The "goal" Changing Interview

So I went to a Bodyflow class at the gym last night. It is basically a combination of yoga, tai chi, and Pilates and it isn't as easy as you would think. This is the class my husband calls "fake" yoga because it is at the gym and not a yoga studio...who cares the venue, this class kicks your ass from the inside out.... I was proud of myself just for making it to the parking lot.. not to mention how incredible I felt after an hour of balancing, stretching and twisting my body into shape for 60 minutes! It felt great, I felt great!

During the meditation portion of class, I was thinking of how happy I have been the last few days. Just having something to focus on and look forward to, to distract me, has been refreshing. Then my thoughts drifted to how I was going to go about actually accomplishing losing 40 pounds. It is easy to say "I'm gonna lose 40 pounds"...doing it, well, that is something altogether different. I mean, that is A LOT of weight people...it is a 6 year old. I was thinking that once I take it off, I need to KEEP it off and how was I going to do that?? It started to become a little overwhelming thinking about it. There is a reason they say "take it one day at a time"...because the overall picture is just too damn scary. At that moment, I realized I am going to need someone to help me with a plan, to keep me motivated, focused, to kick my ass into shape...I also realized this Tony Robbins, Arnold Schwarzenegger kind of help wasn't going to be cheap.

I met with a trainer and shared my goals, my honest goals with him. We did the numbers, weight, height, body fat% (mine is 32%)!!! He told me the outrageous cost(I will keep you posted on the conversation I need to have with my husband about that)...The cost didn't disturb me...I WANT to be healthy, I WANT to be in shape, and let's face it, I WANT to look good naked! None of that disturbed me as much as this....the trainer balked at my 40 pound goal! Not because he thinks I need to lose more... I would have kicked HIS ass for that...no he thinks I will be TOO lean if I lose 40 pounds. That I should focus on bringing down my body fat to less than 20%...to not focus on the number of pounds, but the number of inches. I know what you are thinking "what's the problem?" and trust me, it isn't the problem. I get all of that! I honest to God believe it. I don't give a rats how much I actually lose, as long as I meet my three goals above! No, the part that bothered me was that I was so excited about my tag line "40 before I am 40". It is clever, it sounds good, it has a ring to it....people get it! So on my way home last night, I tried this one out... "Lose 40 pounds or 14% body fat before I am 40"....just doesn't quite roll off of the tongue does it? :)
No matter...I am ON track! I am motivated and have taken it one day at a time, and 4 days have already passed!!! I have met all of my nutrition goals. Obviously met my water intake goals. Have tracked everything I have eaten… and worked out twice this week..I am o-kizzay...
First weigh in of the year is tomorrow...stay tuned!

For the Love of Water

If Wheaties are the breakfast of "champions", then water is the drink of weight "losers"...At the end of the second day of my journey, I realize how water is the key to my success. Maybe because I have consumed no less than a gallon each day! Maybe because the minute I put down the diet coke and picked up the water my stomach stopped hurting, my skin stopped breaking out, my mood changed, I am no longer secretly wishing for a nap by 2:00 in the afternoon, and I practically meet my 30 minute activity requirement from all the trips to the bathroom! I'm not kidding either... It amazes me how quickly it can become a habit for me and I bow to mother nature for this incredible natural resource...

I love water. Plain water, not the jazzed up drinks that pack themselves with sugar, sugar substitutes, fake vitamins and artificial flavors and try to pass themselves off as water...nosiree, just plain ole water. And I am happy I do not have the issues that my fellow WW buddies have in which they would rather eat dirt than drink water. No, I have always loved water. It makes my skin look and feel amazing, I am not tired, nor bloated, and as long as it is handy, I will drink as much as I can. And good thing, because according to Dr. Oz my body is made up of over 50% water and that the average adult should drink 8 8oz glasses a day. Drink less than the RDA and risk dehydration. For those of you who have ever been dehydrated it ain't pretty. Actually, it sucks....literally.

However, I have a confession to make..to you AND to me...Though I'm sure my husband has known about my little problem for a long time, I have been in denial that this actually IS a problem for me. BUT I have to overcome denial. Denial hinders my success. Denial is that warm Snuggie like blanket that makes you justify stupid shit like what I am about to tell you...Ready? OK...

I can drink 4 times or more the RDA of water everyday, ONLY as long as I have a vessel to refill throughout the day. Well duh you say....but you don't understand people, I'm not talking about any vessel such as a Styrofoam cup, or an 8oz glass my cupboard is full of. Oh no..my water vessel must be at least 32oz. When I don't have at least a 32oz cup pictured below or water bottle handy I don't drink water during the day.

Plain and simple. Even if I had 4 8oz cups that had auto refill, I still wouldn't drink water. It is easier for me to purchase and drink 6 cans of diet coke...which is another confession altogether....And I won't use a smaller cup available to me in the break room or my kitchen. It HAS to be a 32oz water bottle, Harkins cup, Subway cup, etc...that way I KNOW I am getting 32 oz of water, and that I only need to drink two of them to meet my RDA...How dumb is that? That is a rhetorical question and one NOT to be answered by my husband who has long since had to put up with my dumbass neurosis and half full Harkins cups of water all over the house for over 16 years.

And I know I won't change, but it feels good to admit to my ridiculousness..my husband will have to continue to wash and store those stupid movie cups that I love to drink water out of, and I will continue to make sure I have a 32oz water bottle at my desk at all times this year.......Have to run...gotta fill my 32oz Smartwater bottle for the 5th time today, well....after I run to the bathroom for the 15th time today...ahhhhh that is the bugger of a fact they leave out of the RDA...there ARE side effects to drinking too much water!
 
Thanks for reading...peace out!

Happy New Year

Goodbye 2009 and HELLO 2010! So 2009 is gone and I cannot say I am sad another year flew by like a bullet train. It was a great year with the exception of a couple of pretty serious losses in my life. These events were tough, but as humans, we learn from our mistakes, and other people's mistakes for that matter, and take life one day at a time if we are smart. But we aren't always smart are we? We take things for granted- family, friends, money, jobs, health....they are all balls that we juggle on a daily basis. We take our family for granted because hey, they are supposed to love us right? We take our friends for granted for pretty much the same reason. As for the money and job, we figure if we lose this one, we can just get another one. We have become quite the masters of juggling. One of my favorite analogies is the one where we are to imagine those balls are made of glass, which one would actually bounce if you dropped it? The answer is obvious...but not to everyone. It is about priorities, and I figure with a whole new decade in front of me, it is about damn time I got mine straight! So...with the help of my supportive husband, I decided to create a list of things I want to accomplish this year. Things I always thought would be fun to do, good for me to do, but never found the time....or usually had a damn good excuse as to why I didn't have the time. This is not your average New Year's Resolution list people, you know the one you make but know in your mind you aren't going to keep? This list is more than that to me, on my quest for better health both mental and physical, this list is about setting goals and actually accomplishing them. I am a habitual procrastinator. I'm not lazy, I am just restless, ADHD, void of tangible goals that actually mean anything. The "goal" of this list is to prove to myself that I can do it! I can set a goal and accomplish it, no matter how big or small. And let me tell you, if I actually complete this list, there is going to be one hell of a party and you are all invited...:)

So on with it already...Of course the top of my list, the reason for this blog, is my ultimate goal of losing 40 pounds, but here is the rest of the list...

1. Lose 40 pounds before I am 40- scale will read 135 or less on my last weigh in before 1/31/2011!
2. See the Grand Canyon (I have lived in this state for over 30 years and NEVER seen it!)
3. Read Gone with the Wind- my all time favorite movie, I bet the book is just as amazing
4. Explore my faith- I am a spiritual person to my core, I am just very conflicted about religion
5. Take an unplanned road trip with my family, just get in the car and drive somewhere we haven't been
6. Spend alone time with my children individually each month- mommy and me dates if you will
7. 30 days of sex in April- I told you my husband helped with this list...but honestly, this one will be fun!
8. Take golf lessons
9. Play 18 holes of golf
10. Complete the WW Couch to 5K by March
11. Go to a Suns game and sit in seats that don't make my nose bleed
12. Go to a Cardinals game in the new stadium
13. Upgrade to First Class on one of my monthly business trips...round trip!
14. Play craps in Vegas
15. Start and finish baby girls first year scrapbook
16. Learn a new language- more than likely Spanish though Korean would be helpful when getting my pedicures... :)
17. Learn to do tile backsplashes and do one in my kitchen and back bathroom
18. Save enough $$ to buy a pair of Jimmy Choo black pumps- come on, I needed one shoe goal!
19. Rub my husband once a week
20. Schedule appreciation dates with each of my sisters individually
21. Do not commit to plans with friends and bail at the last minute
22. Deactivate my Facebook account- this is going to be a tough one!
23. Pick one room a month and toss out all of the useless crap I have accumulated over the years
24. Do not purchase OR read any gossip magazines including People, US, Star, OK!- Hell, the money I save on that will help me check off goal #17.

I realize this is a lot and I may add to the list as necessary. But root for me, I KNOW I can do this. For those of you that will participate in and benefit from this list know up front, that I do love and appreciate you VERY much! And my answer to the question above is, YOU are the glass balls that won't bounce if I drop you.

Today also marks Day 1 of my 40 in 40...Current weight (don't judge me people, this blog is for me to be honest with myself isn't it?!!) 177 lbs

Next weigh in Thursday, January 7.