Sunrise - A New Day

It has been awhile since I have blogged and I have to say that I am sorry. I have been going through a rough time this summer and I have totally checked out with my friends, and blog. I wrote an article about empty nest syndrome but I never realized at how bad I had the empty nest syndrome.  I have devoted my whole life to my two children and when the reality came that they were leaving in three months it hit me like a big mac truck. You could say I had gone through a depression all summer. I wanted to be with my kids 24-7 until they left. It is now going on two months of the kids at college and every day I have gotten better.

I truly believe until you get it straightened out about yourself in your brain, losing weight will be in the form of yo-yo dieting. True, we need to exercise and eat right but a BIG journey in weight loss comes with believing in yourself and likening yourself to know that you are worth it.

 I am on a journey of self-acceptance, believing in myself that I can lose this weight. I want to thank Kathy for giving quotes and tips in helping all of us through this journey of finding ourselves.  Everyday has gotten better in this change in my life. A friend told me that I am sabotaging myself into not having a good life. “Life is not over, it is only beginning for you, now is the time to work on Julie and enjoy life now,” she said.

 As I am taking my friends advice, I started this week walking on my tread mill and this Thursday I made an appointment to start working with weights at the YMCA on my lunch hour.

So many changes that I have made including a new job working in the Health Department that I enjoy so much! God is always watching over us. I don’t know what holds in the future for me but I know I don’t want to waste any more time feeling sorry for myself. So guess what...I’m back!

NOTE: When I wrote this blog a few days later Kathy had lost everything due to a fire. She has stayed so positive and I look back and am thankful for Kathy being an inspiration to us all. She has not complained and she has stayed positive through this horrible time in her life. This was a big lesson for me to learn. Thanks Kathy for bringing us all back to reality and helping us realize that there is always a new morning for each dark night.

Julie

WHATEVER IT TAKES

Are you REALLY willing to do whatever it takes to lose weight? My "whatever it takes" philosophy was recently challenged...

I signed up with a fitness coach who has helped thousands of people lose weight. She told me to trust her advice to take what added up to seven supplements a day, which included CLA and lecithin. "It's a science" she said referring to weight loss. She's a cool coach who has a big heart for helping people and I respect her, but sirens sounded in my head at the thought of having to swallow a handful of pills every day. I have a borderline phobia of taking pills. (Why is a long story for another post or one you can figure out after reading my Break The Cycle books). Some of the pills she said I needed to take three times a day. Whoa, I thought the whole idea of getting healthy is to not have to take pills in any form. I questioned her and myself. Was I REALLY willing to do whatever it takes? It's holistic she assured me. "Trust me!" 

"Trust, but verify." I first heard those words from Bruce Fowler who is a motivating personal development guy I follow on Facebook. That phrase kept flashing in my mind like a neon sign. I followed up on my instincts with some research on the supplements and found some were made from animal products and had a list of side effects. 

My coach also recommended that I eat several eggs a day which I had almost completely gotten away from eating as I am wanting to progress from a vegetarian to a totally plant-based vegan lifestyle. I used to love omelets, but watching Earthlings changed me. I now associate eggs with the image of 55 gallon barrels being filled with live baby chicks that are being disposed of like garbage. Between that image and knowing that an egg is a chicken's ovulation makes it not so appetizing to me anymore. On top of that I see the studies where cholesterol increases significantly when we consume eggs. I am also a big fan of Dr. Colin Campbell who has proven that animal protein causes cancer...

So, do I follow the advice of a fitness coach who has helped thousands of people lose significant amounts of weight or do l follow the recommendation of a doctor who has 40 years of experience and scientific data to back him up? Most of all, do I go against my conscious to further support the slaughter of innocent animals so I can "lose weight" and go on a program that I know from the start will not be sustainable? 

The answer for me became a clear NO. I am not willing to do "whatever it takes" to lose weight. I am not willing to go against what I believe in my soul is right. 

I know the price for this decision. I know that it means I may continue to struggle with losing weight. It's a chance I'm willing to take to stand up for what I believe is the right thing for me. 

What about you? Are you willing to do "whatever it takes" to lose weight? It's not always an easy question to answer. It may take some soul searching and sacrifices to make the right decision. 

Kathy 

www.twitter.com/liveempowered 

Reprogramming My Mind

When I'm asked what church I go to, the first one that comes to mind is Lakewood. I like going to church in my underwear and I love listening to Joel Osteen. It is a toss up between him and Joyce Meyer on who is my favorite pastor. Both of them preach messages that speak to me.

This morning I was watching and listening to Joel Osteen preach about reprogramming your mind. What a timely message that is for me. I truly believe as Joel said that the enemy uses negative messages and events to create viruses in our mind and that those messages are only a seed. We decide whether to water those messages and make them grow.

I have spent a lifetime weeding out negative messages that were planted in my mind as a child when I didn't know any better than to let them grow out of control to the point where it affected my self-esteem and made me want to seek refuge in comfort foods and retreat from the enemy behind layers of fat. I am learning the truth, that the enemy has also used food to create false fixes that have led to further harm to my body.

Armed with this mindful awareness, I know what I have to do. I have to give the whole mess over to God first of all. I know I cannot fight this battle alone. I then have to reprogram my mind so that I am able to consistently do the things that make me healthy in mind, body and spirit.

Listening to positive messages of God's favor like Joel and Joyce share helps me tremendously. I truly believe that if we nourish our mind with messages of faith and hope that we can develop the strength to turn our life around and live the abundant life God wants us to live. And conversely, if we listen to negative news and messages all day long, that will affect our mind too.

It is a constant battle to tune out the negativity that surrounds me and not let it seep into my soul. I am grateful for those who share God's grace and give us words of encouragement to hang on to as we make the journey forward to our healthiest, happiest life.

I am blessed. I am healthy. I have God's favor. Those are the messages I am reprogramming my mind with today and hope you do too!

Love,
Kathy

Flip The Switch

“If you can change certain key choices — your diet, how you handle stress, your physical activity — it’s like writing notes in the margin of your genome, and you can flip the switch to support and protect your health.” ~ Pam Peeke, The Hunger Fix

Do you believe it is possible to flip the switch off to eating sugar and junk food? That is what I am going to do tomorrow. I am flipping the switch off for one year as an experiment and hopefully, for good so that I can lead a healthier life which will take me to the places I want to go. I want to believe it's true. That I can go from self-medicating with food to using it strictly as nourishment. Balancing my protein and carbs, just fueling my body, not eating for comfort or entertainment. I just bought the book, The Hunger Fix by Pam Peeke and she says that our choices can indeed flip the switch to help us lead healthier lives. We will see. I will let you know how it goes. You are welcome to join the journey at any time you choose!

Kathy

Choose to be Happy!

It is raining outside today. It is so dreary out and the sun in hiding. Does this make or break my day? I choose to be happy no matter what the weather is doing today. It is all about my attitude in how I choose to feel about today. I could complain and be miserable or choose to be happy.

My mom used to tell me no matter where you are or what you are doing choose to find the good in any situation and choose to be happy. I never really understood that quote my mom said until I go older. There are some days it is really hard to have this outlook on life, but it is a choice. Our attitude plays a big role in our life. I know I could be depressed at working to lose weight but in my mind I am choosing to see me happy and healthy. I am telling myself that I can lose this weight and it will happen.

If you have the feeling that life won’t change, shake that bad mindset off and get a new outlook and tell yourself that this is only temporary. Your rainbow has always been right in front of you. You just have to believe and be happy.

I know after this rainy, dreary day a rainbow will appear any minute, and look at the picture below. It did appear…..right in front of me. Now to find my pot of gold!  

Julie

I AM A WARRIOR

315! That's what the scales show. I slipped for a few months, started eating whatever I wanted whenever I wanted like I have done a million times before. I didn't pay much attention. I thought you know maybe it's my destiny to be fat. What's the use of keeping up the battle day in and day out. I started dragging around, wanting to sit down, wanting to sleep. Just let me sleep...

That's when it hit me. Yes, I can eat whatever I want. I can stay 150 lbs overweight, but I will sleepwalk through life. Eating crap makes me feel like crap! So, I started thinking about it. Wondering what I did differently when I lost the 25 lbs. Well, I didn't have to think long. I was part of a challenge group. I checked in every day. I drank vegan Shakeology. I know there is controversary around supplements. But, I could plainly see that it worked for me. Should I be eating fruits and veggies and beans and other sources of plant-based proteins? Absolutely! But here's the deal. It's not always readily available. Call it an excuse. Whatever. I just know when I drank Shakeology my cravings were gone, my joint pain was minimized, I had more energy which enabled me to want to move more and workout. I LOVE the Beachbody workouts. I have several of them. As I did them, I got more energy and it broke the cycle.

So here I am six months later and trying to decide what should I do. Should I remain "impartial" and explore other avenues to health and wellness? The answer is clear as daylight to me. I'll stick with what works. I see Shakeology and the Beachbody programs as a tool to transition to the more active and healthy lifestyle I seek. When I saw the name American Fitness Warriors, I knew that was where I am meant to be. I AM A WARRIOR! I am a survivor. The enemy may try to defeat me but I put on God's armor and get back up and live my best life, every day, one baby step at a time, consistently! That's the only way I know to get a grip on obesity.

I am more determined than ever. I know that I cannot let up to win this war on fat and disease. I am digging my heals in and preparing to climb the mountain to success. I don't want to climb the mountain alone. My mentor John C. Maxwell says, "If you're climbing a mountain alone, you're just taking a hike!" I want to take as many people as I can on this wellness journey. I want us all to be warriors and claim our victory over a sickly mediocre life. We deserve to health, but only we can make the choice to be healthy.

Are you with me? I am training to win the Beachbody Challenge starting July 7th. I'm no longer on the fence. I'm in 100%. God keeps bringing me back to this. I am paying attention!

Peace, Health & Happiness,

She-ra, I mean Kathy :)
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Live the Life

Summer is finally here and that means swim time! I love to swim, do you? I opened my pool a few weeks ago and I had two little fish come to swim at my house. The two little fish is my nephews, Ian and Isaac. They could not wait to jump in the cold pool. (I had just opened the pool) They did not care about the temperature, they just wanted to jump in and have a great time!

What happens to us as we get older? We are not like children and just jump in and enjoy life. We give excuses that the water is to cold, I don’t want to get wet, and I don’t want to be seen in my bathing suit. I say, “Who cares just jump in like a kid and enjoy the life,” We only live once so make the most of it!

I believe learning how to swim is very important. It is never too late. My mom wanted all four of us girls to learn how to swim because she was never very comfortable in water. Swimming is great exercise also. If you have joint problems water exercise is the way to go. I like to water walk and enjoy the outside all while staying cool in the hot summer.

I have more nephews and nieces coming to swim throughout the summer. What a great time for spending time with family and watching all the children teach the adults about fun and exercise.

So come on and jump in and be like a kid and live the life. J

Julie