Why don't you want your Wellness?

If you work, does your work give you a few "Wellness" or "Mental Health" days per year?

Do you take them? =)

Why not schedule a "Wellness" day for yourself? Take that day, a vacation day, or heck, call in sick and pre-plan and spend that day doing something that helps one of the areas that you may have struggles in your journey.

Do some pre-planning cooking, packaging and freezing for your meal plan, or spend several hours of that day doing a Biggest Loser Campus style workout for many hours throughout the day. Use that day to do some physical activity you have always wanted to try. Schedule time with a trainer if you do most of your workouts on your own. Use that day to jump start or revive your personal program on your journey.

If you have been going strong in your journey, then maybe you spend that day getting a massage, facial, or altering your pants that are becoming too big. =)

Most of us subconsciously overcompensate in the work place to make sure no one sees any disadvantage to having an unhealthy person in that position. You give so much to your employer, be sure to take advantage of the benefits that they have set up to make you a happier and healthier employee and person. =)

NYC Beauty

I went to NYC the other day with Beverly.  On the way home it was sunset and it looked like it was setting right into downtown NYC.

I took photos from the moving car, on my iPhone and I was so thrilled to catch what we were seeing.. the buildings were making HUGE shadows up into the sky.

I just wanted to share.. =)

What's your excuse again?

I was just watching TBL episode that included:

The all-you-can-eat temptation challenge where Koli consumed more than 4,600 calories to get the ONLY vote in elimination that week to save Sam, if needed. 20 minutes after he was declared the winner of the challenge he was back in the gym to work off the calories he had consumed.

Covered in sweat, Koli starts to feel ill - after a series of belches he says, "Do you smell that America? That's obesity.. it smells disgusting."

The challenge that week was the build the tower with blocks to climb the scaffolding to claim your flag. Daris won the challenge for a 1 lb advantage at the weigh in and O'Neal fell from his tower and severely injured his knee and was taken to the hospital which earned him the 1 lb disadvantage at the weigh in after everyone else completed the challenge.

Sam and Koli decide that Sam needs to be above the yellow line so they can use Koli's vote to save O'Neal. Sam pushes himself even further.

After returning from the hospital O'Neal was told that no fractures, but when the bones smacked against each other and broke off calcium and bone spurs which exposed the nerves that is what was causing the severe pain.

Just when you think he can't take any more, that evening, he finds out his brother passed away from his battle with cancer.


At that week's weigh in..

Koli managed to burn the calories he consumed plus more to lose 10lbs that week.

Sam loses 6 lbs which puts him in the middle of the pack for the week.

O'Neal managed to work through his pain and his grief to lose 8 lbs that week.


O'Neal said, "When you consistently work hard, consistently believe and you consistently don't give up you can do this."


"When life tests you - you have the potential for greatness."

- Bob Harper


They all pushed hard towards their goals ignoring the pressures of the challenges of life, the competition, the antics in the house.. they set milestones and they DID IT.  No EXCUSES! =)

What are your milestones? =)

Are you having an HD Experience?

Last night the hubby and I watched Valentine's Day while in bed with our recovering double knee surgery Pomeranian Peaches.

I accidentally ordered the non-HD version of the movie. 

Hubby:  You didn't order HD.

Me:  Ooops!  Hmmm.. (We watch a few seconds of the screen) I wanna watch the HD one.

Hubby:  Really?  It's a Garry Marshall film, not like there are gonna be fight scenes or cool special effects that we want to see in HD.

Me:  (I consider his point of view for a few minutes as the opening scenes are unfolding.) Look at the title, it looks fuzzy.  Everything looks like it has a film on it.  I don't like it. I am gonna order the HD version.

We start the HD version and the difference is really astonishing.  I feel more part of the experience.  I feel more connected to the movie.  I feel more entangled in the story line and connected to each character. I am literally pointing out the differences to hubby through the first few minutes. =)

Once you have experienced something in an HD experience - you are unable to foster the same experience of feelings for the non-HD version.

Just the other day I watched a video about the business of software.  In it, a woman is a speaker at a developers conference and she talked for just a few brief minutes as part of a larger topic about people having HD experiences.

In her PowerPoint presentation she showed a picture of a huge rock formation. "To some you may see a huge rock formation".

I think to myself - Yup, check - huge rock formation.

However, there are people who see that rock formation and have an HD experience about that rock formation:

To a rock climber, it is a wicked challenge of skill, brains and fitness and so much more.

To a geologist, it is minerals and earth formation with climate and period of drought indicators and so much more.

To an archeologist it is a burial ground of information and treasure and so much more.

These people have these HD experiences because they are passionate about it.  They have taken the time to learn more about it, experience it on a deeper level than the average person would.  If you haven't created an HD experience for yourself, then you just simply won't be able to see all the possibilities that it holds.  You will just see it for what it is, for what you know it to be - a huge rock formation.

So.. the question is - are you experiencing your journey in HD?

We just saw on the other post how the woman who lost 415 lbs eats and trains like an athlete. Being an athlete is an HD experience to every day nutrition and fitness AND mental.  

From everything I have read and seen so far on those who have taken off the weight and kept it off - that is what they are all doing - they EAT and TRAIN and LIVE like athletes.  (If you have seen otherwise, please show me links because I can't find it anywhere. =) 

The ones who keep it off make their physical health and just as equally their mental health a priority over EVERYTHING else.  They experience their transformation and/or their maintenance journey in HD.  They are plugged in to everything they learned, applying methods, trying new things, and drawing from resources constantly available to learn new and different things and to BE and STAY successful at their maintenance programs.

Are you having an HD Experience?

It really is easy if you just take the time to really think about it.

I am in a very happy place!

I am upbeat.  I am simply wowed at the possibilities I wouldn't have considered for my future just a short 9 weeks ago.  I have become used to the "omg.. I am so dumb, why didn't I see that earlier.." feeling and now use it as a pavlov's dog response that I have to praise myself for overcomming yet another life challenge and praise myself for having an open mind and considering all possibilities - including that.. it is totally OK to be wrong sometimes. =)

Realize that to question is how we grow!

I lost 2 lbs this past week - but the scale just isn't a focus right now.  I KNOW I will get to my goal - the only thing that is not within my control on this journey is time - and so I am really just waiting for it to happen like a child waits for their very important birthday to finally get here!  Along the way I am enjoying my life journey in ways I never dreamed.  I am feeling the REAL emotions that were under all of that baggage that I was carrying around.  That chip on my shoulder because I thought I knew everything - is gone.  My mind is open to all of the learning possibilities around me.  I was trying to find the wording to say on Facebook "If you are heading out to do something exciting - please consider inviting me" without it sounding like a desperate plea for friends and instead that I am so eager to try new things I don't even know where to begin! =)

Do I get down? Do I have moments of doubt and frustration?  TOTALLY!  The change I made to my old behavior is that now I only allow myself to feel that way for 30 minutes (timer and everything), then I start working on finding a way out of it.  One of the easiest places to find inspiration and motivation is YouTube.  I watch YouTube videos of people who have had successful weight loss doing exactly what I am doing.

Today I was having one of those brief moments.  I let something frustrate me that shouldn't be a priority for my emotions.  So I went to YouTube to change my mood.  I found this amazing video:



Those 5 things that she listed.. that is all there is to it.  We always try to make diet plans complicated.  Maybe it is because all of the fad diets out there are complicated.  Books, and points, and food type restrictions, and all of this complexity.

Follow a healthy natural food plan
Commit to an evolving fitness plan you enjoy
Spend your energy retraining your brain to be a healthy you

It really is easy if you just take the time to really think about it. =)

Creating a healthy lifestyle is like baking a cake

Let's say we want to make a cake.

In order to make a basic cake we need the following ingredients:

Butter or Oil
Sugar
Eggs
Flour
Baking Powder
Milk or Water
Time - to prep, bake and eat. =)

Each of these elements is critical to the success of our cake.  They each play a huge role in the success, color, texture (mouthfeel) and taste of our cake.

But what if we left an ingredient out?

No Butter - rougher texture, the cake is flat and not airy.

No Sugar - lacks cake taste, no browning of the cake.

No Eggs - rougher texture, flat cake, ingredients don't bind together.

No Baking Powder - flat cake, not spongy

No Milk or Water - dry cake, ingredients don't have enough moisture to properly be mixed together


Leaving just ONE ingredient completely out is a recipe (LOL pun intended) for a disastrous cake.


Consider this..


Isn't a cake much like your weight loss and healthy lifestyle journey?

Here is the recipe for a standard journey:

PROPER BALANCED NUTRITION
CARDIO
STRENGTH TRAINING
DRINKING WATER
TRACKING FOOD
TRACKING FITNESS
CREATIVE AND OPEN MIND
SUPPORT

So if you decide that you don't need one of these, that you can have a successful journey without them, what happens to your recipe?

NONE OR POOR NUTRITION - body not fueled, unable to get through day or workouts, no energy, brain slow to respond.  Increasing hunger due to poor nutrition leads to binging and "cheating" behaviors.  Hungry, binging or cheating lead to mental challenges.

LITTLE TO NO CARDIO - no calorie burn, heart is not strengthened, lung capacity not increased, you don't feel good, you don't sleep well

LITTLE TO NO STRENGTH TRAINING - Metabolism isn't raised, fat doesn't burn as many calories as muscle, bones aren't strengthened, more prone to injuries, coordination and balance aren't tested and strengthened.

NOT ENOUGH WATER - You don't digest as well. Metabolism suffers.  Water is SQUEEZED out of your waste product before elimination so you are hydrating on waste moisture - toxicity.  Kidney stones. Lungs aren't lubricated. Joints aren't lubricated.

NOT TRACKING FOOD - Unable to regulate weight and plan for results.  No historical data to show clear improvement in nutritional values.  Unable to confirm schedule of meals and snacks evenly throughout the day.  Unsure if you are getting the right amount nutrition critical areas to weight loss - calories, fat, carbs, protein, sodium, etc.

NOT TRACKING EXERCISE - Unable to regulate weight and plan for results.  No data to show clear improvement in fitness abilities.

NOT HAVING A CREATIVE AND OPEN MIND - Unable to create solutions to overcome challenges, unable to see the issues right in front of you to combat and change them, unable to find ways of creating successes in your program.  Unable to recognize, accept or apply support and tips that can help you be successful in your journey.

NO SUPPORT - Isolation, no exposure to other people succeeding at what you are doing, no place to get a head check, no accountability, depression, failure.


The recipe for your LIFE LONG health and fitness is a carefully balanced recipe complete with proven methods, chemical reactions, science, and so much more. 

Unless you are a person who is at goal weight and have kept it off for 5 years while missing one key ingredient above, DON'T YOU OWE IT TO YOURSELF to follow the proven recipe so you can HAVE and ENJOY your cake, and eat it too?

(LOL pun intended there too!)

Nailed it!

Gigantamundo tree fell from my neighbor's "yard". My neighbor is the National Park Service. It was half dead and there was a slight breeze this afternoon. It took out just ONE panel my fence. Being the one strong siren that I am, I went out to take the saw to some limbs and clean up an area so I could put an ex-pen in the now hole in the fence so the dogs could go outside.

As I went to saw a particular limb I looked down and said, "oh.. there's a nail right there - be sure not to step on that." Two minutes later I stepped backwards onto the rusty nail next to the one I saw. It penetrated in the nice fleshy part about half an inch under my "this little piggy had none" toe.

I was wearing my oh so not protective but oh so sexy Croc sandals. The nail went through those like a knife heated with lava going through room temperature I Can't Believe It's Not Butter. Hubby cleaned it out really well. Then few hours at the clinic. Tetanus shot.