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enjoying myself in the midstIt’s amazing how a little bit of sunshine can really awaken the soul and make one feel so good! This week I’m proud to report that I have done three 45 min workouts which included 30 mins cardio and 15 mins weights and abs!! I feel great…in fact I lost another two pounds so I’m down a total of 11!! Tried on a pair of favourite Victoria Secret button front jeans and they fit…okay…maybe not fit…but I could do them up. I’m going to wait a couple more weeks before wearing them out but I’m so happy I could at least squeeze into them (squeeze is the operative word here!) A couple of challenges this week. One was yesterday at a friend’s house who asked me over for lunch. I didn’t over-indulge, however although the food was awesome, it wasn’t South Beach fare. This Sunday I’m having a family dinner here for my son’s 17th birthday. He got to pick the menu ( veal parmesan, chicken pasta dish, garlic bread, salad, dinner preceded withhors d’oeuvres and completed with Dairy Queen Ice cream cake!) Yikes! I’ll stick to the veal and salad, maybe treat myself to a glass of wine. As for the ice cream cake, I probably shouldn’t but I know I’ll be tempted! Wish me luck!

Debby, CHFI listener and Health Challenge blogger

Last week I put on the dreaded bathing suit again and it is fitting a bit better.  This time I tried the aquafit class at the gym.  This instructor had us running up and down the length of the pool.  I never realized how difficult it is to actually run in the water.  We were lifting weights (I didn’t have any, so I just moved my arms and pretended I had weights in my hands) and moving our legs at the same time.  Then running the width of the pool and jumping jacks.  I must admit this is the only time that I like doing jumping jacks because my feet did not hurt.  I also enjoyed flutter kicks while holding on to the side of the pool.  The hour just flew by.  Who knew you could actually perspire while in water – and the water was cool when we first got in!  I will definitely be taking this class again.

Susan, CHFI Listener and Health Challenge Blogger

The sense of Everything Happens for a Reason is a great thing to hold in your head when bad things happen to good people. However, after 7 days of dealing with the bad things I have to report that I have not stayed as positive as I wanted to be.

Reporting the news to the my stepdad the person I admire and respect and love the most was painful. He was not angry with me, but disappointed. He was not judging, but worried for me. He worries for himself too,  since he has been my financial crutch through the last 5 years of my rebuilding.  Thankfully there are lots of jobs available today which does give me hope that I will have the job I need in April and not have to rely on him too long.

This takes a heavy toll in my heart, in my head. Its pride , its shame, its a desperate need to not have to lean on him again.

A friend contacted me on the weekend too, she needed to vent out some concerns she had about the investment she made in me to start me in Usana. I have had so much on my plate and I know that once people start seeing the results for me , they will naturally want to try Usana products too.  My friend loves me, she is scared too and wants success for me.

This added to the guilt, shame , pride issues that were already plaguing my subconscious thoughts.

The result of those two events created a zombie in me. I have been working hard on getting through the steps Brandon set out for me, but I knew I was not really feeling it. My nights were full of nightmares, bad dreams, cramps in my legs, barely sleeping at all. My days were dotted with naps lots of naps! Staying up too late, eating less, and then also allowing myself to comfort myself with a large plate of fries.

Somehow I lost myself over the last 5 days. I went to see Brandon last night and admitted my lack of focus, I am scattered at best.

He knows I am overwhelmed and I have been full of anxiety to get everything done quickly. This is manifesting itself in me physically. It was very interesting to see that I could not balance on one foot, because my core balance is off while I am in this state of anxiety!

So back to basics for me, I now have a journal beside my bed to write down my dreams, and anything that interrupts my sleep at night.

I need to cut 2 hours a day out of my life to focus on Networking and job search steps.

I need to get outside and go walking in a park for 20 minutes a day to refresh my soul.

I need to plan FUN days in order to balance out the stress I am dealing with!

Last night I used 2 Usana Pure Rest tablets before I went to be at 11. I actually slept through the night with the assistance of the melatonin!

Today my goal is no NAPS before 4 pm. I can’t let bad habits take over and gain control of me.

I am not perfect and I will not hide that from you my readers! But I will not let life take me out and you will see me get back up and keep fighting!

Brandon has a new website you should check out. http://www.knssconsulting.com/

Good luck this week everyone! Measurements and current weight to be taken Saturday, will post again after that. www.getthealthywithmichelle.com

Michelle, CHFI listener and health challenge blogger

Hellooo!! I’m back, my computer died and I finally have it back again.  Loosing the ability to use my computer bothered me very much , I found out how much of a couch potato I was when my computer was being fixed.  The weightloss, I admit it not going well at all, yep I lost almost 10lbs when I was sick a few weeks ago, but then becoming the couch potato for almost 3 wks, I saw that  loss disappear. 
I am heading to the Doc today, I need to refocus, I’ve got a  one day pass to a gym im thinking of joining since the one I want to go to is under revamping/construction.  I’m springing forward, new determination and hugging my computer! 

Ellen, CHFI listener and Health Challenge blogger

Well I had another good week.  I have been toileting training my 3 year old.  She woke up one morning and told me she wanted to wear panties!  I was so proud of her.  We have had a few accidents but other than that, she is doing great!  These little things your children do really make you so very proud of them.  I am happy to say that my daughter is very proud of her mommy too.  She has been telling me a lot lately that I am the best mommy in the whole world and my heart just swells!  I am so in love with my little girl that I want to do well for her!  I want to lose the weight for myself….but also for her!  I want her to be proud of her mommy later on in life too.  (I don’t want to be a “fat” mommy all of her life)  I am hoping to take her to Disney World in the next 3 or 4 years.  I would like to be able to walk the park and not be exhausted because of my weight.  I can be exhausted because of all the walking and all the fun we have, but not because of my weight. 

I have been keeping up with the other health bloggers, and just wanted them to know that I think they are all doing GREAT!  They should all be proud of what they have done so far, even if it is just the fact that they are writing their blog each week!

Here is to another good week! 

Tracy,  CHFI listener and Health Challenge blogger

Well, another week has come and gone and progress is coming…although slowly. My weight stayed exactly the same this week.  I am still nine pounds down, however, I am fitting into many pieces of clothing that I haven’t been able to wear in a long time! Somehow the psychological aspect of seeing the weight go down on the scale is inspirational and motivational, so this week when it remained steady, I felt disappointed. On the other hand, I feel much better about my self-image and I’m having fun wearing “new” outfits to work…so really I should be happy with myself! I am still following the South Beach diet…phase 2 which is a little more forgiving! I can eat fruits agaiin and wholesome carbs ( brown rice, whole wheat pasta, etc) I can even have an occasional glass of wine. Of course during this phase of the program, the weight loss is supposed to slow down to 1 or 2 pounds per week. I think I should of followed Michelle’s lead and taken my measurements as well… a more telling story I think! Anyway…wish me well as I continue my journey to become the buff bride!

I attended my first Ball Fusion class on Saturday.  Wow, talk about a good workout!  What is Ball Fusion you ask?  We use the stability ball (you know those big huge bouncy balls you see at the gym) with other pieces of gym equipment (like hand weights) to make sure all major muscle groups are targeted.  First, for the warm-up, we started by jogging in place and bouncing the ball with alternate hands (need coordination for this), then we sat on the ball while using the hand weights for bicep and triceps work (need balance for this) then we were lying on the floor and using the ball to work the abs.  This is a simplified version of the workout but you get the idea.  I have discovered that under the layer of fat around my middle I actually have abdominal muscles, which I felt for 2 days. 

I went early to the class, introduced myself to the instructor and asked if this would be a good class for a new person just starting to exercise.  Tracey is a wonderful instructor, who took the time to explain the different positions and weights for different fitness levels – I am a beginner.  I really enjoyed the class and will attend again this coming Saturday.  You never know what other muscles I will discover!

Susan, CHFI Listener and Health Challenge Blogger

Life delivers messages to us all the time.  People come into our lives to teach us lessons.  Some of those lessons are hard to understand when you are standing in the fire feeling burnt. That is the moment that we make a choice. We can fall apart  and allow internal negative voices to have power. You know the ones, “you are so stupid, you are always screwing up, you are a loser, you don’t deserve happiness”.  We can wallow in self pity and use food as our best friend..the tub of haggen daz , the bag of cookies, the chips.. we know it will bring us the short term sense of warmth and comfort.

On Tuesday March 9,2010 I went to work with a smile on my face, feeling good about the day and what I would be doing.  I got a phone call from my manager to meet in human resources and my stomach dropped. I knew it was over. 6 months in a great company, 6 months of serious distractions for me due to fear for my daughters health.  There was no way to predict that my daughter would lose her ability to walk , no way to predict that I could not find doctors who could find an answer. No way to know that I would feel the devastation of not being able to help my child.

I lost my job, a few tears streamed down my face, i was stunned, but not overly surprised. I could not have given them my best, it was being provided to my child. I can’t take back the choices I made, and I wouldn’t have done it differently if I had it all to do again.

I have full respect for the company, truly a great place with great people. I have made wonderful friends and they will still be part of my life. This was a wonderful experience for me and I will never say a bad word about them.

So I have a choice to make.  I can wallow in self pity and drop off the planet for a while until my negative voices stop laughing at me.  This is not my choice!

I met with Brandon last night and he talked to me about living in the present and repackaging myself. It wasn’t easy to digest those messages while the evil voices were sitting on my shoulder, but Brandon made it clear that I am doing the right things to improve my life and I have been packaging myself for lower quality results , not for who i really am.

I have a unique ability to work with both Technology teams understanding IT and the complications of making changes to the current environment. I also have a unique ability to work with business teams and help them flush out business requirements for a , making them consider impacts, understand the way a technology change could impact other groups and those groups need to be engaged to work out problems before they occur.

That comes from over 20 years in the software industry , working with senior system programmers and working with pressured business teams who need answers and solutions quickly!

So its time to dust myself off and repackage my offerings , its time to stop relying on companies to provide my security, it doesn’t exist in today’s economy.

I will take today to breath, to get my haircut, to spend time with my daughter. Tomorrow I will be reaching out to my resources and connections to get my cart moving forward.

This will not stop me from focusing on my health goals. I now have the power and nothing will stop me! November 2010 I will be completely healthy and I will walk into my high school reunion in a perfect red dress with a body I can be proud of that is healthy and strong,that matches the healthy and strong mind and heart that I have to share!

Everything happens for a reason…hang on tight it will be a bumpy ride!!

Hugs

Michelle

Well, I had a much better week last week.  I ate better, drank my 8 glasses of water each day and felt so much better about everything!  Did you know that if you drink your water everyday you really don’t feel like eating between meals?  Also, your skin looks so much nicer!  Who knew?  I did know, just didn’t do anything about it.  I also did some exercises after my daughter went to bed.  I tried one night before she went to bed, but I can’t work out as hard.  We had a great time together and we got really silly but a different kind of workout. (The best kind of workout if you ask me, but they wouldn’t say that on The Biggest Loser)

Last night we watched Sister Act 2, and we danced, boy did we dance!!!!  I didn’t even have to sit down!

Today is International Woman’s Day, and because it is, please love yourself!  Who will love you as much if you don’t love yourself!

Much love to you all,

Tracy, CHFI listener and Health Challenge blogger

Good news…three more pounds gone! That’s a total of nine pounds which is just about a dress size! So, as a kind of test, I tried on a pair of pants that I haven’t been able to close ( there was about an inch gap between the enclosure)and they fit! Tightly mind you…but they got on and did up!! I am so proud of myself. It really is motivating to continue on the road to success when you see results!! Now, I must fess up …. exercise is still not where I promised myself it would be. This week I jogged only twice, 15 mins each time. I know that once I get past the hump and start with more regular exercise, I will actually start to look forward to the daily work-outs. I do feel better when I exercise both physically and mentally. Anyway, little by little I feel that I am on the right track. I am confident that my goal will be reached by the time our wedding day arrives!! 
 
Debby, CHFI listener and Health Challenge blogger