Message from my Gran

I am not sure if she made this up or not- but I love it.

"You can't find peace by avoiding life"

Words to live by

Friday, January 23, 2009

5 days in- thoughts

OK- five days into it. While I have been humbled by the workouts- I am pretty darn proud of myself. I got up at 5:00 AM every day and got my butt into the gym- I stuck to the nutritional plan- I meditated- did my yoga on Wednesday-and have stuck with my smoking reduction plan, which I was most anxious about. Going from a pack a day to less than 6 per day- none until after work and none in the car- has worked for me. I will reduce the number as time goes on with a goal of being 'cig free' by the end of the 90 days.

So...sounds like an easy week huh? Well- here are some realities:

1. The food thing was pretty easy- but no one told me that all this healthy food would make me fart like a professional. And who knew that I could almost propel myself down a hallway with the force. If only I could schedule them on demand- maybe I could do 25 squat jumps without collapsing for air after the 20th jump if I could time them as I was trying to jump- trying being the operative word.

2. I just about fell off the back of the StairMaster on Wednesday- if an "8" is suppose to be sustainable for a couple of minutes- how does one keep at it for 25 minutes- thank God for the high energy dance tune on my i-pod- I had to listen to Cher tune three times in row just to keep my feet moving on the machine.

3. On Monday- during my 9th interval, my foot flew up off the pedal of the elliptical machine- smashing my knee into the machine. The sweet little lady next to me was worried that I would flip right over the top of it.

4. Doing Heisman hops at the gym- next to the muscle guys benching 250 pounds- and not feeling a sense of embarrassment is really quite empowering.

I am very lucky to be going through this with Patti and Linda at work. It really makes the nutrition part much easier. It also takes cheating out of the equation 'cause they would ride my butt hard. Seriously, I haven't been as good about following the forum and blogs because I have them to listen to my thoughts and laugh about our experiences. They are the best!

The other thing about the food is that it is so filling- and I already feel 'cleaner and healthier"- anyone else feel that way? It is also shocking how much food I can eat now that I got rid of the crap in my diet and still not go over my target calorie count. It was a little hard to walk by the Chic filet buffet that we served to a group of visitors at work- but I checked their web site- three measly chicken strips are 1095 calories- not worth it at all!

And... I would be remiss not to thank Chris- so quick to answer questions-offer support- and to have him check in on my smoking plan was so sweet. CR- you are the best!

Well- off to go see Rob J in "To Kill a Mockingbird" at IRT tonight- then up to go to Chris's Power Yoga in the morning! Hopefully, I will see many of you at the class or at the meeting in the morning.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Here goes

I am unsure if I am more nervous about starting the Project- or blogging? Seriously, I am thrilled to be a part of the BTWG team/community and have already received so much support from all of you. Thank you all.

I know that the next 90 days will be quite a journey- filled with small victories, some set-backs, tired muscles, moments of 'why in the world did I commit to doing this?'- but mostly, a feeling of - finally- "you took control and are doing what you need to do get healthy".

Over the past 4-5 years, I have started down this path on my own- worked out hard, tried to focus on healthy food choices, cut back on drinking, tried to quit smoking- but always hit the wall of injury or excuses. This time- I know that it's different- I have a plan- I have an advisor (here's to you Chris- thanks a million already) and a team of fellow PBWG's to help me.

I do feel extra forunate to be on this path with a number of close friends in the group and to have the support and friendship of a couple of Project grads. I'm also lucky to have home support on the diet side of the equation. Thanks guys! I appreciate it already.

Well, my food plan is done- time to get to bed so that I can get my sorry rear end out of bed at 5:00 to get to the gym.