Lost 100

Powerhouse to Powerhouse: Jillian Michaels Interviews Suze Orman

Recently the outreach director for Everyday Health e-mailed me and asked if I would be willing to share this exclusive article with you all...um, yes please!  What do you get when America's premier fitness trainer who 'gets it' interviews America's premier personal finance expert...let's just say, I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall and suck up all their amazing energy!  As I've been transitioning my work to more 'Goddess/love yourself' themes I really am appreciating women like this more and more!  You see there is a connection between all aspects of ourselves...and these women get it!

 

You can check out the awesome article here.

1/2 Marathon Training is in Full Swing!

A quick update to let you know that the 1/2 Marathon training is at full tilt!  I'm 1 month out.  I've been sidelined recently by some unexpected illnesses with my kids and myself (nothing heavy duty, just your run of the mill stomach bugs/ colds--but they can do a number on you when you're training!).  The plan right now is to run 3 days during the week and do a long run on the weekends (with cross-training/yoga/swimming on 2 other days of the week).  This past weekend was 6 miles, but I'm upping it to 8 next weekend.  9 on the 13th, 10 on the 20th, 8 on the 27th and the race is on the 3rd.  I'm also considering a 2nd Half Marathon mid-May just to keep the training going.  One of the biggest barriers I had last year was my training trailed off quickly after my 1/2...I'd like to keep it going through the spring and summer this year. 

Finally, my other big, personal news is that I have officially quit drinking coffee!  It's been 2 weeks.  I feel great and have SO much energy (I will say the withdrawal was hard on me, I was laid up on the couch for nearly 2 days with no energy--but once I got over the hump it's been a well received change).

What are you up to? 

Little Epiphanies: What if we viewed weight like a garden?

I was talking with my friend Rita the other day, Rita is a spiritual life coach who rocks, and I said to her: 'I have no idea what skinny, rich women do all day or what they think about'. And in a very real way I was being serious. I put on a few pounds since my half marathon, and while I haven't had to buy new clothes things are tight & I sometimes feel obsessed about weight gain/ not losing/ cheating. What I would give to not feel consumed by the scale...

Then it hit me. Smack in the middle of my not-so-sculpted tummy. What if we treated weight (and for that matter money too) a little like we do our garden. I like my hydrangeas- they are purple and blue and pink and just luscious: I don't spend a lot of time thinking about them- they are just there. They are part of my life, part of my world, but my whole world does not revolve around them. I trust they will look beautiful. Sometimes I do some weeding, sometimes I say: 'oops- weeds, need to pay a bit more attention!'. But most of the time they aren't on the radar and my mind is free. What if we needed to think LESS about it, instead of more? What if our choices were based in self love and because they support us living in the way we want, and not because if we choose the opposite we are afraid of the consequence... What if?  I like that world...

The girls ran across the finish line with me at the 4 mile race this morning!

Sarah & Zoe (our 3 & 2 year old daughters) ran across the finish line with me this morning!  I am hoping the photo people got the shot & I can post it soon. 

Let me tell you, it was not my best race, yet it was a wonderful, joyous morning.  My ipod broke about about a mile into the run...so I had a wonderful opportunity to practice listening to my soul, enjoying the sounds of nature and not just the beat of the music.

After the race, I was retrieving my bag and saw a familiar face...couldn't quite place it at first.  So being a complete ass, I blurted out (to a very stunned woman), 'Miggy?!'  Yes, you've got it, Miggy, the mama-half of the green team from the current season of The Biggest Loser was there.  And so was, 'Nicole?!' (much less stunned, as she is probably used to running into bozos like me--haha).  Nicole was from season 7 of The Biggest Loser, a member of the red team, along with her then fiance (now husband), Damien.  Both looked amazing and graciously asked how my run went.  I actually hope to check out Nicole's spin class in the city some time soon.

It was a great way to spend a Sunday morning, especially one that typically would be rought with over-eating (Super Bowl Sunday!--more on that later...I'll post of pick of the healthy stuff I'm taking to the party tonight).  I also met a very nice young woman, Kara, who has lost 85 lbs & is training for the NYC Marathon this year.  She has an awesome blog, Karathon, if you get a chance, check it out.

Two great thoughts to share:

1.  Even when things aren't exactly as you expect them to go, enjoy the journey, at the end of the run, I have to say, even with my pants falling down (yes, they were loose!) & a broken ipod & frigid temps, I enjoyed myself, found joy and peace in the practice of moving my body and drew inspiration from the other runners all around me.

2.  What an awesome example for my daughters!  They got to run across the finish line with their mama & received more cheers than even the lead runner!  I can't wait for the day that we can run together as a family--how cool!

International Disasters & Falling Off the Wagon: Why it's Important to Stay True to Yourself During Trying Times

If you're like most people you are having a hard time reconciling going through your daily activities 'business as usual' while the devastation in Haiti is going on.  The images on the TV, the voices of the correspondents cracking as they fight back tears, the cries on anguish...and you feel so helpless.  Perhaps you think, 'if only I could be there...'.  As someone who has been observing this disaster and specifically my reaction to & my history of reactions to international disasters, I'd like to take a moment to use my psychology & social work degree.

Haiti, Asia's Tsunami, Katrina, 9/11...they are in our collective conscious, in our shared history, they are perhaps the things we will tell our grandchildren about and will be asked about, they are things we will never forget.  Where were we when we first heard?  When did we realize it was worse than we could have imagined?  How did we feel?  What did we do?

I remember in each of the previous disasters feeling helpless.  I actually have Disaster Relief skills/background, as well as social service management/systems management/volunteer coordiantion skills, all of which could be put to great use.  I remember being angry that I could not be there to help (especially for Katrina, when I certainly felt I could jump in the car and drive to Lousiana, indeed that had been my plan, except for the fact that I realized I was pregnant just 2 days after the hurricane hit).  So in each of these past disasters (less so for the Tsunami because I had a newborn AND I was pregnant) I used my displaced feelings of helplessness & instead of channelling them into 'living my best life,' I did what I do best: zone out, eat, wallow, glue myself to the TV.

The thing is, it's not about us.  That may sound harsh.  But it's not.  There is always going to be somoene at any moment of the day on this earth going through hell.  There is always going to be someone having the best moment ever.  When we choose to sit back and live vicariously through people's lives, either through their tragedy or their success (think--celebrity obsession, reading about celebrities, wanting to date them, meet them, be them...) we are not being true to ourselves. 

I'll say it again, we are not living our best life, we are not holding true to our purpose in life when we allow all the things that go on in the world to derail us from what we should be doing.  The earthquake happened in Haiti, not in your kitchen.  There is no reason to overeat, to not cook, to fall off the wagon (so to speak).  You can still make a healthy meal, and have gratitude that you have the ability to cook, to purchase healthy food, to have the knowledge of wellness.

And here's the thing, when you live your best life; when you are, so-to-speak self-actualized, you actually contribute to the world through your energy, through your own goodwill.  Last night, as I watched the Golden Globes for a moment, actress Meryll Streep won an award.  She talked about feeling a bit incongruent putting on her nice dress, getting her hair & make-up done, celebrating during a time of so much sadness...then she remembered her mom's attitude and said, she felt gratitude that she could do something she loved and get paid so well, so because of the celebration she is quite wealthy, which meant that she's going to 'give today and give tomorrow and give the next day and the day after that...'. 

If you haven't been living your best life, choose now to do so.  Turn the negative emotions into a positive.  You don't have to continue to eat in front of the television crying when something bad happens.  Turn it off and tune in to your life.

What Messages Should You Listen to..

Today I had an experience that left me a little ruffled. I had an engaging conversation with the director of a local health club. I shared my story & told him about my wellness coaching & the workshops (that are still in development). He seemed impressed. Now let me digress for a moment...my goal was not to press him, but rather to share my story--you never know who you will touch, perhaps he knew someone I neede to meet or someone who needed to meet me!

Anyway, as our conversation wound down he expressed interest in having me come and do some presentations at his club. GREAT, I was thinking! This is what I was hoping for-- put yourself out there, share your energy, and be authentic & your dreams can & will come true, right?

Um, wrong. Mr. Healthclub couch his (dis)invite with 'as soon as you lose the rest of the weight, of course'. Slam. Put me right back into the 'you're not good enough' category again. Here's the problem--that's just a story, an old story, & it's not true. I no longer believe that. And neither should you.

Here's the deal: if we want to embrace fitness & hold it up we need to be prepared to embrace all levels of it & not just those some director of a healthclub deems worthy!

My First Triathlon, part 1

Well, by now you may have heard that I did a triathlon this past weekend in celebration of my 35th birthday!

Well, here's the stuff you didn't know:

• Doing a triathlon is hard.  Harder than I expected.  
• I am not a good swimmer.  Um, swimming laps in the warm pool at the Y & the gym does not translate to swimming in the open water in the OCEAN and swallowing salt water, and getting kicked, and having a super hot guy in a kayak have to stay next to you the entire time because he was afraid you would drown, and then not being able to do freestyle because everytime you do water goes up your nose & down your throat, so instead you swim breast stroke and end up 50+ yards behind pretty much everyone.  Yes, and did I mention it was so foggy you couldn't see the next buoy, let alone all 5 buoys.  Finally, oceans have sharks...did you know I hate sharks?  Well, I do. 
• I have a mountain bike, not a road bike.  Okay.  What does that mean?  Apparently road bikes travel 33% faster than mountain bikes when applying the same exertion.  Crap.  So when I got out of the water and was the second to last person to get on the bike I then further got behind because I was going at least 33% faster than my potential potential (or something like that).
• Biking in a triathlon is not anything like spinning, even if the spinning instructor thinks it is.
• When you finish biking your legs feel like jello.  No, this is not some cutesy catchphrase, the legs wobble and trying to run your bike in is not an easy feat.
• It doesn't get any better once you drop your bike off.  You don't suddenly feel lighter, or grow wings, or hear Kanye West sing you 'Stronger'.  No, you feel like your legs want to collapse and eat bon-bons.  No, it doesn't help to tell your legs that they don't have a mouth and they can't eat bon-bons even if they wanted to.
• Feigning a hamstring injury does not help.  No one buys your bullshit. 
• When you want to quit an angel suddenly appears in front of you, telling you how she had to walk/run in intervals just to make it to the water stop (aka-the turn around point)...then she caught her breath and feels better--she assures you that you can do this. 
• Some dude with long hair shows up on a bike and tells you that your husband and kids are worried about you and he's checking to make sure you're okay.  You are, you assure him.  Then you plead with him to NOT announce you when you come in last--he promises.  He lies.
• After the water stop you jog, mostly because you don't want everyone to think you are a loser.  A little 8-year-old girl who is working the water stop is running behind you, you hear her slow down and you suspect it's because she senses that you will dissolve into tears if she passes you.
• When you turn the corner on the way back you see him.  No, not the hot guy from the kayak (no, you pretty much never want to see him again).  No, it's your darling husband running with your 2 little girls in the double jogging stroller.  He's here to see you through.  To help you finish.  Now you really do dissolve to tears.
• When you are 10 feet from the finish line your 3-year-old daughter jumps out of the stroller and finishes the race with you (you are somewhat bothered by the fact that she is still in her pajamas and is not wearing any shoes, but remember that your husband is pretty much a candidate for 'husband of the year' after the stroller incident, so you let it slide). 
• They announce you as the 'last one'--everyone claps, you smile, you are mortified inside. 
• But no one can take it away...you FINISHED a triathlon!
• Later you commiserate with friends...'I'm the real loser-I was on the couch with a hangover' says one, others point out your incredible weight loss & how far you had to come just to get to this point...it's still hard to know you were last.  To not get any clams at the clam bake because they were all gone.  But I do have the picture of me after the race...and I have my memories...and I have information--what it's like, what I need to train on...and I have A LOT of room for improvement!

Am I Good Enough???

So I was trying out my wetsuit at the gym yesterday when a middle-aged Russian lady sat down next to me in the locker room. 

'Whadt is dhis?' she says to me in an accent.

'Oh, it's a wetsuit, I'm doing a triathlon this weekend and I thought I better try it out since I've never swam in one before' I say.

[With huge eyes & a laugh} 'Um, maybe youh losse some wheighht'? 

[In a happy voice, with dignity] 'Oh, yes, I've actually lost almost 100 lbs & am working on losing more, I have been training for this for awhile' I say.

With surprised indignation and a questioning look she begins quizzing me on my diet (satisfied once I detail my 6 weekly, 90 minute+ workouts), and I kid you not everything I say she say, 'dhis not good'.  I tell her I eat very little, if any red meat and instead seek other forms of protein, when I tell her I eat a lot of nuts & seeds she tis, tisses me and says, 'too much fat'...I kindly point out that I know a serving of almonds is 18 almonds, has 160 calories and has fat, but it's the type of fat I seek in my diet (MUFA!). 

She asks if I am alone or cook for others--looking surprised when I tell her I have a husand and children.  'Ahnd do they eaht lihke youh?'....'Of course,' I tell her, 'I even have them making their own healthy pizzas on pita bread'.

'Phizza! No, no, no, no, no--dis very bhad!'  She's obviously not getting that the pizzas we makes are less than 400 calories, loaded with nutrients, veggies and healthier than 90% of the food out there, plus trick everyone into thinking they are eating something decadent.

When the exchange is over I feel deflated.  I never lost my cool, but it made me think, am I a joke?  Do most people look at me and make assumptions about me?  Am I not good enough???? 

Of course I am good enough!  This is an old belief!  What, should I lay around and give up and say, 'fuck it' (sorry mom) because one Russian lady, who knows nothing about me and chose not to listen to my story, who discounts losing all this weight, who begrudges me because I don't weight 140 lbs & have a perfectly sculpted body?!  Hell no!

It's an oldie  but goodie, this belief that 'we're not not enough/I'm not enough'....but the thing is, it only has power if you let it.  I am good enough.  YOU are good enough.  I will attract people to me that believe this and stop noticing people who don't believe this.  You will too! 

I have a favorite line in this Max Lucado book, 'You are Special'...it goes something like this, 'what they think doesn't matter...it only matters if you let it.  Why should YOU care what THEY think, the stickers only stick if you let them...the more you trust MY (God's) love, the more THEIR stickers (judgements) don't matter....'

So trust God, yourself, your higher self, your higher power....whatever it is that you believe and know you are precious and important and we need you...and whatever road you are on to be happier and healthier is exactly where you are suppose to be!

Have a great day (I know I will...it's my birthday)!

Great Workout, but More P.T. needed....

I had a great workout this morning, I ran 45 minutes, followed by lifting, stretching and then a long shower and steam.  It was invigorating and restorative.  Yet I find myself at a crossroads today.

I saw my Orthopaedic doctor this morning.  We discussed my progress since completing 6 weeks of physical therapy.  He felt things were better, but that I needed an additional therapy.  He said I could just do exercises at home/at the gym, but we both felt the additional benefits of stimulation, ultrasound & massage/manipulation would be helpful. 

I really want my life back.  Physical therapy has been smack in the middle of the day 3 times a week, taking up to 2 1/2 hours.  It costs me a lot of money as I have to hire a babysitter.  I think I need to find an office that is more streamlined in their service.  I also think I need to find out if possibly there are ANY PT places that offer childcare. 

I may decide to stop PT altogether and take what I've learned and apply it just at the gym.  It's not that I don't like to make commitments, its just that having this smack in the middle of my day is starting to take a toll on the other areas of my life.

I also think I am going to go ahead and start Spinning classes again.  I spoke with the Spin Guru, Bernie (who rocks, by the way--if you ever get a chance, check him out at the JCC in West Orange, NJ) and he says with proper form there should be no effect on the knees whatsoever.

This is just my opinion--PLEASE do not take it as medical advice--but I personally believe that doctors are there and serve a purpose, BUT I have knowledge too, an inner knowledge and I must learn to trust that inner voice more.  I can heal, and most likely I can heal without the physical therapy....I need to think about it a little more, but this is what's on my mind right now...

After weeks of rehab I was able to jog 20 minutes

I realize that this isn't necessarily earth-shattering news, but yesterday I ran for 20 minutes!  After going to physical therapy since early July I was thrilled to start to return to a normal activity.  I have to be honest, I've gained about 8 lbs. (mostly from vacation and not really being cognizant of my goals--ie. blatant pigging out), and I was concerned that my cardio level had dipped to a level that would limit my ability to sustain a run of more than a few minutes. 

My doting hubby (who I previously disparaged as potentially 'leaving me in the dust' at least as far as athletic events go) went with me and set a slow, steady pace, plus we had a great conversation.  Anytime we can talk on a run really boosts our ability  to complete said run.  Okay, who am I kidding?  It was by no stretch of the imagination a 'run', it was definitely a slow jog. 

My point is, I did it!  And I'm hoping for a repeat performance today and a few times over the next week. 

Next goal:  resuming the bike.  Once I'm biking comfortably, Leah (my rocking P.T.) will allow me to go to my beloved Spin Class again!  Then I'll really be back in the saddle again!