Tuesday, April 26, 2011

I'm Overweight!!!

And that's reason to celebrate!  Based on my weight this morning, I moved from the "obese" category to "overweight" on the BMI charts (by .1%, but I'll take it!).  If it feels this good to move to "overweight", I can only imagine how it will feel to reach "normal". (Watch for the blog post entitled "I'm Normal!!!")

We ate. We chatted. We laughed. We froze.

Thank you to those of you who braved the elements to come to our Freeze-out!  Despite the weather, a good time was had by all, and we decided we should do it again sometime...when the weather cooperates a little better! 

Friday, April 22, 2011

Why I Haven't Joined the Circus

1) I wouldn't look too hot in a leotard (well, not yet anyway)
2) The smell
3) I still have a lot of work to do in the balance department (so I would probably fall off the tightrope).  At our nutrition class last week (?)  Mindy gave us a pie chart to have us fill out about how much time we spend on certain things throughout our weeks.  Mine was not so balanced. 
4) I'm horrible at juggling. It seems like there is always one proverbial ball that is heavier than the rest.  Right now, my exercise and nutrition ball is the heavy one.  It is a wonderful and necessary thing to focus on, but I'm realizing that I need to figure out how to fit in all of my other responsibilities and not drop any balls.  I certainly don't want to take weight away from the nutrition and exercise ball, I just need to figure out how to strengthen myself enough to add weight to the other ones.  I have had glimpses into the fact that I can achieve this, but I haven't mastered it quite yet (o.k.  I actually have a long way to go).  I did have one fabulous week where I was able to stay on top of everything, but slowly extra things have crept in and I feel behind in a couple of areas again (or maybe that one fabulous week just did me in!).  It just seems like when one thing is going really great, other areas suffer and I don't like that!  For example, Darin and I are getting so much time together (exercising together at the gym + travel time + nutrition class + having a common goal) and we feel so connected.  But other areas of my life are suffering.  I know I can't do it all.  I know I need to sit down and prioritize my life and do the most important things with purpose.  I will end this post with two of my favorite quotes (and then go get some stuff done!):


"Do what needs to be done, when it needs to be done with a cheerful heart."  (Marjorie Pay Hinckley)

"That which we persist in doing becomes easier to do.  Not that the nature of the thing has changed, but our power to do has increased." (Heber J. Grant) (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Sunday, April 17, 2011

An "AHA" moment

Thursday at class Mindy talked about fiber, then stress.  At the very end of class she had us do some "target practice".  She handed us a bullseye.  In the center circle was our circle of control.  The circle outside of that was our circle of influence, then our circle of concern (that over which we have no control).  The exercise was very short, but I had the biggest light bulb moment.  As I filled in the outermost circle I realized that everything I have lost sleep over, stressed about, and had anxiety over in the past couple of years has belonged in that outer circle (over which I have no control).  It felt so good to let all of that stress go and realize that my time and energy needs to be spent in the center circle, focusing on making good choices (in all areas of my life) and letting the outer circle do its thing.    
I am so grateful to be a part of this challenge.  I was thinking the other day about what a great blessing this has been...to have access to so much valuable information, a gym, a trainer, a great support system etc. etc.  I have learned so much not only about nutrition and exercise, but also about myself.   Our group is so amazing and I have loved getting to know everyone and sharing tips, successes and disappointments.  (On that note, our family barbecue is still happening next Monday, April 25th at 6:00pm.  I will bring reminders with more details to class on Thursday.) 

I am looking forward to many more "AHA" moments in the coming weeks!