Wii Fit Plus

Have you ever tried Wii Fit Plus? I played it today at a family bar-b-que - what a blast. It was a crack up to see grown adults try to fly like a bird, march in a band or ski off a jump. Great exercise too! I think I'm going to have to get one of these.

Universal Studios

Well! There is no better exercise that taking a 9 year old to Universal Studios for 12 hours!!!!! A wonderful day with Makayla!!!! I also feel wonderful now! Hmmmm......

A day of Epiphanies!

Yesterday was a day of feeling stuck, slumping around, sleeping, feeling depressed and hopeless and not feeling supported after someone commented that I was a quitter because of what I wrote a couple of days ago.

Today was a day of epiphanies! Yay! Today was also a crossroads in my journey. Yesterday, I literally wanted to quit forever, especially after hearing that I was a quitter from one person. Don’t worry – I am choosing the path of success, love, and freedom not the path of oppression! Today I realized that I have set all this into place – the blog; Kwentin, the counselor; the multiple planned visits to the Biggest Loser Resort; Marc and Janice, the trainers; the meditations; the books I have been reading; the Prosperity Princesses meetings; the gratitude journal; the gofitwear band; the food journaling and all the other things I have been doing along my journey so that when I got to this VERY point I would have support. Geez it sounds like the plot to a soap opera or at least a good book! Hmmmmm….. This is the point that I have been at so many times before in the last 10 -15 years in which I would just say forget it – I quit - and then go on a month or two or three of eating bad, feeling bad and not exercising at all. Taking all that had accomplished and reversing it back to the beginning or worse – gaining more and more weight – a horrible vicious unproductive cycle.

It is funny how things seem to all happen at the same time and for a reason. Today was one of those days. Thank you God and the Universe!

This morning when I went to my workout, Marc told me after he gets married in two weeks we will only be working out once a week. I sat there with fear in my heart that I was going to be abandoned. Don’t get me wrong, I am so happy for him and his fiancé. But, again ‘What about me and my needs?” I thought when he told me this. But, then we went over my 5 year, 1 year, 6 month and 3 month goals – like wearing a size 8-10 in five years (not to say I won’t get there before that), perhaps becoming a personal trainer/life coach once I meet my goal (that I would really love to do!), and some of my fitness goals – like skiing again or learning to snowboard, waterskiing again, doing the Mud Run again, doing some 5 and/or 10 Ks, getting back into spinning, doing a Zumba class, etc. Just sitting and TALKING about it made me feel SO much better about my journey!

Then my friend Cathi, the one I did the Mud Run with, texted me out of the blue and we had a whole text discussion (I know why not talk on the phone! She was in a meeting. LOL) about eating right, not saying anything is off limits – just have smaller portion, and that it is a lifestyle not a diet. She even admitted that she has “just recently gotten a handle on it” – and she has done several triathlons. Talking with her made me feel SO much better - like I CAN do this!

Then I had my session with Kwentin, the counselor from the Biggest Loser Resort, and we talked about my resistance to feeling my feelings and how for the last couple of days I was in a slump. We figured out that I was rebelling and some of the reasons for my emotions. And, how I don’t really want to face some of my emotions. He pointed out would I rather be unhappy and not express my emotions or unhappy and face and express my emotions? That was a huge epiphany to me. We discussed what is rebellion? We went through my feelings when have rebelled I the past and what the worst possible outcomes could be if I made a rebellious choice. Like deciding to eat and drink too much and then feeling crapping or doing something stupid and so on and so on. Not a pretty sight! And not very becoming! Then he asked how does that make me feel and I thought about and it seemed so stupid to do something that would have a bad outcome. Why can’t the person with the MBA figure this out on her own? LOL! Anyway, what does rebellion mean – It means “opposition to one in authority or dominance.” Some of the synonyms for rebel are “fight back”, “go up against”, and “revolt.” Then he asked me who I am rebelling against? Who am I fighting with? Myself?! Argh! Oh my goodness! Epiphany! Why would I rebel against myself? That makes no sense at all. And, now my homework is to Write My Declaration of Independence. I am feeling like this is all going to turn out so GREAT! Whew - that was a lot of writing and a lot of emotion. I feel better now!

"Focus more on your desire than on your doubt, and the dream will take care of itself. You may be surprised at how easily this happens. Your doubts are not as powerful as your desires, unless you make them so."Marcia Wieder Author and Speaker

Hmmmmmmmmmmm.............I guess I need to focus on my desires, not my doubts. I am re-grouping - or at least trying to!

Only 18 days until I go back to the Biggest Loser Resort

Oh dear! And, of course, I am in a spot. A spot of fear - I think. I'm not sure but today, yesterday and Sunday I was just not into trying to be Mindful. After all that talk about being Mindful! Maybe I am rebelling - or sabotaging myself again. I don't know what it is. It is probably because I thought I'd be further along. I just feel like I keep taking one step forward and 1.1 steps back – like I’m just not making any progress at all. I don't know. I went to Pilates yesterday, and worked out and went to my dance lesson today, but I'm just not in to it now. I even took of my gofitwear band yesterday and haven't put it back on. Maybe I just need a little break. But, I am worried about getting my butt kicked at the Biggest Loser Resort. Well, maybe I picked the perfect time to go back - when I am tired and ready to just quit. Please don’t judge me for my setback. But, if anyone has any words of wisdom at all – I would gladly love to hear them. Hopefully, tomorrow will be better. Maybe there is some weird astrological thing going on again. Who knows – YEAH – hopefully that is it!

Golf and Beach Walk

Yesterday I played 18 holes of golf. Michele and I walked the first nine, but then we were so hot and so tired we wimped out and got a cart for the last nine. I stilled burned 1220 calories during the golf game. I even got a birdie! For the non-golfers that means I scored below par by one on one hole. My plan is to golf at least twice a month, hopefully more. It is such a great calorie burner, plus it is tons of fun. Watch out Tiger Woods! LOL! Then this morning Michele and I went on a great walk along the beach in San Clemente - it was just perfect - burning 590 calories. I really love my gofitwear monitor!

I've really been thinking a lot about being Mindful, instead of Mindless about what I eat and how I feel. So, my I have been working overtime in figuring out how I feel when I want to eat or drink. And, I am getting better at listening to my body and my emotions. Exciting stuff. I think this it the breakthrough that is going to change the way I look at food forever. YAY!

Cleanse

Today is the last day of my cleanse. Oh boy! There were powders and pills to take eight times a day. I felt a little sick and headachy today. Maybe the toxins are now getting out of my body. I think it is a good thing to do. I really makes you think about what you are eating and how good or bad it is for you. This morning was a great workout with weights - I am sore now. And, Steve and I just finished our dance lesson a bit ago, plus I did some more gardening early this morning. So, all and all a pretty active day and a good day food wise too. Tomorrow I am playing golf in the afternoon with my good friend Michele - and we are walking the course. So, that ought to be a lot of calories burned. Looking forward to feeling great after the cleanse tomorrow!

Boundaries

I had a great Breaking through Barriers conference call tonight. We talked about boundaries - boundaries in work, in relationships, with exercise, with food, with rest, in many areas of life. Do you have a challenge with boundaries? Do you say yes when someone asks you to do something at work that is above and beyond and then feel stressed out? Do you say yes to the friend that always wants to go eat bad food and drink? Do you give in when your husband wants spaghetti for dinner instead of fish? Do you put off exercise because you have to do something else for someone else? These are all boundary issues. And, boy do I have a lot of issues in this area! Figures! I always say I have integrity to others, but not to myself. But, that is changing and it is changing NOW! And, this is why – when you have boundaries that are too diffuse or too rigid you are doing yourself a disservice. We talked tonight about how to maintain healthy boundaries. The key being to make a decision and stick to it. So, for example when my friend wants to go out to eat and drink. I can decide that I am going to not go at all (too rigid of a boundary) or I could decide I am going to just go eat nachos and drink this one time before I start again on my diet tomorrow (too diffuse of a boundary). Instead what I could do and will do from now on is CHOOSE to have the healthiest option that I like at the restaurant and one glass of wine. Instead of the old all or nothing scenario I am so familiar with. This new practice should work well. It is so basic – but sometimes it is the most basic things that we don’t figure out for awhile, right?

Gardening and a Recipe

Gardening was the theme of the morning. I know I should have been working. Instead I gardened until about 10 a.m. – picking tons of onions, and tomatoes, and a few red peppers, jalapenos, green chilis, and brussel sprouts. Plus, I planted another zucchini plant – the first ones I planted died for some reason - and another type of squash plant. I am telling you gardening is intense exercise. I just love it! Now half of my garden is weed free and looking good. I still need to work on the other half. I don’t know where all these darn weeds come from!

I used some onion in the dinner I made tonight – Spinach Feta Rice. Nummy! The recipe is below. Since I am doing the cleanse I decided to stay away from heavy meats and proteins for the next three days.

Spinach Feta Rice

1 cup white rice (I used brown to make it healthier)
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup water
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon dried oregano
6 cups spinach, fresh
4 ounces feta cheese

Combine the rice, broth and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. (I cooked the brown rice in my rice cooker for 55 minutes.) Cook onion, mushrooms, and garlic in a large skillet. I used a little olive oil. Add mushroom mixture, lemon juice oregano, spinach and cheese to hot cooked rice. Toss lightly until spinach is wilted.

Makes 6 servings.
195 calories each serving

‎"When you hold resentment toward another, you are bound to that person or condition by an emotional link that is stronger than steel. Forgiveness is only way to dissolve that link and break free." -- Catherine Ponder

I thought this quote was appropriate for me since I am learning to work through my emotions.

The animal healing class was wonderful. I learned have an even greater connection to animals that I did before. And, those of you that know me know I am a real animal lover. I think I will really be able to use that I learned my make my pets happier and help other pets and animals. If you are an animal lover or have a pet I would highly recommend this class.

Four weeks until I go back to the Biggest Loser Resort again. Oh boy! I feel like I have back tracked a lot. I’m looking at experiencing my emotions instead of stuffing them with food and drink. It is an interesting, yet difficult process. I guess I really do just ignore most of my unpleasant emotions, masking them with a happy face, a bowl of spaghetti and a glass or two of wine. The challenging part will be experiencing my emotions and then working through them, rather than stuffing them. This should help unleash my weight release progress. I am reading this book called the Anatomy of Peace, that is really helping me understand some of my emotions, and feeling and how to work with them, and the other people involved. Great book – I highly recommend it.

Tomorrow I start on my three day intensive cleanse. Oh boy! This should be interesting. I am probably so toxic since I have been off track on my healthy eating for a couple of weeks now. I’ll let you know how it goes. I haven’t decided if I am going to only drink juice, or eat only veggies and fruit, or just eat a healthy diet. According to the instructions you can eat what you want, but it would probably be more effective drinking juice or eating only veggies and fruit.

Animal Healing Class

Today I finished an awesome Animal Healing Class. And, now I am also a level one Reiki healer. Woo Hoo! Well, I took the first part of Reiki Healing. So, awesome. I will tell you more tomorrow. Awesome!

Animal Healing Class

Today I attended the first day of a two-day Animal Healing Class. How appropriate after finding the hummingbird yesterday. I will report more tomorrow after the I complete the entire class.

Hummingbird rescue, a movie and some jewelery

Yesterday I found a baby hummingbird on my back patio. It had fallen out of it's nest. I was so worried about it all day yesterday. I kept checking to see if it 's mother was feeding it, and finally I saw her actually feed it. I was so relieved. It appeared that it's brother or sister died in some sort of attack or something from another bird. Today I took the poor dead bird down and buried it. Makayla and I made it a little grave. Then we took our little friend and put a stick near it's little feet. It grasped onto the stick and we gently lifted it up to it's nest again. It sat in it's nest. We waited awhile, and thank goodness the mother found it in the nest again, and fed it again. Below is a photo of my little friend in it's nest. Then we made a padded area below the nest in case it falls out again. So, I am hoping that soon my little friend will fly away and I will see it in my garden.  Before the rescue, Makayla and I went to the movies. That was about all my exercise for the day. And, of course two walks for my Cleo. Tonight I went to see and buy some fabulous Silpada jewelery from my friend Yvette. So, all and all today was a great day!

Women, Food and God

Great book! I have been reading this book, along with about four other ones, and I am really getting a lot out of what it says. It is amazing it seems like the author is speaking directly to me. Now that is a good book!

This morning I had a kick butt boxing workout and then dancing tonight. I am back on track. But, I sure am seeing a pattern, which I am going to change. I my Breaking Through Barriers conference call last night we discussed many things - a couple I am gong to share now. One is pretty obvious and I know it is true - Exercising in the morning is a catalyst to a good day. And, I do know that. I just need to do it everyday - even if only for 30 minutes. The second thing is don't beat yourself up for the past - for example if you don't work out one day, don't not eat well because you didn't work out. And, on the other hand if you ate bad in the morning, don't not workout. Don't have an all or nothing attitude. It is a lifestyle and you won't always to everything perfect, but just keep going. You have control of what you do NOW in this moment!

From Deepak Chopra's website

From: http://www.chopra.com/dailydevotionThe Law of Least Effort

The Law of Least Effort: Nature's intelligence functions with effortless ease, with carefreeness, harmony, and love. And when we harness the forces of harmony, joy, and love, we create success and good fortune with effortless ease.

I will put the Law of Least Effort into effect by making a commitment to take the following steps:

1. I will practice acceptance. Today I will accept people, situations, circumstances, and events as they occur. I will know that this moment is as it should be, because the whole universe is as it should be. I will not struggle against the whole universe by struggling against this moment. My acceptance is total and complete. I accept things as they are this moment, not as I wish they were.
2. Having accepted things as they are, I will take responsibility for my situation and for all those events I see as problems. I know that taking responsibility means not blaming anyone or anything for my situation (and this includes myself.) I also know that every problem is an opportunity in disguise, and this alertness to opportunities allows me to take this moment and transform it into a greater benefit.
3. Today my awareness will remain established in Defenselessness. I will relinquish the need to defend my point of view. I will feel no need to defend my point of view. I will feel no need to convince or persuade others to accept my point of view. I will remain open to all points of view and not be rigidly attached to any one of them.

Some words to live by!

Tip from the website Edible Godess

Goddess Beauty Tip ~ Envision your body exactly as you want it. Use your mind to manifest all that you want for yourself. It can be done, you must commit, and see yourself as you want to be!

Hmmmmm....something to add to my Delegations!

Change is inevitable...flexibility is key

My friend, Laurie, my walking buddy, who I was walking with quite consistently, is moving to Utah. How could she do this to me? No really - I am very happy for her. Tonight I went to dinner with her…for the last time for awhile anyway. She is starting a new life there with a great man. But, boy I am going to miss her! I need a new walking partner. I hiked last weekend with my friend Kimiko. But, she is only available on weekends. So, at least that is one or two days a week of walking. Hiking with her is going to be awesome, but I need more hikes. I found a group called “Women who Love Life” on www.meetup.com. Well, actually my husband found them for me. I think he was afraid he would have to walk with me. God forbid! LOL! I will leave him to his racquetball (sp?) games. I am hoping this new group will be my new walking buddies…okay I guess I am going to have to step it up and go hiking. That is what I need - so this will be good. So, soon I will call myself a hiker. Okay, maybe not so soon. But, I will be out there walking up steep trails burning tons of calories. Change is inevitable…..flexibility is key! Right?

Not too bad for a Sunday

My day consisted of doing a little laundry, doing a little work, taking Cleo on two walks and getting a massage. Not to bad for a Sunday!

Potato Mountain kicked my butt

I hiked a trail called Potato Mountain this morning instead of the Wilderness Trail. When my friend, Kimiko, and I arrived at the Wilderness Trail there were so many cars and people it was like trying to get into Disneyland. So, she suggested we go to another less popular trail. I was glad - I really didn't want to run in to any snakes. LOL! So, we drove up the road to Mt. Baldy - yes up that way! We pulled off to the side of the road and there was the gate to the trail. So, we started on the trail and for awhile it was okay. Then the trail got steeper and steeper and steeper until it was so steep, for me anyway, that I had to keep stopping to catch my breath. We decided we would go to the fork in the road and then start back down. Evidently this trail goes even higher and steeper past the fork. Kimiko kept telling me that the fork was right around the next bend. This started to elicit memories of the Mud Run when the Marines were telling me you are almost there when I knew I had only gone a couple of miles or so. Lies – all Lies! It was probably another 45 minutes past the first time she told me this. When we got to the fork you could see the whole valley. Kimiko said that on a clear day you can see Catalina Island. It was a beautiful trail with many trees and flowers, and bugs. Yes bugs – lots of bugs including many bees. Those who don’t like bees beware. Apparently there is a bee hive at the top of the hill that produces honey for sale. All in all it was a great morning - albeit all my suffering and complaining. And, we plan to do another hike next Saturday. I realized this morning I really need to get back to hiking/walking if I am going to make it through another week at the Biggest Loser Resort. The best part was that I burned 850 calories during the hike! YAY!

Wilderness Trail Tomorrow..........

Finally.....I am going to hike the Wilderness Trail in Claremont. I am excited and a little apprehensive. Not so much because of the hiking, but because of snakes. I was at Trade Joe's this evening when I ran into my old Pilates instructor, Joni, and we started talking about hiking. She told me she was hiking near the same area today and she encountered many snakes. Not liking that so much! She said to go early. I hope 8 a.m. is early enough! Yikkkesss... What is life without a little adventure...oh I hope not! I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow.

Recipe of the Day

Here is a great recipe I made for dinner tonight. I made the homemade pico de gallo salsa from fresh tomatoes, onions, limes and jalapeno chilis from my garden. I bought the cilantro, garlic and green chiles though. It was nummy. You could use store bought salsa, like La Mexicana brand - an excellent salsa, made by my friend Dora's company.

Turkey Burrito (510 calories)
1 tortilla, whole wheat
1T. sour cream
3 oz. ground turkey, lean
1/4 c. pico del gallo salsa
1/4 c. black beans
1/4 c. low fat cheddar cheese

Enjoy!

Breaking Through Barriers - Feelings

Tonight in the Breaking Through Barriers class we talked about feelings and emotions - how they can impact eating. No Duh!!! Emotional eating is often times the avoidance of unpleasant, uncomfortable or bad feelings. Boy do I know that! Sometimes people overeat for celebration, but usually those that are emotional eaters eat because of "trigger feelings" they experience. Tonight they said to experience the feeling, and then learn from it, instead of stuffing it down with food and drink. What a concept! Boy, this made me feel quite uncomfortable, yet hopeful, because I know that is probably 99% of my problem. I eat and drink mostly when I am sad, frustrated, angry, resentful, and also when I feel stuck or even when I feel bored. They said we should experience our emotions in a mature adult way and that emotions are really a call to action. Stuffing them away just makes them keep coming back to the surface. If the way you deal with unpleasant, uncomfortable emotions is eating, you will keep eating, and eating, and eating, until you determine how to learn from them and let them go. What a challenge this will be for the girl who holds on to certain hurtful, uncomfortable emotions like they are a life preserver. Oh my goodness! But, this is good. This should help me retrain myself to understand my emotions instead of stuffing them. This will take some effort and practice, but this, I believe, will be the key to setting me free from this viscous circle of yo-yo dieting, and binging. For the emotion of boredom they suggested finding activities that can take the place of boredom by making a list of things that you think are stimulating and exhilerating and when you feel bored do one of those things instead of eating and drinking. Sounds like a plan to me.

Walks, more walks and a cleanse

I am now taking my Cleo for two walks a day. I think she needs the exercise. I suppose I do too! LOL! I made some great wild salmon with lemon and lemon pepper, organic broccoli, and brown rice with red peppers (not organic, I know - bad, but everything else in the meal was organic) sautéed in a little olive oil, a few sliced almonds and some feta cheese to top of the rice, for dinner. Nummy! And, good for me too! I have to admit that I didn't not do my weight workout this morning - hold on before you go oh no not again - I did go to the gym and do cardio rocking out to my iPod! So, I did exercise.


I have ordered a three day cleanse from www.healthforce.com. They have some awesome products - greens and other great super foods. They also have a great online education series. I have felt lethargic, tired, and a little out of it lately. I received an email about an online seminar about cleanses and it seemed like something that would benefit me now. So, we shall see. And, I know from all my other posts that if you aren't eating organic all the time and you are eating processed foods you are taking in a ton of pesticides and other crap that isn't so good for the body. I have to admit that although I do eat from my garden and buy organic, I do still succumb to buying processed foods, eating out and just not always eating healthy food. Hey, if I was eating super clean I'd be releasing weight faster, right? So, I thought this might help get my body to a point where it would crave the clean food rather than the pasta, ice cream, nachos and tacos from the Mexican restaurant loaded with who knows what kind of fat. Boy, just writing that makes me think YUCK, YUCK, YUCK to food filled with crap, pesticides and other things that I can't even pronounce. It can't be good for us. Something to think about.

Got my plan down for the week....

Tomorrow I do weights and Thursday it's weights, and 30 minutes of cardio. Wednesday and Friday it's 60 minutes of cardio, either at the gym, walking Euclid or either a spinning, or Zumba class. I'll keep you posted!

Planning Workouts

I am working on a plan for next week. I am completely on my own for exercise - no trainer or Pilates this week. I know poor me! LOL! So, I am working on that to make sure I keep up my momentum. And, my walking partner is moving to Utah. What is a girl to do. I guess just get out there and do it myself!

Day 183 - Insights into the first six months of my journey

As I sat down to write this, I realized that today is day 183 - or the half way point of my year of blogging my way to my ideal weight and fitness. I can't believe I have been on this journey for that many days - sure I missed blogging a couple of days here and there - probably about 10 or so total. But, most days I have posted - whether my post be long or short, funny or frustrating, informative or silly, upsetting or motivating - I have stuck with it. Not too bad! As I sit here with the 4th of July weekend in front of me and many, many blog posts behind me, I am thinking what have I learned so far on this journey? Maybe I haven’t lost as many pounds as I would have liked in the last six months, but I have lost weight and become more fit, and I have learned A LOT! I have learned and done many things in the last six months – I have worked out A LOT, walked many miles (I wonder just how many?), boxed, written many words, golfed (not so well, but I love it!), done Pilates, gardened (picked and ate many gorgeous vegetables), manifested many fabulous things in my life, read many wonderful insightful books, learned to dance the Rumba, the Cha Cha, the Foxtrot, the Meringue, and the Swing, ran (okay jogged), planned many meals, binged (I have to admit to that one. I am working on that!), quoted many fabulous people, learned Atlantean Healing (very interesting stuff), listened WAY too many times to that stupid little drunk monkey on my shoulder (no not a real one – the one that tells you to do things you shouldn’t do), learned the difference between (okay I am still learning) actual vs. emotional hunger, liberated my feelings (well, some of them anyway. I am still working on that too.), learned that our thoughts become our actions and things in our lives, ran (OKAY , OKAY…I walked most of the way) in the mud for 6.2 miles at the Camp Pendleton Mud Run, spent a week at the Biggest Loser Fitness Resort exercising 7 hours a day (yep - 7 hours a day!), and most of all I have gotten to know myself better. It has been a process and I really thought I knew myself pretty well – I’m going to be fifty for goodness sake – but I have learned so much more about myself in these last six months. Most of all I have learned that I still have a lot of growing and learning to do – and that life is a journey of growing and developing, changing and shifting, and learning and gaining insight. The biggest thing that I have discovered on this journey so far is that when I achieve my weight and fitness goal I would like to help others complete theirs. I guess that is the teacher in me. I think that will probably be one of the most fulfilling parts of this adventure for me besides being at my goal weight and in awesome shape. So, I am looking forward with great promise to releasing more pounds in the next six months and enjoying this fabulous journey that I am on. Have a safe and wonderful 4th of July!

Great Boxing Workout This Morning

And, shopping at Costco sure does use up a lot of steps!