex brings with her!

Tomorrow, my Mom, Alex and I are going to the fantastic La Costa spa.  It will be glorious to have 3 generations of Massa's at the spa together!  Wish us well!  Wish you could join us!

Desire to love and cherish generational continuity.  Dedication to celebrate love.  Discipline to honor my bodies needs.

Our Future Is Bright!

With all the negativity swirling around in the news these days, it is so refreshing to spend time around my spectacular niece, Alex!  She is visiting for a few weeks before beginning her junior year at George Washington University.  She is smart, funny, compassionate and gorgeous to boot!

She is very interested in being healthy! It is awesome!  She enjoys working out and making good food choices!  She is very interested in learning and has a real thirst to succeed with health!  While she is here, she is doing workouts with me....it is sooooo fun! 

In less than a month she is moving into a campus apartment with roommates and she wants to learn what to cook for herself that will be nutritious, healthy and delicious.  I turned her on to hungrygirl.com.  Hungry Girl just had a blog about her top 10 list of things to have on hand for fast easy healthy dinner preparations. 

I introduced Alex to Ezekiel english muffins for breakfast - fast and delicious!  She was surprised that it tasted so good! 

Yesterday, she joined me at the gym for an hour of cardio and an hour with Kathi.  This morning we go back for another hour with Kathi in the form of a muscle max class.  She is hanging in with me and the workouts, even though it is more than she usually does.  She is a trooper.

Lest you think it is all carrots and straining muscles, we are also managing to get in jacuzzi's, movies, shopping, spa treatments and the beach!

So, with since our next generation includes Alex, and other great kids her age (Justin, Matthew, etc.!) our future is bright indeed.  ENJOY your weekend.  I know we will!!!