Enlightenment and Hope

This week is all about looking into one's life and looking at what is working, what is not working and how to change those old habits that aren't working.

Now we're talking about the tough stuff...looking inward and finding our own strengths and acknowledging and changing our weaknesses.  What does this have to do with weight loss?  It has everything to do with weight loss.   Why do we eat?  We eat because we are hungry, we eat because we are bored, we eat because we are upset, we eat because we are celebrating, we eat because we eat!!!

What was it about losing weight that was important to you?  For me it was the fact that I couldn't do any of the things that I used to do.  I could hardly walk without getting tired, there was no way that I was running anywhere and then there were all of the health issues I had.  I had been in the hospital with pneumonia, I was taking five different medications every day, my cholesterol was off the charts, my blood pressure was inching up and I was turning 50.  My father passed away from a heart attack when he was 50, both my mother and my sister had heart valve replacements when they were 50 and here I was going down the same path...

I walked into Weight Watchers and I became a convert, I tracked everything that went into my mouth, I tracked my exercise, I tracked my feelings, I tracked my sleep, if it could be tracked I tracked it.  And you know what I learned?  I learned that I ate when I was upset, I ate when I didn't feel like I had any control over whatever the situation was and I ate when I was bored.  I also learned I had to learn about what was going on inside of me!  Instead of being upset about a situation and drowning my sorrows in food, I learned to face the situation, ask for support if I needed it and move on.  I stopped letting things fester inside of me and I started dealing with things that bothered me.  This is the scary things we have to face when we start making positive changes in our lives, sometimes we have to look in the mirror and say I'm not okay with myself and I am going to make changes in my life.  There were lots of times I had to look in the mirror and say that but after a few months (or years in my case!!!) I am finally able to look in the mirror and say I know who I am and I am okay with myself.

Does that mean that I never have problems?  Does it mean that just because I have achieved my goal weight that life is always easy?  No...it means that I have learned the tools necessary to take care of myself, to stand up for myself when I need to, that I have finally said I am just as important as the next person.

Writing in a journal has helped me to explore these issues, I write them in a journal that belongs to me.  I still keep track of things going on in my life, I track what I eat because again I ask you if you aren't tracking, what did you eat two days ago for breakfast?  If you don't write it down you can't own it, whether it is food, exercise or emotions.  Am I always happy when I look at my tracker, heck no!!!  But the beauty of it is that tomorrow is another day or my next meal is a new beginning.  I have that power!!!  I am in control of my own life and frankly I can't blame it on anyone else...IT is my LIFE!!!

There is hope.  There is always another option and as long as I am around, you can always talk with me.  Hope is what you make it, you can look at a situation as hopeful or hopeless.  It is all in how you look at it.  Take control of your life and make it your own life.  If you need help, come see me on Thursday evening!  We will take this journey together!!!

Until Thursday!
Carol

What's Your Excuse?

Exercise...

We all know the benefit of activity-we know that it can boost metabolism, improve our moods, create an overall sense of well-being and prevent certain diseases, but we come up with all of those excuses as to why we can't exercise.  Why do we make these excuses?  What can we do to get past those excuses?  Let's spend some time talking ways to get move forward.

Personal Story

After chemotherapy, after radiation therapy, after medication after medication, I finally decided I needed to do something about taking care of myself.  Steve and I started walking in Australia and we continued when we got home we continued walking in Pollock Pines and it was tough.  I threw up, I passed out, I used my inhalers, I cursed Steve but each day I went a little further.  I walked and walked and then I started running and I never looked back...Were there setbacks?  Yes!!!  Were there days when I didn't want to exercise, are there still days when I would rather stay in bed?  Yes!!!  Are any of these your excuses?

It's too hot or too cold!
I have bad knees.
I don't have time.
I get sweaty.
I'm too tired.
I don't like it.
I don't like doing it alone.
I don't like doing it in public.
It's boring.
Gyms are expensive.

Come to the meeting this week and we will help bust these excuses.

All or nothing thinking has no place here...just because you may not able to squeeze in all the required exercise doesn't mean you shouldn't get moving as much as you can.  Take the stairs..pace while you are on the phone!

The American College of Sports Medicine recommends at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise five days a week or 20 minutes of high-intensive exercise three days a week.  They also suggest a comprehensive activity plan that includes 30-45 minutes of vigorous activity three days a week for cardio-respiratory fitness regular stretching for joint flexibility, and resistance training to maintain muscular strength and endurance.

While there are some obstacles which are health-related, others may simply be excuses.

Why is it hard to admit that our reasons for not exercising may be excuses?  I didn't want to admit that I couldn't do something...so if I didn't try I wouldn't fail!!  What I had to learn about myself was that if I didn't try, I would never know.  Step by step I learned that I could walk, I could run, I could train and after a while I really enjoyed it.  I can get sweaty and then I can take a shower, I had bad knees, but the more I worked out and the more weight I lost, the better my knees felt.  It could be boring but I found that I loved working out to music and that worked for me, I do enjoy working out by myself, it is my time to enjoy myself.

Think about your reasons and let's talk about them on Thursday....can't wait to see you..

Until then, here is a poem I found in the Oprah magazine..it truly described my journey and I thought you might find yourself in this poem also.

The Journey - Mary Oliver

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
thought voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice --
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
"Mend my life!"
each voice cried.
But you didn't stop
You knew what you had to do,
thought the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations--
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice,
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that you kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do --
determined to save
the only life you could save.

Until Thursday,

Carol