There's a lesson in Everything....

I have the type of personality where I always have to be doing something. I can’t just sit back and let life happen. So when a friend is feeling down I want to encourage them …when they need help I am ready to give… when they are celebrating I am ready for a party... and so on and so forth. The bad thing about being this type of person is that often times I run myself dry and spread myself too thin. I try to be everything to everyone at all times and often times end up sacrificing myself in the process. I like to be there for others but there are definitely times, like this week, when I realize that disregarding my own needs isn’t always the best for my health. In fact lots of times what I do in this type of situation, when I am exhausted from going and going and going, is  to turn to quick fixes like sugar and caffeine for burst of energy...all of which leads to an eventual crash and me looking to even larger amounts of caffeine and sugar to sustain me….which is basically the road to addiction. This week I have basically lived by that addiction and it’s reeked havoc on my nutrition. Add to that the fact that I seem to think if I blow one morning, I’ve blown the day…and well we end up feeling like nothings ever going to change. But things can and will change….its just a matter of continually getting back on the horse. So that’s the plan…instead of focusing on the bad I’m choosing to look at the good from this week and realise that every lesson brings me closer to eventually reaching my goals!

Week Two.. A pleasant suprise!

Well it’s the start of a new week, so it’s time to recap week two. This morning I weighed in and miraculously lost two pounds! I’m kind of amazed because last week was not my best week ever. It was one of those weeks where I had so much going on and basically I let my health fall by the wayside a bit. It’s hard sometime to find the time, let alone energy, to work out when you’re already getting up early, working a full shift and then have plans every night. I think I got in a grand total of three workouts last week…and none of them were very impressive. To top it off I didn’t go grocery shopping until the end of the week so for the first three days I was snacking on cookies and chips (yeah seriously not the best choices out there). So you see when the scale was nice to me I had reason to be pleasantly surprised!


This week I find that my schedule is just as busy. I have a lot to do and only a little bit of time to do it in. However my goal for this week is to make my health…myself in general…a priority. I work so hard to help everyone else out, I need to learn to put just as much effort into myself... I think...hee hee.

The Buddy System... Don't go it alone!

  I don't know where I picked it up...maybe it' something I learned in Girl Scouts, or as part of fire safety, or maybe it's just one of the societal lessons we all know cause it's ingrained in our culture, but where ever it came from the truth remains... in life it's always safest to implement the buddy system!  I find this fact to also be true when it comes to healthy weight loss and exercise!  There is nothing like having someone in your corner...keeping you accountable and encouraging you in your journey!  It's beyond helpful and at times it pushes you to do the very things wouldn't do otherwise!

  A good example of this comes from my own life.  Over the past week or so my sister and I have been meeting to run together on the high school track.  Most nights I feel like the cheerleader... I'm there to encourage her and keep her going and moving forward.  Yeah I'm getting a workout in but I'm more there for her more so than allowing it to  truly to be about my own journey alone.  Well Thursday afternoon that whole concept got flipped on it's head for me!  First of all I was not in the mood to run at all...in fact had I been planing to run alone I probably just would have cancelled or quit two minutes in.  On top of that it was hot out and I forgot my music...all perfectly good reasons in my mind to throw in the towel.  But there was my sister...stepping up and being my cheerleader and encouraging me to do it and to keep going and not allowing me to sell myself short!  As much as in that moment I hated the fact that she was out running me and forcing me to do it...looking back I love knowing that I have that kinda support.   See that's the thing about the buddy system....when you work together your never alone...that means the chances of you drowning (metaphorically that is) are a lot slimmer.
  Life teaches us that no man is an island...so I encourage you, if you haven't done so yet, Find yourself a buddy, a support group, or some sort of community with whom you can share your journey.  Cause the old saying is true....Together Everyone Achieves More!

Now that's what I'm talking about...

  So over the past several months I've talked and talked and talked endlessly about how much a dislike the excess pounds I've gained in the past year and about how I really need to get back in shape.  Well last Monday I had one of those "ah-ha" moments that turn words into action and I've quite literally spent the week working my ass off.  Today was my official week one weigh in and in the last 7 days I've lost 5.5lbs!!!  I made a goal when I decided to get back on track that I wanted to lose 15lbs before my next race (which is August 29th in case you were wondering) and here is it week one and I'm already 1/3rd of the way to that goal!  How exciting!

  Plus this past week has taught me a very valuable lesson and that is to have grace with myself.  You see I have a very real tendency to throw the baby out with the bath water (so to speak) and so when I make a bad choice it usually turns into a bad day of choices which turns into a bad week of choices and so on and so forth.  This week I've tried really hard...and I've been vigilant....but I've also realised that I'm not perfect and making one bad decision doesn't need to derail the rest of my day.  In the words of Jillian Michaels "If you pop a tire on your car you wouldn't get out and slash the remaining three tires would you?".  That would be silly....and the same concept goes for weight loss. One bad choice doesn't need to lead to more and grander bad choices....each moment is a new opportunity to reach your goals...and that's how I'm choosing to view things as I head into week two.
Jess

History makers, World changers..and becoming a servant of all...

When I was a little girl I had grand dreams of changing the world. I wanted to end world hunger and poverty and in my naivety I truly believed that someday, some way I would. In fact I wrote a letter to myself while I was in elementary school (which my teacher set to me in the mail when I graduated high school) that talked about how I was going to go to Princeton or Yale and get an education so that I could give away what I learned to others in need. Even in high school I held onto dreams about openning a center where the homeless and the broken could come and get food, clothing, and shelter while also getting their very real emotional, spiritual and mental needs met.


Now don’t get me wrong…I still have big dreams and hope to one day truly make an impact with the life I’ve been given. But I guess one thing I’ve realized over the past several years is how true it is that “if you want to change the world, start by changing one person’s world”. When I started on this weight loss journey I was making a decision to change my life...my world. Now I have the opportunity to use that decision to help others change their world too. Yeah maybe the way isn’t as grandiose as building orphanages or adopting communities…but by sharing my journey, by getting those around me off the couch and into a more active lifestyle, and by using races and/or other events to raise money for important causes… I am hopefully making a difference one small step at a time.

Jesus said in Mark 9:35 “Whoever desires to be first, he shall be last and servant of all”…. My prayer is that as I share my journey with others, more and more oppurtunitys would arise to serve others as they change their life/world too!.

The Start of a New Era...again..

   At one point in my life I was actually a morning person.  I once had no problem pulling back the covers and jumping out of bed at ungodly hours of the morning and would do it with such an alert perkiness it would make those around me stand in awe.  But I haven't been that person in a long time. In fact most mornings I hit snooze more times than should be humanly possible, only to force myself out of bed and into the grogginess of morning.  HOWEVER... today that all changed.  Today... for once... I set my alarm for 5:30am and when it went off I got up!  It's a miracle!  And what's even more of a miracle is that I actually worked out when I got up instead of just sitting on the couch or eventually crawling back into bed.  You see, for a while now I have been realizing that my workouts seem to get crowded out in the evenings (uness I wat to do them at 10 at night...which I don't).  So I've been talking and talking and taking about wanting to get up early to ensure I get my workouts in.  The one problem with that being that even though I've talked about it doing it I've never actually done it!  Like I said most mornings I'm a snooze girl and the idea of getting out of bed to workout before an 8 hour work shift just does not excite me.  So what's changed?!  Well I guess I realised that nothing is gonna change unless I'm willing to put in the work to change it and that nothing worth having in life comes easy.  So here's to starting a new trend!  Heer Heer....hee hee ;)
Jess
Jess

Special Memories of Sisterly bonding...

  So today I did the Women's Red Dress 5k at Elizabeth Park/Rose Garden in West Hartford Connecticut!  Not only was the course beautiful, but I felt extremely blessed to have so many great people running the race with me!  This was a race for the memory books in that my big Sister Denise ran it with me!  I remember two years ago when we embarked on our weight loss journeys, the idea of running a 5k together never even crossed our mind.  Yet today there we were at the starting gate standing side by side!  I was so proud of her for pushing herself to do this (especially considering she didn't really train) and I learned that sometimes running for fun instead of time can truly make an event special...and extremely fun!!!  Thanks to everyone who sponsored this event and congrats to all the runners who participated!  Now off to plan the next event.....maybe a spirnt triathlon?!?!
Jess

Four on the Fifth...

So today I ventured down to Chester Connecticut and participated in the 32nd annual “Four on the Fifth” road race. This was advertised to me as a nice scenic jog by the ocean. What it turned out to be was 4 miles of running up and down hills in the heat of 90 degree weather! This was definitely not my most favorite run of the season or my best! In fact I actually ended up walking a lot during it…which always annoys me because once I start walking it’s always hard to convince myself to start running again (But it was hot and I was feeling light headed and well it’s better to walk then pass out right…at least that’s what I told myself)! Anyway the entire run took me about 52 minutes… which is about a 13 minute mile pace and way off the pace I am use to keeping (and of course I’m such a numbers girl I kept looking at my watch and calculating my time throughout the run which only made me more discouraged). But the one thing that saved this race was the locals!!! I have to hand it to the residents of Chester….seriously a BIG round of applause goes out to you… for it seemed like the whole town was out cheering us runners on (only a runner can truly understand what that means to a person)! Then as if to go above and beyond the call of duty, every few houses there was some neighbor out in their driveway or on the edge of their lawn with the hose spraying all of us down (And let me tell you… on a hot day like today when people were fainting during the run….that water was GREATLY APPRECIATED)! So Thank You Chester residents and all those involved in the race! Now off to prepare for Saturday’s 5k in the park!


Jess

The Best Find of the Summer....

More than once this week I have had the conversation with someone about how when I read a book I try not to look at the picture of what the author looks like on the back cover, because more times than not that picture ruins the book for me (you just have a certain expectations when you read what a story is about …and when the picture of the author just doesn’t match those expectations, it changes your whole approach to the book…at least it does for me for some reason). Anyway I realized yesterday that my randomness when it comes to looking at the back of a book to decided if it’s worth purchasing, also extends to magazines.

For the last year (at least) I have been a HUGE advocate for the magazine “Runner’s World”…I love it and probably always will because there is just so much useful information in it. However yesterday my co-worker introduced me to a new runner’s magazine…”Women’s Running” and I gotta say it’s the best find of the summer! Honestly at first I wasn’t too sure about it…I mean I am a woman and I love to run but the cover was just too plain for me…it didn’t grab my attention. But I decided to flip through the pages just to check it out (which in a lot of ways it reminds me of “Runner’s World” with the types of articles it has and it’s set up). But I was still debating on whether or not to get it when I noticed the quote on the back cover…

“You Can’t Run from your problems, but you’ll both feel a little lighter when you get back”

…That sealed the deal for me (even if it turned out to just be an add or New Balance..hee hee). You see, for me, running has always been kind of a therapy. I throw on my shoes…hit the open road….and then just work through all the issues of my day with each stride I take. It’s that one time during each day when I can get alone with myself and deal with all the stuff that gets blocked out by life…..and then of course there’s the reality that I may not metaphorically be able to run from my problems…but I can run in some sense…and for some reason that always seems to help.

So I bought the magazine and since then have actually started reading it and am quite impressed… so check I’m passing it along and I recommend you check it out too!

Jess