Fun Friday Video

I think it's time for some fun . . . hope you enjoy this hilarious vid!



And, let the weekend begin!
Cheryl

Excuses

Did you start laughing a little around the mid-point of that video, too?  Maybe the excuses are just a little too familiar, I know they were for me. One of my goals in 2010 is to get more mentally tough...quit cutting myself so much slack and just get to it, tell excuse-making "you may now be excused"  . . . 'cause I'm pretty sure we can't make progress if we're busy making excuses.

So, here's an idea. Put pen to paper and list all the excuses you've ever made or thought of to not do something. I bet it won't take that long, seems that excuses reside in the frontal lobe of our brain for extremely easy recall. :) I do everything on my laptop and I type like 200 wpm so I'll have this done in a snap.

When you're done, at the top in big letters print "Don't Be Lame", then print your sheet and keep it in a prominent place. A quick glance when the rationalizing and justifying begin should remind you that what's happening is just weak...its lazy....and it won't get you closer to your goal.

Once you're done with your own excuse list, check out these links for things you haven't thought of yet...and add them to your list if you are so inclined.

MadtBone

Bored

Diddit

We excuse makers apparently come in very large numbers: I googled 'list of excuses' and got 5,970,000 results returned in 1/3 of a second. I say, lets resign from this club!

Stopping the insanity,
Cheryl

P.S. If you come up with a better title than "Don't Be Lame", please share it in the comments!

Food That Helps You Win In Arm Wrestling

Happy Monday to everyone, hope you all had a relaxing and fun-packed weekend! Hubs and I tried a new recipe on Sunday that I just have to share with you. But, first a little background.

We all, especially when we’re dieting, hear about the importance of eating enough protein. Now, I love, or have loved getting my protein via cheese. Cheese and me are pretty tight. I think just about anything can be made delicious or MORE delicious by the simple addition of cheese. I guess some people use ketchup that way. I would venture to say that nary a day goes by that I don’t have at least a little cheese.

And, the feeling must be pretty universal because what do they ask you to say when taking your picture? “Say, ‘cheeeese’.” It makes you smile, doesn't it? ;)

But, alas, cheese packs a big fat punch along with its protein count, so I’ve had to go to cheese counseling to make our relationship a healthier one.  And, that means finding other sources of protein that won’t be so high in fat and cholesterol.

If we don’t eat enough protein, then as the fat melts away, so does some of our muscle tissue. And, that makes it harder to both lose and maintain weight. Plus we just feel lousy when we don’t have much muscle which leads to losing at arm wrestling every time which leads to more eating because we’re depressed. So, EAT YOUR PROTEIN!

Easier said than done.

In a discussion I had with a nutrition specialist, I was told I should be consuming over 150 grams of protein a day! That’s crazy! I wanted to ask her if she really thought I would lose weight if I eat that much protein in steak, hamburgers and cheese? I didn’t say any of that but I thought about it.

Then, I talked to my chiropractor who is somewhat of a nutrition guru, and he said around 100 grams of protein would be ideal for me, otherwise the liver has to do an awful lot of work processing all that protein. So much information out there, isn’t there?

So, my newest challenge with food is to find ways to get my protein count up while keeping the fat grams down, and I’m shooting for 125 grams of protein each day. Middle of the road. The average. And, here’s how I’m doing it:

1. I found a handy dandy article on About.com that lists high protein foods and their protein count. Did you know that 6 oz. of tuna has a whopping 40 grams of protein, a chicken breast, 30 grams, ½ cup of cottage cheese, 15, and tofu comes in at 20 grams for a half cup? Take a look (later please) at the site to see more options for yourself … but not yet, don’t go yet, you don’t have the recipe I promised yet!

2. Secondly, I'm incorporating one protein drink a day – take your pick, some say soy protein is better and others swear by whey protein drinks. They each have distinct flavors, so maybe don’t buy a ginormous container until you’ve tasted it. I also add to it some freshly ground flax seed which boosts the protein count even farther. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a meal replacement…it might even be good to have it right after a really hard workout to help with your recovery.

3. And, thirdly, I’m purposely looking for recipes that pack a big protein punch. Here’s what you've been patiently waiting for... the recipe I’ve been promising…and I can guarantee you it is GOOD. We had this Sunday morning and may make this a weekly ritual.

Protein Pancakes!!!

Who doesn’t love the pancake? Seriously. Pancakes just warm you up, fill you up, make you smile, maybe even laugh right out loud because they are just so darn good. And, this recipe DOES NOT disappoint, I like to say we’re getting our day off in a proteinalicious kind of way.


Here’s the recipe and it’s so simple, you’ll love it:
Ingredients:
1 cup of old fashioned oats
1 cup of 1% cottage cheese
1 cup of egg whites (takes approx 6 eggs)
1-2 scoops of protein powder

How simple is that?

Put it all in your blender or food processor and let it spin until it’s a batter consistency. (We used a chocolate flavored protein powder, so ours had an additional yummy flavor.) Cook the pancake about 3-4 minutes or until the surface is almost dry. Then flip and cook til done, about another couple of minutes…same as other pancakes.

Serve with fruit and a squirt of whip cream! We topped our pancakes with thinly sliced banana, a dash of cinnamon and a couple tablespoons of syrup.

We weren’t talking at all while we ate…was just too good for words. And get this…we got 5 pancakes out of one batch, so each one had about 15 grams of protein! In a pancake! Very filling, too. You really only need one. We had enough for Monday morning's breakfast, too.

Next time we’ll double the recipe and keep them in the fridge for a quick, gourmet-delicious, super healthy breakfast all week long.

Anyone have other ideas as to how we can get more lean, mean protein?

Bon appétit,
Cheryl

Supplements Outside the Bottle

Hey everyone, glad you are back for the wrap up on this week's focus on vitamins and supplements! I've told you my own personal (oh-so-personal) story of my health challenges and part of the solutions I found, but today I want to turn the coin over and just say that getting and being healthy can come quite naturally too. The following list certainly is not exhaustive, but just a couple of things I've found :

Vitamin D & The Sun
My D was slightly low, and even my very western doctor suggested that in addition to supplementation, I get outside in the sun for 15-30 minutes a day.  I should have asked for a prescription trip to Hawaii, tee hee! But, you know it worked!  Vemma has D in it also, and adding the natural sunshine brought my levels right back up where they needed to be.

Especially in the winter months in the colder states, lots and lots of folks are suffering from vitamin D deficiency. And, according to the Vitamin D Council, D deficiency left untreated can lead to heart disease, chronic pain, Fibromyalgia, hypertension, arthritis, depression, inflammatory bowel disease, obesity, PMS, Crohns Disease, cancer, MS and other autoimmune diseases, and more!

WOW. Talk to your doctor. Get yours checked. And just to be safe, take a vacation to Hawaii. :)

Eggs
Eggs really get a bad rap, especially the yokes. But, another simple and natural supplement to get some high quality protein is super fresh organic free-range eggs. According to Mother Earth News and a study they conducted, eggs from hens raised on pasture have the following differences from other commercial eggs:

• 1⁄3 less cholesterol
• 1⁄4 less saturated fat
• 2⁄3 more vitamin A
• 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids
• 3 times more vitamin E
• 7 times more beta carotene

That is a super easy switch! They may cost a little more, and the 89 cent dozen may be tempting, but you are not comparing apples with apples...or eggs with eggs...or whatever, you get the point.

Fish, Fish Oil & Omega 3's
This is a tough one for me because I am just not a fish person. To me, it is near flavorless and I tend to like very robust flavors. Turns out (you all probably know this, but its new to me) that fish is somewhat of a blank slate meaning you can make it taste however you want it to! So, I'm going to try to eat more. It's important because its an excellent source of protein without the high saturated fat found in meat.

Fish is also a great source of omega 3 fatty acids which we hear so much about these days. Research from the American Heart Association reveals that omega 3 fatty acids keep our hearts healthy and help to reduce triglicerides, plaque and lower blood pressure.

Worried about mercury levels in your fish? The best place to get the omega 3's without high levels of mercury are shrimp, canned light tuna, salmon, pollock, and catfish. Avoid eating shark, swordfish, king Mackerel, or tilefish because they contain high levels of mercury.

And, if you aren't a fan of fish, you can still get what you need in a high quality fish oil capsule. I take an amazing Metagenics product called EPA-DHA Extra Strength. Metagenics products are not available in stores, you have to get it from a chiropractor. If you live in the twin cities area, I can recommend a GREAT chiropractor if you need one. He told me that fish oils make your red blood cells slippery, and that's a good thing...you don't want sticky blood.


So, the point I've been making all week is that we should never accept the notion that prescription medication is our lot in life. If we develop disorders that require prescription meds, while following our doctors orders we need to be making it our goal to get at the underlying cause of our disorder and correct it....the ultimate goal being to get off meds. Meds always have side effects and contain elements not naturally made in our bodies which means our bodies must detox them. Always always always talk to and work with your doctor. He/she is your ally. If they are not your ally, find a new one.


Hear me please. I am NOT saying to go off your meds. I am not a doctor, but God made our bodies capable of healing themselves when given the proper building blocks and environment. 

I may not be able to recreate the perfection found in the garden of eden, but I can do an awful lot to keep myself healthy....naturally.


What say you? 

Talk to me please,
Cheryl


P.S. This post is a part of the Prevention Not Prescriptions blog carnival - check it out for some really smart writing and beautiful people!

I Needed Energy - And I Found It!

Hey everyone, thanks for coming back to read the conclusion of my story started earlier this week of how I went from having zippo energy to working out nearly every day. (If you missed those posts, there are links on the right in the archives that will take you to them so you are all up to speed.)

As I have mentioned, the daily supplement that I found is called Vemma. When I first started taking Vemma, my body was host to a number of ailments that are very common in our western world...high blood pressure and high cholesterol to name two of the problems I mentioned in my last post.

I got it that I wouldn't find healing in a bottle, and was aware of the abundance of solid research that proves exercise can have a remarkable effect on these two disorders. I knew this all too well, but frankly, didn't have the energy needed to stick to a regular exercise regimen.

That is, until I started taking Vemma.

Timing is everything it seems. The day after my appointment with my doctor, a coworker of mine told me about Vemma. She said Vemma is a complete liquid nutrient supplement, loaded with 12 full spectrum vitamins, more than 65 essential plant-sourced minerals, and antioxidants found in the mangosteen, natural aloe vera and green tea added in. WOW. Complete liquid nutrition. All natural.

So, I asked my criterion questions....'has it been tested, and by whom?" Turns out it had been tested in a double blind study by Brunswick Laboratories. I read through the studies enough to see that Vemma has been proven to boost immune function and reduce inflammation, an underlying cause in so many diseases and illnesses today. I knew I NEEDED this stuff to be in my body and ordered it online.

Within a week of beginning this yummy, tropical-fruity supplement, I started waking up in the morning BEFORE the alarm, feeling rested! I began walking for 20-30 minutes in the morning, and in four short weeks my lab results proved that what I was experiencing was REAL! My blood pressure dropped 20 points, and my cholesterol was down a full 80 points! My doctors jaw was on the floor.

It's now been about 10 months, my blood lipids remain normal, I no longer need meds for gastric reflux, blood pressure is running 110/80, and I'm exercising nearly every day of the week. My thyroid has settled down also! And, for me, it all started with taking a high quality multivitamin. As the weight continues to come off, I fully expect to get off all my meds for good!

While Vemma is not a miracle drug I want to emphasize that it is pretty incredible what the human body can do when it is given the proper building blocks. Vemma provided my body with the tools it needed to get some pretty big work done...and now I am enjoying the fruits of that, and can get on with the hard work of changing old habits and patterns ~ my body is now equipped for that kind of work.

So, it seems very natural to me to not only take this amazing product but to share it here. I am not a sales person and never want anyone to feel like Vemma is all that I'm about...but I just can't deny how much this product helped me and it makes me think it could probably help lots of other people too. It's the real deal folks. I just cannot say enough about this product and the stand-up company that makes it.

To learn more about the amazing ingredients in Vemma (and the insanely healthy energy drink~with the Vemma formula in it~called Verve), visit http://itsinthejuice.vemma.com/. There is a ton of information there along with the scientific research that confirms the health benefits of the Vemma formula.

There is also a video that tells about the different Vemma delivery systems of this unique formula and see which one fits best for you and your family. The company just came out with a hydration drink that rivals the best out there - it's called THIRST, and there's info about it on the website also.

If you want to try it out, you can do that risk free...the company has a 30 day, empty bottle money back guarantee....that's right, you can drink this stuff for a whole month and if you aren't satisfied with it, send the empty bottle back and they will refund your money, no questions asked.

If you are in need of a high quality daily multivitamin, I hope you'll give Vemma a try...I think your body will thank you!

to our health,

Cheryl

P.S. Tomorrow, we'll wrap up the week with some info on other excellent supplements and super foods that help us function at our very best. Hope you'll come back for the conclusion!

I Need Energy - Part 2

{This post is part two in a series of my own experience with no energy, HUGE desire to get fit and how I dug my way out.}

How would you feel if your doctor called to discuss your lab results with obvious concern in his voice?

How would you respond if your blood was giving its own state of the union address, describing trouble in the land?

I don’t know about you, but for me, it was VERY sobering.

Part of me was half expecting my doctor to tell me that I just needed to change my eating habits, eliminate processed foods, that I needed to move my body more and drink more water, quit being so lazy and lose some weight…that my body was FINE.

But, when he described low levels of this and high levels of that and unbelievably messed up this and that, I somehow felt a sense of relief that all my sputtering up and down my street was REAL. It wasn’t just me being lazy, it was a result of something gone very wrong. Does it sound weird to say that I felt RELIEF?

Here are the facts:

Blood Pressure - 140/90 on 3 meds
Cholesterol - 349
Iron - low
Calcium - high
Thyroid hormone - ALL messed up

No wonder I was tired.

When Dr. Paq finished, I asked him what I could do about these issues. And, this is where the REALLY good news came in…”this is ALL reversible,” he said.

WOW!!! Not a terminal condition, but something I could do something about myself!! In my doc's words “We have to get you feeling better so you can succeed with the lifestyle changes you have been trying to make.”

Tomorrow I’ll share the tangible solution that got this train gone wild back on track, turned around and no longer heading for a cliff.  Hint: it all started with a good, quality multi-vitamin called Vemma.

Until then, be well.

Cheryl

I Need Energy

Happy Tuesday everyone! The sun has actually emerged and all the beautiful icicles hanging from the edge of our place are melting and crashing and I just think it's all very beautiful! And, as I woke up this morning, I actually heard......BIRDS!!!  Yipppeee, that means, I hope, that spring is just around the corner.

Yesterday I promised I would give you part one of the story of my health journey, where I have come from and what brought me to the point of realization that I needed a daily multi-vitamin. So, let's get started. 

Energy, oh energy, where are you?! You used to run through my veins like an energetic, playful puppy, but now I just feel like a tired, old dog! :-/

I thought it would be pretty easy to walk 30 minutes every day...I mean, it's WALKING. Everyone can do that. The plan was to get this daily walk in right before dinner...or after dinner. I never dreamed it would take all the energy I could muster to just get through dinner.

I was all gung ho the first week, getting out that door every week night all puppy-like. The second week ~ not so much. It was like I had aged 5 dog years overnight...I managed 3 days that week. And, when the third week rolled around..five MORE dog years down the drain. I had lost my momentum, my drive, and somehow I imagined that what I would be giving up by NOT exercising wasn't so bad.

The truth? I was tired. Just plain tired. And REALLY not seeing straight. All the positive self-talk in the world couldn't have gotten me up off the floor, physically or emotionally. I wasn't wimpering excitedly in my sleep, dreaming about eating juicy steaks...I was having nightmares about my life being cut short.

Over the next several months, I would attempt many such starts. And stops. Frustrated, I began to wonder if something was wrong with my engine that daily use alone could not cure. It was like someone was pushing a button, cutting in, cutting out, making my motor misfire. I had all the will in the world to reach my very first fitness goal of walking 30 minutes each day, but it was like torture out there as I sputtered down the street....with every step I couldn't wait for it to be over. My body was exhausted. I made an appointment with my doctor.

Doctor Paq was gentle. He listened intently to me with sympathy in his eyes. He asked me lots of smart questions. He said "hmmmm, really?" and wrote lots of stuff down. He took ALOT of blood. And, 5 days later he called with what maybe most would consider bad news. But somehow, someway, it offered me a bit of relief . . . and hope.

Come back tomorrow for part 2 of the story.  But, before I go, can anybody relate so far? Have you ever felt so darn tired that every single thing you do is an effort?

hanging on,
Cheryl

Vitamins - Who Needs Them?

Every day we are bombarded with millions of pieces of information about all sorts of services and products that we are forced to sort through.  And, when it comes to vitamin supplements, there's alot of hype and claims out there, all crafted by marketing experts that are paid to know how we think and buy.  Sometimes that ends up making it really hard for the average Joe or Josephine to know who and what to believe and how to get at the truth. 

This is one reason why I never used to take vitamins.  We've all seen commercials promising this or that product as the ticket to good health.  Then, the nightly news comes on and there's reports of vitamin pills being found in sewage, completely passing through the body in tact!  Now, that explains why those products never made me FEEL better (the manufacturers bank on you telling yourself that even though you don't feel better, you ARE doing something good for yourself).  But, how do I avoid getting suckered the next time around? WHAT are we supposed to believe?!

Whether it's true or not that some vitamins pass through the body in tact, it still begs the question of how much of what we ingest is actually absorbed into our blood stream.  Even if my vitamin pill DOES dissolve, you don't have to go all the way down the pipe to the sewer...just glance before you flush.  All those nutrients that are SUPPOSED to do wonders for our bodily functions appear to have primarily created a neon light show in the toilet. 

So, for awhile I just opted out of the whole thing, thinking I'd just eat right and get proper nutrition that way.  But what I've learned is that farming just 'aint what it used to be, folks.  Modernizing our farms was a genius idea, no doubt. But, turning them into factories where animals are not allowed their natural rooting instincts, where they spend their pathetic, short existence in extremely limited INDOOR quarters, and where pesticides are standard fare, all of this has dramatically affected the quality of the food we eat. And, the environment in which we live.

The fact that our bodies are not getting what they need is showing up in our medical clinics, in our compromised immune systems, and bringing rampant virus epidemics, cancer and dozens of other ailments that our bodies used to be able to fend off.  Sounds pretty dismal, doesn't it?  I was discouraged too until I started doing my own research and asking some questions. 

Recognizing my own need for supplementation (story to follow in tomorrow's post), the first question I asked was "has this product been studied, and if so, by whom?"  It's one thing for a supplement to be studied by the company producing it, and quite another if that study was done by an independent lab. 

The law does not require these studies on supplements, and they are pretty expensive, so most companies don't have them done (this is partly why a particular product could be less expensive).  But, the ones that do will stand out, they will be heads and shoulders above anything else you can buy, and give you results that you can feel and see in your own lab results.

So, what are you taking for supplementation?  There are a lot of claims out there.  Has your supplement been tested?  Has someone other than the maker studied it?  Have there been any blind studies done that conclusively prove the effectiveness?  If not, you might just be wasting your money while your most valuable asset, your health, continues to go unsupported.

fighting back,

Cheryl

P.S.  The supplement I found, Vemma, HAS been studied and tested by an independent lab (Brunswick Laboratories), and the stats are amazing. What's more, I am living proof that Vemma indeed makes a difference! Come back tomorrow for the beginning of my own story, and we'll wrap up the week with a couple of other supplement recommendations when we're losing weight.

Dream Big!

I am currently enrolled in a course to teach me how to go pro with blogging. I love to write, love the computer, enjoy a challenge, and I thought, heck why not make some money at doing what I love? A popular entrepreneur that I have listened to lately once said "Do what you love and never work another day of your life." Sounds awesome, doesn't it?

Anyway, one of the exercises in this course is to write down my ideal average day . . . not the kind of day you dream about having on vacation, but an ordinary day that is picture perfect to you, a day that you can repeat every single day and be extremely happy doing so.

At first, I wasn't sure I really needed to write this down  . . . I mean I kind of knew in my head what I wanted, so what's the point? However, I made a vow to myself at the outset of this course to do every last exercise and assignment to the very best of my ability, so I got my pen and paper out (aka laptop).

I was very surprised at what unfolded as I wrote . . .. the dreams that were lying within my heart! Turns out that what I thought I knew was really more about what I didn't want my life to be about than what I did want it be about. Can anyone relate?

During the coming week when we're all anticipating Valentine's Day, thinking about love, how to express it, etc., I wonder if just loving on ourselves a bit should be included. I don't know about you, but I think its easy to forget how to dream when we are so wrapped up in and overwhelmed by daily life. So, let's let loose a little! Forget about the barriers between your current daily reality and just imagine your IDEAL DAY. And, write it down.  Make it more about what you'd experience than what you'd have, though it can certainly include both.

Even if you are already extremely happy with your daily life, it is always good to be reaching for new goals, finding new amibitions, making progress.  Writing down my ideal average day was a way for me to get back in touch with what I'm really reaching for....it brought some clarity for me, maybe it will do the same for you.

dreaming big!
Cheryl

P.S. How does weight loss figure in to this? For me, I envision all my future days as me being a slimmer, sexier me than I am now . . . so doing this little exercise poured more fuel on the fire to just be consistent with what I'm doing. And, a little shout out for me....I lost 3.6 pounds last week!  Hurray.....time to start thinking about a reward for the 20# mark!

Book Review: French Women Don't Get Fat

FRENCH WOMAN'S MANIFESTO:

French women love to sit at a cafe and do nothing but enjoy the moment.

It's official ~ I wanna be french.

Since I love reading so much, once in awhile I'm going to post a book review here. I thought I'd start with French Women Don't Get Fat by the lovely and amazing Mireille Guiliano, one of the best books I've read on the subject of weight control.  Why?  Glad you asked. ;-)

1.  Mireille (pronounced Meer-ray) is French.  And she lives in America.  New York to be exact.  So, her perspective hasn't been formed in a vacuum.  She knows the culture of both France and the USA and shows us how much fun it can be to live in both worlds.  And, who wouldn't want to adopt a view of weight control that includes bread and chocolate?

2.  The book is beautifully written.  I read a lot of books, some of which I can fly through for mere entertainment and others like this one that I just want to savor.  She inserts french colloquialisms that begin to acquaint the reader with the language, the essence, the soul of France.  At first I skipped over these because I don't know French, but sensed along the way that I was missing a great sensory experience by doing so.  Mireille writes with grace, with elegance and yet with a sensibility and frankness that is just irresistible.

3.  What Mireille proposes is sustainable . . . it requires, yes, a shift away from the American "more is better" attitude, but somehow you end up knowing in your soul that this, too, can be a gentle process.  So, if you've ridden the dieting roller coaster, you will find this book refreshing.  Refreshing like a cool glass of water on a hot day. Seriously.

4.  No empty promises are made.  Mireille straight forwardly says that "most who appear to live in healthy balance are actually working at it" as opposed to being born with it or genetically predisposed.  So, no, french women don't {and we can't continue to} eat McDonald's and deep fried foods every day and still lose weight.  But, though we must exert effort, the effort is balanced with remembering the pleasure in it all.  Eat slower, take time to really taste the food.  I can tell you THAT's the quickest way to make a person avoid the drive-thru!  Have you ever chewed your drive-thru burger 30 times? {insert expletive here}

5.  You can eat real food.  Not only real, but high quality, fresh, whole food.  No diet shakes or protein bars, just honest-to-goodness scrumptious food.  I love what Mireille says about food on television:

Food on television makes one think about eating and gets one's gastric juices flowing, triggering the release of insulin, lowering one's blood sugar, and stimulating food cravings.  It's gastronomic pornography.

And, yes, chocolate and bread are included.   Turns out that small meals of good quality food are extremely satisfying.

6.  Pleasure is a main component.  Have you ever tried to "go on a diet", embarked, and then hated every last minute of it?  I have.  Somehow we've concluded that to lose weight and be healthy means we don't get to enjoy food anymore.  Not so with Mireille's approach.  She says that "self punishment is never our path to well-being."  But, enjoying pleasures is done with moderation, and as such, the shame of indulgence is removed.

I could say a whole lot more, but honestly, I don't want to spoil it for you.  You owe it to yourself to pick up this book.  French Women Don't Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano.  Please leave your thoughts, feelings, anything you want to in the comments.  And, once you read the book, come back and tell me about it.

Enjoying the process,
Cheryl

I Can't Run

I swear to you I can't run. I used to run every morning . . . back in college, on into my 20's, lacing up my shoes before dawn was something I loved doing, looked forward to. The alarm would ring at 5:30am and I'd bound out of bed....seriously! Starting the day off with a runners high? Yeah, it just didn't get much better than that.

HOWEVER, that was both dozens of years and pounds ago, and I just don't feel like I can run again, not at least until half of this weight comes off. I mean, think about it, wouldn't it be hard on my knees, my feet (which have been giving me tons of problems lately)...wouldn't it raise my heart rate too high or just be a bad idea at this weight?  Good grief, right now I'm just shooting to be able to exercise without pain!

Well, yesterday as I was walking on the treadmill, something got into me and I decided, what the heck, I'm going to jog for a bit. I increased the speed to 3.5 miles per hour, and taaadaaaaaaa, I was running, actually running! I only did it for a couple of minutes, but I DID IT!

A small victory to most, I realize, but a breakthrough for me. And, I'll take breakthroughs wherever I can get them!

I was inspired by Sunshine on The Biggest Loser Tuesday night when Jillian told everyone to run for 5 minutes...Sunshine looked over at the girl next to her who saw the fear all over Sunshine's face and promptly said "We can do a lot more than we think, you'll learn that here at the ranch."  And, Sunshine ran for 5 minutes.

Turns out that we really do put limits on our abilities, but even I can learn to break through the false ceiling I have constructed . . . ranch or not.

Would love to hear what you all have done recently that you didn't think you could....diet/exercise related or otherwise. Let's inspire one another!

pushing through,
Cheryl

P.S.  Yesterday at my friend Heidi's, I tried on those new shoes that are advertised to get your butt in shape, and I MUST get me a pair. Sooooo comfortable and just walking across Heidi's family room I could tell they absolutely work! Think I can run in those shoes? {crossing fingers!}

Emotional Eating vs. Feeling Stuff

I was thinking about Migdalia on The Biggest Loser today. For those who don't watch the program, Migdalia was at the Biggest Loser ranch and was used to being tough, not crying, and stuffing her feelings. And, the thinking by the trainers is that as she stuffed the feelings she coped by eating too much. We all watched as Jillian followed Migdalia out the door, speaking the hard truth to her, but Migdalia wanted to quit...and she wanted to quit because she was starting to feel things.

If you've spent a lifetime being "tough", its pretty scary to let any of that emotion rise up without cramming it back down.

I don't know if you would call Migdalia an emotional eater...food being a numbing agent against feeling unpleasant things...yes? I think I identify with that...its a tough world out there and depending on what a person has had to face and how they've learned to cope, well it is easy for me to see how emotional eating happens. Some people might choose alcohol, others drugs, others sex, you name it, there are all kinds of things we can use to try to cope with the stuff we find too scary or painful to deal with instead of just dealing with it.

One of the things I knew when I started all this was that I was absolutely through with avoiding what I didn't want to acknowledge...that food was no longer going to be my coping mechanism....that whatever I faced, I was going to, well, face it and not turn away. I'm here to tell you one month into it that I HAVE been feeling things, some sadness has surfaced at times about things that have nothing to do with my body or health. And, I have let those things out...processing thoughts and feelings instead of cramming pizza on top of it.

These are the markers that I believe are setting this weight loss attempt apart, the mile markers that as I am consistent will enable me to not only lose weight but also keep it off. This is a lifetime plan, a new way of living, and I am just tickled to be learning the ropes!

still workin' it,
Cheryl

The Magic of a Clean Slate

I am soooo glad it's February 1, aren't you? The first day of a new month, it's like a brand new beginning, a clean slate.

And, a brand new beginning is exactly what I needed, because the scale is stuck.  Ugh. I hate that, and especially at the end of the month when I was so hoping to meet my one month goal of 10 pounds down. I really do think there is something wrong with my scale, but I decided to shelve that excuse because, really, Cheryl? Your scale is broken?  I weighed myself, like 10 times this morning, and granted, got about 9 different numbers.  Still, none of them were lower than my number last week.

So, on this very first day of February,  I got a brand new start . . . that is, just as soon as I was done hosting a pity party that I personally scheduled, proudly attended, and now acknowledge is over. There is just no point in indulging beyond 30 minutes or so of blank staring on the couch in my robe.  There are bigger and better fish to fry than that, don't ya think?

I have learned from so many of you of the wisdom of looking for successes in other places, but before I can go there, I must take an hour or so to figure out what happened. I mean, what REALLY happened? This part is so hard but so important too....ok, I DIDN'T work my butt off (obviously), I slipped a couple of days on my food (not horribly really, but just dense calorie foods laden with cheese and fat, my major weakness).  I also had french fries once instead of fruit. Plus, I was kind of negative, a bit stressed out and just overall felt unmotivated.

I know I'm not alone. And, this happens, it's all a part of the process...blah blah blah. But, I'm not gonna cut myself any slack. Slack is how I got to where I am right now. Slack is average.  Slack is kinda lazy.  Slack, my friends, is a slippery slope. So, there will be no slack, cuz honestly, I am NOT a slacker!

Here's the bright spot, the silver lining, the glow bracelet worth showing off ~ today as I was picking myself up off the couch, I realized that instead of heading for the kitchen, I was lacing up my sneakers!  Now, isn't that just way cool?!  It was like an einstein moment for me, proof that despite my broken scale, I really am making progress.  Changing life long habits do NOT turn around on a dime, but I think I may just have this puppy turned around! 

So, I just want to say how happy I am, yes, that it's February 1, but also to have all of you following me on this journey, cheering me on, encouraging me when I just wanna pout, even caring when I have my einstein moments, and just being here.  I really could not be doing this without you!

{hugs}
Cheryl


P.S. Now, off to buy a new, accurate scale. :)