Who's The Boss?

I said to my trainers, "Do y'all realize that you are the only people I obey 100 percent? I do whatever you say." Footnote: put this on the list of things not to say to trainers, but it's totally true! Today it was evident as we played a round of Simon - or Jeff - Says during training. Jeff says hold the static squat until he says stop. Jeff says go get on the elliptical. Eat a twinkie - wait. Jeff didn't say that. Tonight my quads are on fire from the combined efforts of Marisa yesterday and Jeff today, but I like it because that means I put in hard work. When I told Marisa that my legs were fried, she laughed and said, "And you thought Tony Danza was the boss!"

You Say You Want A Revolution

I got back on track with a great workout today with Marisa on the river walk, part of which included 80 plus mega squats that left my legs literally shaking like jelly.   I couldn't walk for a few minutes.  You know you've changed your mindset when you seek those situations out and are happy when you're all beat up after a workout.  You crave it.   You get frustrated if you don't have it.    I've been joking to my trainers that I'm starting a revolution, but maybe I am.    One of the definitions of revolution is "a sudden, complete, or marked change in something." Hmm... I'd say we have some of that going on for sure.   Another definition of revolution is "a single turn." Hmm...one single turn towards the gym or away from the Ben and Jerry's and BAM, you have a revolution.  As the Beatles once said, "You say you want a revolution, well you know.  We'd all want to the change the world."  What if we could change the world one healthy person at a time?   Who's on board?  Cause as the Fab Four also said, "it's gonna be, alright."

Are 5 Jellybeans My Undoing?

This is really the hardest thing I've ever done.    I've said it before, but it bears repeating: what a roller coaster!  One day I feel like a rock star riding on a wave of euphoria, the next day I might feel like I'm slipping and that's when the fear hits.   This weekend I ate five jellybeans and obsessed about them for two days.  I ate jellybeans.  I didn't resist them.  I just got a handful and shoved them in my mouth like it was nothing.  That's a sugary carb!  Does this mean I'm slipping?  Is my resolve dissolving? Oh no - why did I do that? Then I ate a handful of Triscuits.  I'm. Out. Of. Control!!!!    Scary but that was my mental refrain for the past two days. Now I think about it and realize that I let five jellybeans bother me all weekend.   Am I ruined by five jellybeans?  No.  Am I going down because of 100 calories? No.  Am I stronger than a handful of triscuits?   Of course I am!   So onward and upward.  I probably burned those 100 calories just worrying about the whole mess anyway.

Strength

Milly and I worked our arms out really hard today and tonight I was noticing how firm my arms are getting. It feels good! Working out with weights and feeling the resistance feels good! As we were pushing through the reps, I started thinking about strength and how feeling physically strong can make you mentally and emotionally strong. Tonight I read the following in a book by Jennifer Armintrout, "Strength isn't about wearing a cross of guilt or shame. Strength comes from choosing your own path, and living with the consequences." I love my new path.

Stop. Hammer Time!

I am so not a morning person thus this morning found me scrambling through my closet for something to wear in a desperate frenzy. It went something like this: Scramble scramble. Look at the clock. Say bad word under breathe. Scramble some more. Throw discarded choices over shoulder. Another look at the clock. Another bad word. Scramble some more. Finally emerge victorious with pair of pants. It wasn't until I got to work and started walking that I realized how big the pants actually were. Several folks were cheering on my weight loss and said, "Just look how loose those pants are!" I hustled to the bathroom and looked in the mirror and confirmed that my formerly snug pants had now turned into MC Hammer pants! Well, at least they were black and not gold with zebra stripes! Won't ever be wearing those suckers again! I put them in the "can't touch this" pile with the rest of my clothes for charity.

Use The Force

I like this quote:

"My will shall shape my future. Whether I fail or succeed shall be no man's doing but my own. I am the force; I can clear any obstacle before me or I can be lost in the maze. My choice; my responsibility; win or lose, only I hold the key to my destiny." - Elaine Maxwell

Inch by Inch

Today's sunshine brought Marisa and I out of the gym and onto the river walk where I once again went a little further than the last time. The sun and the water and fresh air spurred me along my way, plus the great conversation with a dear friend always helps! That's the trick: don't make exercise a drudgery, make it something that uplifts you and makes you feel like a rock star! Start off small and gradually increase it. My great grandmother Brooks used to say, "inch by inch, life's a cinch. Yard by yard, life is hard." A wise woman for sure! Another highlight of the day: I survived a close brush with a vicious looking group of seagulls ("Marisa, that one's looking at me! He's looking at me!")I am terrified of seagulls, but Marisa said, "You're getting over that too!" And she went striding straight towards them. Normally I would cower in fear and refuse to budge but I held my breathe and skirted widely around them - especially that one that kept looking at me with such malice. Also today my awesome friend Lakshmi, who is joy personified, joined our workout group. You go Laks! We're all in this together!