Category: Uncategorized

It’s scary till you do it.

TheBossOfBalanceLeave a comment

“A life lived in fear, is a life half-lived” A great line, taken from “Strictly Ballroom” which is my favourite movie, ever.

I could be talking about several different things. I purposely write in the most vague way possible to allow for my readers to apply it to whatever they feel strongest about at the moment of reading my post.  In this way it allows you to read into it what you wish.

So for today, It’s only scary till you (fill in your blank) For me, it’s scary to walk/run a 5K. After you have, you know what to expect and how hard it will be and what the challenges and wins are. I myself have not run a 5K yet, I am training for it now. Tomorrow, when I do my work out, in the preparing stage, I will be running for a minute and then walking for one minute. I have done this intermittently but not at a full stretch before. In order to ready myself for this Saturday’s 5K experience (slow jog for the first half and then walk for the second half) this is what I must do. In thinking about that, I realize that at one point or another, everything that I have done that filled me with fear, I somehow “felt the fear, and did it anyway” and after it was done, it wasn’t so scary. A few examples include:

1. Moving from New Orleans to Austin.

2. Changing my major from business to drama

3. Changing my lifestyle to paleo.

So far, these things have all been hard but worthwhile. I am finding that to be true about exercise as well.

Try, Try Again.

TheBossOfBalanceLeave a comment

So this morning, I woke at 4:30 (without an alarm, mind you) and still decided to snooze. Mistake #1. I still got up though and headed to the treadmill and did the walking 30 seconds, running 30 seconds thing going pretty well, feeling pretty energetic even though listening to the Beatles, “Carry that Weight” has never been more depressing.. but I digress.. At about the 20 minute mark, I accidentally pulled the emergency switch.. Swearing to myself, I got the treadmill going again and got my momentum back and kept going until I got to 45 and then pulled it again. UGH! This time I was defeated and said to myself, You know what, I am going to take that as a sign that my workout is over. I got off the treadmill and weighed myself. 247. Yesterday it was 246 so I am a little down about that today but I take solace in the fact that I did get up to workout and then DID NOT go back to sleep, despite how badly I wanted to do so.

But, onward and upward, I have 12 pounds to go to make my goal weight, I CAN DO IT!!!

I am headed to work now to start my day and trying hard not to beat myself up. I know its only 15 minutes but I think it will make it that much harder to get back up to an hour again on Friday. I try to be positive as much as I can, but the truth is, sometimes a situation just sucks and all you can do is rise above it. I felt like it was important to report the setbacks as much as the successes. It’s a all a part of the goal and I think sometimes we get so caught up in the success piece we forget there is pain and frustration. So I hope this helps inspire you to keep going with your goal.

Think about it!

4:30 a.m.- The hardest thing I did today was not hit the snooze button

TheBossOfBalance2 Comments

So this morning, I woke up to my alarm at 4:30 so I could get up and jog/walk on my treadmill. This is not easy and it is not fun.

However, if I am going to continue to lose weight to get down to my goal weight, I have to keep it up.

I have grown to really love my ipod nano (my husband got it for me last year for Christmas) in aid of helping me work out. I used it sparingly and this morning I was really grateful for the fact that I had it to use while jogging 30 seconds, walking 30 seconds. Let me say that again, I ran 30 seconds and walked 30 seconds. I was very grateful that I have the soundtrack to “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert” on my ipod to run/walk to… There is nothing like disco to get the heart pumping.

I did intervals, a new term I am learning thanks to my coach Cole Butler and the online program

http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

I will say the intervals make it easier for the time to go by but its no less hard. However, I have to compare it to something Jon Acuff said.
When someone questions what you are doing or attempting to do: “Have you ever run a 5K, Jennifer?”

Answer with a smile and say something like this, “No, but I am about to.” Added silently. “Watch me!”

So while I am tired, I am far more alert than I would have been if I had not worked out today and am eager to start the day.

It helps that I lost 2 more pounds (13 to go!!!) but I would not be deterred if I had not, because this is not a diet, this is a lifestyle choice to be healthier. I have said that before but not really meant it. This time I do.

one workout, one step, one pound

TheBossOfBalance1 Comment

Happy New Year Everyone! I think that as a culture we focus way too much on New Year’s resolutions. I gave a speech last year that focused heavily on “new month” resolutions but I think that it is far more important to make life resolutions. Here are mine

1. Speak with an honest heart and an intent to help

2. Value and cherish my body

3. Realize that everyone makes mistakes and everyone is struggling so to always be kind

4. Really enjoy the moments of life and don’t “wait” to do something or “save” an outfit for a special occasion.

Case in point, I worked out today and while it was difficult and unpleasant it yielded the loss of one pound. I could get discouraged by that but I am not. I am working hard to lose the last 15 pound to make it to my goal in 18 days of 235 pounds. The good thing about that is that once I have accomplished it, I will know that I can and will eventually get down to 175 which is my ideal (medically stated for my height and weight) 

It takes one step at a time, one mile at a time and it’s all working towards the goal of better health in the years to come so the baby steps I take today ( pun intended) will lead me to a longer, healthier life where I don’t get out of breath running up a flight of stairs and I can and will run a 5K. I am not there yet, ( on the slow jog part, but I will get there ).

What have you always wanted to do but haven’t done yet? What steps are you taking to get there?

It’s all in the numbers… really

TheBossOfBalanceLeave a comment

So if you read my blog faithfully, you know numbers and I share a fractious relationship. I have been working actively to make this relationship better. I think I may have finally hit on something “numbers” and I can agree on. Ready?

Here are some numbers to think about. Most of them make me smile.

13- The first time I thought about being fat

19- My first grown up job

24- The winter I went to Italy and discovered I love the water and getting lost in the streets

31-  The year I met the love of my life

36- The year I decided to start loving my body

It’s a measurement, and its a guidepost on your way to a goal. For example. Last week I weighted 253 pounds, Today, after exercise and diet, I weigh 251 pounds. So, somewhere in that time, I burned 7000 calories to lose 2 pounds. I am pausing here to celebrate that I lost two pounds and didn’t gain any weight.

Now, I have a glamorous photo shoot planned in 21 days to commemorate the occasion of my 37th birthday and a major shift in my attitude towards my body. I love my body and do not intend to abuse it any more but rather give it a constant source of love and respect and doing my best block out the voices that tell me I am a fat girl. I am not a fat girl and am getting healthier and loving my body more and more every day. The photo shoot idea came from having more confidence in myself and loving my body enough to say, yes, let’s honor the beauty and physical attractiveness that you are. The 1940s pinups are my favourite and reaching back to a bygone era when women wore hats (love you Grandma) and really embraced being women seems like a great way to celebrate this new found love.

See here for more details as a picture is worth a 1000 words… http://www.lonestarpinup.com/gallery.html

I hope to celebrate a weight loss of 75 pounds in one year. I have not gotten there yet, I have 20 days to go. I plan to continue eating the healthy paleo diet and exercising a hour three times a week to get to my interim goal of 235 pounds. I have 16 pounds to lose and plan to document my progress and am going to work like the dickens to get there but even if I don’t, I will have gotten closer just by trying.

Think about it.

Ask for what you really want.. The answer might surprise you.

TheBossOfBalanceLeave a comment

So the other day as I was figuring out the best way to tell my husband that I didn’t want to do something. I considered all the different ways there are to approaching a situation that is unpleasant. Until recently, my favourite and ultimately unhelpful way is to avoid it or hem and haw and avoid the situation as long as possible until you just get pushed into a place where you have to do just blurt it out.

As a frequently loquacious person this bothers me because that approach allows no positioning, no prefacing, and no careful phrasing. I feel a lot like Hamlet(ta) sometimes as I posture and dance and think and vacillate back and forth. But recently, in telling my husband something I was sure he would be angry about, he took it in stride, and it reminded me of how much I am blessed to have married someone who A) knows me well enough to know what I will likely do and say B) Is kind and loving and ultimately very understanding.

So what is my point? Well, its simply this. If you don’t ask for what you want, you will never get it, but if you ask, you just might.

Think about it!

 

 

http://www.aterriblehusband.com/

You may not want to, but you must!

TheBossOfBalance1 Comment

The other night my husband said, “I am tired. Let’s do the dishes tomorrow” and I said, “Yeah, Tomorrow sounds good.”

He quirked one eyebrow at me and said, “you know if we do it together, it will take less time and we can just knock it out.” I said, “Yeah, you are right.” and begrudgingly we both headed to the kitchen determined to be “grown up” and “get it done”. I had been dreading it which is why I was procrastinating all night but you know what, it took less than 10 minutes when all was said and done.

This made me realize something. Doing the dishes is not hard, doing the dishes when you don’t feel like it, cleaning when you don’t feel like it, and paying bills when you don’t feel like it is the definition of maturity. So despite my childish glee over foamy soap (every time, people!) and Rock Star parking, and anything Muppet related, somewhere along the way I started being responsible and its become a habit. I remember fantasizing about how wonderful it would be to be an adult and have unlimited amounts of Swiss Rolls and stay up with NO ONE telling me what to do.

Well, it turns out that being an adult is a lot of fun (more freedom, but also more bills and jobs and responsibilities) but you have to live with the choice of staying up all night (not being productive the next day) or eating all the Swiss Rolls you want (stomach pains and weight gain) so like so many things, you can do whatever you want, but you must face the consequences. Truly it brings to mind something that Joan Ellen, the mother of my heart always says, “You may not want to, but you must”

Think about it!

Taking the Sting out of the past…

TheBossOfBalanceLeave a comment

HomecomingHomeaway

I have long had a habit of taking things that are unpleasant and finding ways to reclaim them in a positive light.

High school was no picnic for me. But tonight, as my company celebrates all things “high school and homecoming” I take it back as my own. Now, nearly 20 years later, I am married to the love of my life and will be so proud and excited to walk into “the dance” with my husband. Tonight I will be Lorraine Baines, Diane Court, and Eliza Doolittle all rolled into one. All my high school dreams and fantasies come true but it’s going to be better, because it’s not accompanied by all that angst about if the guy I like really likes me. I already know!

What negative can YOU turn into a positive? Think about it!

Biting off more than you can chew…..

TheBossOfBalanceLeave a comment

Biting off more than you can chew.....

Okay readers, so I have a confession. Sometimes I get SO excited about what I THINK I can do, I forget to check out all the factors and then realize I have bitten off more than I can chew. If you are unfamiliar with the phrase, maybe a visual will help.

I signed up to do a 13 mile marathon at the end of March, on the strength of two slowly walked 5K’s three months apart. In talking to a few people (you know who you are) I realized this was not only ambitious, it bordered on dangerous. (with apologies to Mr. Izzard) “You’re British, so scale it down a bit”

It is embarrassing to admit this and have to walk back my goal, but here goes. I have signed up to RUN a 5K by mid March. Intermediate goals include, working out two – three times a week. Doing a slow jog for the first half of the 5K on 1/18/2014 and doing intermediate training with a personal trainer including using the tips from Couch to 5K.

I think its important to shoot for the moon and if you fall short of your goal, you wind up among the stars.. but never forget to pack your spacesuit or your oxygen.

I think sometimes in the rush to get things done, we forget that each goal we set has intermediate goals and its just as important to build a foundation of baby steps which then lead you to a larger milestone. If this is obvious to you, congratulations, you are ahead of me.
If it is not, then take a minute and look at that picture again.

Think about it….

I just registered for a 13 mile run…….. am I nuts??????

TheBossOfBalanceLeave a comment

I just registered for a 13 mile run........ am I nuts??????

Okay, so this picture is of me and some friends before I walked my first 5K. That was kind of a lark, I thought okay a 5K, I have never done one before and if I fall flat on my face… well I won’t post any pictures of that 🙂 That was six months ago and while I have enjoyed a great deal of weight loss and better health, I still have further to go with adding fitness to my diet.. so a friend of mine who is also a personal trainer, laid down the gauntlet and I picked it up.

I just registered to run a 13 mile course in 4 months. I have officially “thrown my cap over the wall” ((http://storiesforspeakers.blogspot.com/2010/09/flinging-your-hat-over-wall.html))

For those unfamiliar with me and my history, running has NEVER been part of it. Walking slowly, yes.. so deep breath and here I go…… I will be taking advice and pointers along the way and will be asking for help (so easy and fun for me, since I LOVE asking for help) (insert heavy sarcasm here…

oh and here is the place where I ask..
I just registered for a 13 mile run…….. am I nuts??????

If you are interested in joining me in this quest, I am running the “Biggest Loser Half Marathon”
http://www.biggestloserrunwalk.com/Austin_TX-Half-Marathon-5K-2014