Purposeful Fitness

My rump has been dragging for the past couple of days. It's been one of those weeks when I've found myself laying in bed and crying while watching marathon DVRd recordings of "The Vampire Diaries." Just plain nuts.

Add to that the feeling that I've been floundering - two full days in a row when I feel I have absolutely jack to show for the preceeding 24 hours.

I am certain there are myriad reasons for my slump -- some physiological, some situational, others just par for the course of life. However, one of the key advantages of integrating fitness into your life is that you don't have to stay there forever. Exercise releases feel-good emotions that can move you from cold prickly status to warm fuzzy groovin in no time (sorry if I lost you on those highly technical terms).

Right now, I've just completed an hour of Insanity & rather than feeling insane, I feel balanced and focused. Further, I feel positive about the day like I've already kicked booty and took a few names and it is only 10 AM!!!

If you consider the difference between the last couple of days and today, there really isn't much in the way of disparity except for one itty bitty difference: purposeful fitness.

What's the difference between garden variety fitness and purposeful fitness you ask? Well, as you may well expect, it's all in the purpose.

Consider the boost you get from setting goals and attaining them. While you're at it, consider the boost you get from doing something you doubted you could accomplish. Now tack on a boost of adrenaline and endorphins. Feelin it?

Pretty gosh darn spanky, right? You might just be feeling like you want to high five everyone you meet. Maybe smiling at some random bystander for no reason. That's what purposeful fitness will do for you. If there is a reason for your workout (and not just because you feel your rump/gut/thighs need to be punished into submission) you will approach it differently; you will engage differently; you will recover and reflect differently.

Consider the idea that today, you want to accomplish a specific goal with your fitness regime. It can be anything: 5 minutes of full extension in a group exercise class, 2 extra pushups, an extra 0.4 miles of walking, one extra trip up and down the stairs, whatever. Visualize yourself accepting that goal: you might be doubtful, frightened of failure, challenged and even humbled in the process, but when you do more -- and you always will do more when you purposefully aim to do so -- you will be flooded with positivity.

Why? Because success fuels confidence; confidence fuels courage; and courage fuels positivity. By the way: the reverse is also true. Avoidance fuels failure; failure fuels fear; and fear fuels negativity.

Okay - time to go supersonic - think about the influence your positivity has on others. Think about the idea that success also builds faith -- fear's evil nemesis -- and before you know it, you will find yourself believing in all sorts of things. The inherent goodness and value of others; the hope and grace influencing your life and that of your family; the idea that anything is possible and attainable.

Imagine the vibes you'll radiate as you interact with your partner, your children, your coworkers, your friends, some random neighbor with a beard. . . Before you know it, you'll find yourself bordering on exuberance, filled with gratitude, and you will feel that you have accomplished the unimagineable. Don't believe me? Try it.

What do you have to lose except a serious case of the ho hums and maybe a few inches.

Until next,

The "Before"

So, I was skimming through the Team Beach Body message boards a couple of days ago & found Victoria who is on the P90X journey. The woman is amazing, but the point that most resonated with me was that she had trouble finding an isolated "before" photo. Turns out that she used her daughter as a human shield when it came to the cameras, too.

I actually laughed out loud because this was my M.O. as well. My buddy Theresa has trouble even believing I was ever heavy. The thing is, I didn't stand in a room wearing a bathing suit to be photographed - at the time, that sounded like crazy talk! There was no way I would humiliate myself like that. Now I wish I had.

If all goes as it has, I'm about a week away from 40 lbs lost and that feels significant for me. I have only just graced the folds of the "overweight" and escaped the "obese" classification. That feels HUGE (pardon the pun). I've lost over 9 inches from my chest alone -- that doesn't even sound possible :o) -- and can now buy bras like a normal person, in a normal store that actually fit.

Each of these changes, don't have squat on the energy, confidence, joy, enthusiasm, spiritual reconnection and self-love I've rediscovered.

The one downer is that I didn't know it could be done - didn't dare to claim it with a "before" photo. I just knew that I would take it one day at a time and see what happened. I was 20 lbs into this weight loss journey before I even dared to look up and around.

So today, as I unveil my 2004 "BEFORE" photos -- me at my highest 206 -- I want to encourage you to claim it. Go somewhere, grab a camera (use a timer if you can't bear to have a witness :o) and get to clicking. Success is yours; right now.

If you don't believe it, that's okay; lucky you, I have enough faith for the both of us!

Until next,

Aw Crap!

Yep, I know what you are thinking. Language! - lol

But it's only 9:20 AM and I have already reached Fooey status.

Doggone it if I didn't get stuck less than a quarter of a mile into my run short of breath and terrified I wouldn't be able to make it forward or backward. I made some pretty crumby choices yesterday that resulted in said quagmire.

First, this waiting to workout until after work business just doesn't work for me. I may have to work out twice, but I need the endorphins from my morning cardio just as much as I need caffine or my daily Shakeology. Dear Lord, I needed a butt draggin wagon yesterday for crying out loud.

Then, to support a local charity I ate at Ghengis Grill - a wonderful Mongolian stir fry place, if you know your limitations. Ah, the magic of "if." Apparently I did not know (and/or observe) mine & went for not one, not two, but three kinds of seafood. Add spices & peanut sauce and you have a perfect recipe for crappy choices - excuse the pun.

So then, I rushed my kids to church, scarfing this down as I made the 15 minute drive and by the time I was home, woah baby! I was so sick there was no way I was doing insanity -- I could barely sit up and focus on my son's long division homework.

Ya know that phrase, what's done in the dark always comes to light? Well, that was yesterday and today when I be-bopped my happy hips outside in the beautiful Texas morning air, my lungs were not having it. Seafood, peanuts, and cold air with sans inhaler, sans Zyrtec? Really? Smoke crack much?

It should be no surprise that I found myself humbled and sitting on the curb trying to breathe.
So boys and girls, today's lesson is that every choice we make, no matter how seemingly harmless or covert, will come back to us. The fuel we choose for our bodies makes a difference. Every choice is relevant - that relevance can be downplayed or managed, but it always impacts the way your body runs and reacts.

Until next,