Portion control vs. out of control

....back to life, back to reality.....it was the 90's and En Vogue's hit took off.  It's as relevant today as it was then. 

I'm coming to the end of a wonderful 4 day weekend spent in sunny FL with family.  We ate, drank, laughed, went to a movie (Burlesque and loved it!), looked at old photos, watched football (the Gators were awful!) and did I mention ate & drank.  Today begins back to life, back to reality for me AND portion control takes on out of control!  I really let myself go these 4 days, although I'd probably make that @ 7-8 days because it started before I left home. 

The result - I've now gained 10 lbs!!!!  A first since I lost my weight.  Freaking out?!  Yep a little. It's kind of scary because of all the "I gained it all back" stories I've heard.  I'm determined I won't be one of those statistics!  I know what to do and now it's about applying the motivation to go the Nike way and just do it! 

Line in the sand, the buck stops here, start your engines and JUST DO IT!

Just out of jail.......

At least that is how I ate yesterday...... like I was just out of jail.  It was wonderful but I am paying for it this morning.  So uncomfortable. 

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Mine was so much fun; spent with family & friends, nice & sunny (and not too hot) Florida weather overlooking the river.  My brother slaved over the outdoor grill for his traditional BBQ beef ribs.  They were outstanding.  We had the traditional turkey stuff too but the ribs!!!!!!!!!!!  I had ribs for dessert so does that tell you something.  My bro is always pouring some wonderful wines so add that all up.........

Yesterday's fare had no calories so I indulged completely and fully. I forgot how out of practice I am on overeating so this a.m., I'm a little on the "stuffed feeling" side.  Funny how that happens.  I'm watching the clouds go away and the blue sky take over.  So this is a wrap and out I go for a post-Thanksgiving run.   One year ago today I ran my first mile!  How far will I go today?

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's already here....Thanksgiving and the official start of the holiday season.  Tomorrow, Black Friday, marks the beginning of the holiday shopping season. Wow!  So many milestones/events occur in the next 6 weeks so get ready.

In checking out FB this a.m., there are already so many wonderful greetings & messages related to Thanksgiving.  I have SO much to be thankful for that is for certain.  One quote I like - "Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving." - Thanks WT Purkiser & Paula Fisher for posting this. 

This quote is most evident in the greeting card we received from the Atlanta Community Foundation.  We have our company's charitable foundation set up through these guys and we get all kinds of mail from them but this one's the show stopper.  If you can't see the photo - enlarge it, it's worth it.  Thanks-for-giving!!!

I hope all have a wonderful day with family & friends celebrating old traditions and creating new.  Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Fingers crossed......

.........good luck...........and all the wishes!!!!  Today is a BIG day.  We are making a BIG business presentation and it would be outstanding to land this one. 

I'm pretty excited.  Much too excited to type so until later........

The Trotters

Good times had by all.  My office team & I started off our holiday season with our first ever Turkey Trot.  We gathered and trotted (some ran, some walked) for about 1.5 miles.  It was a spectacularly beautiful day and outside was the place to be. 

But our Trot didn't stop after the 1.5 miles.  Upon our return, the real competition began and we are a very competitive group.  Sprints, backwards dash, sideways dash and the killer sideways squats (thanks Nikki).  I'm sure there are more official names for all these but I hope you get the jist.  Yelling and cheering each other on in our front parking lot.  Of course, this attracted spectators - the smokers in the office next door for one.  I guess they'll do anything for a smoke break.  Ugh!

We had so much fun!  Simple, almost childlike games. 

Our Trot was followed by a traditional Thanksgiving Mexican fiesta - heavy on fajitas and light on tortillas & chips.  Not too bad and it was yummy!  And yet one more competition - the Thanksgiving "word find."  A great start to the holiday season!!

I hope everyone has a "MOVING' Thanksgiving too. 

The day after, the day after

Friday is one of those days going down in "the worst of" category.  While I won't spew the details - what's the diff really and it would not be right to mention names w/o permission (no Michael Phelps video here), let's just say how disappointed and sad was I!!!!

Have you ever had an idea(s) and you worked HARD to negotiate, pursuade, argue, convince someone else of it - using proven analysis, proven past results, expert opinions - and the person just says basically nope won't work.

I tried my very best.  I gave it everything I had.  I was physically, emotionally and mentally spent, worn out.  So yesterday, the day after - I worked out hard, purged some emotions (frustrated, sad, disappointed), fell into bed and woke this wonderful Sunday morning ready to take on new challenges. 

I'm blogging @ this not because I had a bad day, I didn't get my way or any of that.  That happens to us all; it's what we do after that makes the difference.  Two things helped me alot and that's why I'm blogging:

1.  The friendship and light touch of others - say what you want @ Facebook but on Friday night I put up a simple posting - "awful day."  The kind and supportive comments I got from friends near and far meant so much.  They probably had no idea their gestures would mean that much but they took the time to send thoughts & love my way.  Reach out & touch someone; you never know!

2.  Calling on my body to help me out - I'm so recent to exercise, I'm learning how awesome the human body is to be there for you when you need it.  I started the day with a pretty tough BodyBlitz class, gabbed with friends for an hour and then my one hour personal training session.  I pushed myself beyond my limits (actually in tears during shoulder presses).  After PT, I ran errands, had a nice lunch, got a manicure and 10 hours later from when I left my house, I jumped into a hot shower and dropped into bed.  I was again spent, worn out but what a difference.  This time, not a ball of emotions but a calmness and perspective that I needed. 

In my 50 years of never exercising, I never knew how my body could be there for me.  My "go to" was Xanax to calm me down and a sleeping pill to put me out so the next day I could wake and do it all the same.  That ship has sailed!  No more!!

No guru talk from me just fortunate & grateful to have learned over the last couple years how to use my body to rid the crap and be more positive and productive!!!!

Order up!

Simple concept, phrase or action statement that we use often.  Through observation and an informal survey - here's how some people ORDER UP......

Can I get
I'll go with - Joe Joe, this is you

I'll have
Gimme - Glen, that's you?!
I'd like
Bring me - heard this one the other night and almost feel off my chair
I'd like to have
I would like
The lady will have - Kyle, you really do this?!
I would like to have
Lemme get  - Southern or everywhere?
How about a

Does ordering depend on where you are in the world, passed down by family members like the good jewelry?  I'm OK with any of it as long as it is respectful to the server.  Man that gets me when people leave their "good manners" at home. 

How do you ORDER UP?

My "T" score

Being football season, I'm guessing most people think a T" score has something to do with a touchdown?  Haha, not even close and if you know me, I follow the Florida Gators and that's about it....except what the heck happened to them last night against SC?!  Ooooooh, no Atlanta trip this year. 

Back to my "T" score..........as in my BONE DENSITY results.  I had a bone density test last year as I was just starting to work out with Dan + all my cardio.  Last year, spine was good, left hip good, right hip not so - beginning stage of osteopenia.   This year, I'm so excited that my right hip has moved into the green zone and is GOOD.  My doc said he rarely sees this kind of one year improvement.  WooHoo! 

I'm excited not only because I'm a results oriented person but this is huge!   It changes my perspective on my journey.  It's certainly @ the "mirror test," how I look & feel but now it's about my HEALTH.  For now and the future. 

Why Weight?

It's been approximately 2 months since my last post.  I stopped the blogging because I sort of felt, what do I have to say that anyone really cares @ hearing, that will change the world or impact someone?   Then I realized that everyone has something that others want to hear, that will potentially impact another person and who knows @ changing the world...baby steps.  I was also reading a bunch of blogs and it was alot of complaining.  Frankly I got sick of it and backed off.  But to heck with that/them....

So I decided to get back to it.  Why Weight?  Well I just stole that from Body Solutions.  That's one of their lines and a fitting line for me now.  I love the writing so here it is.

So much and so little has happened in the past two months. On the weight front, I'm a yo yo.  This maintenance is something else.  The great news is the upward YO only goes up 4-5 lbs before I aggressively pursue the downside YO.  It's a lifetime and constant battle; I'm in.  I have learned and figured out over the past few months, that cardio is KING for me.  Without it 4-5 times/week, the weight goes on fast and stays on. 

I'm still running (that's a whole post in itself) and in addition, I started classes @ Body Solutions.  I've never done classes before and I love them.  I like the switch up on the cardio and these classes are a great workout, a great sweat and alot of fun.  My personal trainer, Dan McGrath leads a couple of the classes (Urban Ninja & Body Blitz) and Kerrey leads a couple different classes too.  Both are awesome instructors.  Very different but I like each of their styles.  I did yoga for the first time last week.  Robert was awesome for us beginners.  I didn't think I would like the yoga at first (so slow, no music hahaha) but I really liked it and will definitely do again.  Mostly I really like the variety between personal training with Dan, running and now classes. 

So Why Weight?  I'm not...jumping back into the blogging world with lots of exciting things to learn and share.