Receive the Gifts in Every Experience

I am learning to embrace situations and experiences that I used to judge as things to be dreaded and endured. Shifting my perspective doesn’t change the situation, but it does change how I experience it. The surgery that I underwent in December was one of those times. Last week, I had my final post-surgery doctor’s appointment were my stellar recovery was confirmed. I am so grateful for this step on my wellness journey. Truly, everything about that experience has enriched my life. Heading to traffic court today is another example. I think I’ve mentioned in previous blogs that I was getting some obvious bonks on the head by the Universe reminding me to be present. Getting a speeding ticket a couple of weeks ago as I headed to coach training was one of those jolts back to reality. I had set my cruise control to ensure I would stay within a reasonable speed . . . and then my brain checked out. When the officer brought me back to reality, I was no longer going a reasonable speed since it had changed twice without my notice. I thanked him for bringing me back to consciousness and was a much more present driver the rest of the trip. And have been much more conscious of being present since. So today, I get to take the afternoon off from work, drive an hour there and back through our beautiful mountains on what is supposed to be a sun-soaked day, encounter people that I wouldn’t have otherwise gotten to meet, and look for the gifts in this experience. Because they are there if I will just open my eyes and my heart and look for them. I expect […]

Accountability

Accountability for December 30, 2011 After falling into the cookies, on December 20, I committed to being accountable through the New Year to you Fabulous Readers about my diet and exercise as I recover from surgery.   Weighed this morning and I have maintained over the holidays, surgery, and recovery. Woo hoo! It’s clear I will meet my goals of maintaining my weight and feeling great on January 2. In addition to 20 minutes of walk/jog intervals, I got in two short walks yesterday. Also ate well with the only splurges at dinner out with friends being half a cocktail, two bites of apple cobbler, and two peppermint hard candies. I’ll take it! Today I will do a low-weight upper body workout and will get in at least one short walk. Tonight’s New Year’s celebration with friends will be my free meal for the week, and I will be back on track tomorrow with our area’s traditional New Year’s day meal of collard greens and black-eyed peas. Thank you Fabulous Readers for helping me meet my post-surgery diet and exercise goals!   Are you making New Year’s Resolutions and have a goal on which you would like to be held accountable? Feel free to use the comment space on each of my accountability blogs, and I will cheer you on. Just let me know what your goal is, what you will be doing to meet it, and how often you will be reporting in.  

Accountability

Accountability for December 29, 2011 After falling into the cookies, on December 20, I committed to being accountable through the New Year to you Fabulous Readers about my diet and exercise as I recover from surgery. With my doctor’s OK to slowly go back to my regular workouts, yesterday I did a low-weight lower body workout and it felt awesome! Also go in a nice walk with the dogs. Am a little sore this morning, which lets me know I hit the intensity level just right for where I am in my recovery. This morning I did 20 minutes of walk/jog intervals and I plan to get a walk or two in, as well. Eating was pretty clean yesterday. Only thing off plan was two peppermint hard candies to satisfy my post-dinner sweet-tooth. We are going out to dinner tonight with friends, so will do my best to stay on track. Definite progress! Are you making New Year’s Resolutions and have a goal on which you would like to be held accountable? Feel free to use the comment space on each of my accountability blogs, and I will cheer you on. Just let me know what your goal is, what you will be doing to meet it, and how often you will be reporting in.

By |December 30th, 2011|Accountability, Surgery|0 Comments

Look for an Excuse to Workout

I had my first post-surgery appointment with the doctor yesterday and he confirmed that I am recovering remarkably well. He gave me permission to slowly go back to my regular workouts, and assured me that my body will let me know if I am doing too much. It’s gratifying to me that I have missed my workouts for the past two weeks, and am looking forward to getting back to them. In the past when life got stressful, the first thing to go would be my energy for workouts. That would be closely tied with my eating for comfort rather than wellness. Pretty quickly, even the idea of working out would be emotionally and physically draining. This would often be the beginning of my wellness spinning out of control, resulting in my regaining the weight I had recently lost—and then some. The first time I really saw this change was in the summer of 2010 when my husband was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. It was an incredibly scary time when my vibrant and active husband suddenly became so pain-ridden he couldn’t get out of bed without assistance. It was several weeks before we got a diagnosis, and several more before treatment gave him some pain relief. Instead of using that incredibly stressful time as an excuse to stop my personal care, if anything it motivated me to take care of myself even more because I knew if I wasn’t feeling good, I wouldn’t be able to take care of David. The best way I could help him, was to take care of myself. That doesn’t mean it was easy. There were days I had to make myself go workout, even if it was for 10 […]

By |December 29th, 2011|MindBodySpirt, Surgery|2 Comments

Accountability

Accountability for December 28, 2011 After falling into the cookies, on December 20, I committed to being accountable through the New Year to you Fabulous Readers about my diet and exercise as I recover from surgery. Had my first post-surgery appointment with the doctor yesterday and he confirmed that I am recovering remarkably well. He even expressed surprise at how well I’m doing! I attribute this to the power of a positive mind-set, minding the doctor’s instructions to walk and drink lots of water, and eating well most of the time. As my accountability posts attest, perfection is not required for fabulous results! I have permission to slowly go back to my regular workouts. My body will let me know if I am doing too much. Did get in all my walks yesterday, and ate clean until we joined friends for dinner and drinks. I splurged a bit on two drinks, a few bites of my husband’s French fries (they were worthy!), a couple of bites of the macaroni and cheese appetizer, and a bite of peanut butter pie. All in all, I think I did pretty darn well. Did stay up probably a little too late (thus the tardiness of my posts this morning), which I think contributed to the headache I went to bed with last night, but I feel great this morning! Looking forward to getting a gentle workout in today, as well as a couple of walks!   Are you making New Year’s Resolutions and have a goal on which you would like to be held accountable? Feel free to use the comment space on each of my accountability blogs, and I will cheer you on. Just let me know what […]

By |December 29th, 2011|Accountability, Surgery|0 Comments

Accountability

Accountability for December 27, 2011 After falling into the cookies, on December 20, I committed to being accountable through the New Year to you Fabulous Readers about my diet and exercise as I recover from surgery. Was another day of eating clean. Only splurge was a tiny bite of a homemade peanut butter cookie that a merchant gave us. But I let my husband have the rest. Win! Also got in all four-doctor-prescribed walks, and upped my time and distance. I go to the doctor today for my follow-up appointment. My expectation is to be able to report tomorrow that I am back to normal activities, or close to it!   Have a goal on which you would like to be held accountable? Feel free to use the comment space on each of my accountability blogs, and I will cheer you on. Just let me know what your goal is, what you will be doing to meet it, and how often you will be reporting in.    

By |December 28th, 2011|Accountability, Surgery|0 Comments

Accountability

Accountability for December 26, 2011 After falling into the cookies, on December 20, I committed to being accountable through the New Year to you Fabulous Readers about my diet and exercise as I recover from surgery. I am back on track! Ate clean—no extras or sweets—and got in all four-doctor-prescribed walks. My intention is to do it again today.   Have a goal on which you would like to be held accountable? Feel free to use the comment space on each of my accountability blogs, and I will cheer you on. Just let me know what your goal is, what you will be doing to meet it, and how often you will be reporting in.    

Accountability

Accountability for December 23, 2011 After falling into the cookies, on December 20, I committed to being accountable through the New Year to you Fabulous Readers about my diet and exercise as I recover from surgery. Day 4 of healthy eating! Did great yesterday, particularly considering that treats from my sister-in-law arrived and it was all I could do not to fall right into them. Instead, I had three Gin-Gin ginger hard candies to satisfy my sweet tooth. Everything else was on plan. Win! Also got in all four-doctor-prescribed walks, so I’m continuing to do well on the exercise. And I feel great! I am definitely hoping the doctor gives me the all clear next Wednesday as I feel ready to resume my normal activities. I won’t report in for Christmas Eve or Christmas day. Since I wasn’t sure if I would be feeling up to cooking a big holiday dinner, we made plans to go out to dinner tonight, so today will be my Free Day. (I just had some of the banana bread my sister-in-law sent. Yum!) Christmas will be pretty moderate, but I plan to have a cookie or two and perhaps a slice of the apple pie my husband is planning to make. My intention is to be back on track Monday, and I’ll be back with accountability next week. Happy Holidays! Have a goal on which you would like to be held accountable? Feel free to use the comment space on each of my accountability blogs, and I will cheer you on. Just let me know what your goal is, what you will be doing to meet it, and how often you will be reporting in.

Who Do You Want to Be for the Holidays?

Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in doing, particularly this time of year. Shopping, wrapping, decorating, cooking, holiday cards, etc., etc.—there’s so much to do to make the holidays special for everyone else. But what about you? Are you feeling the Happy, Merry, and Jolly? Chances are, not so much. It’s easy to be so focused on the to-do list that we forget to be. We buy in to the idea that our value is demonstrated by what we do, and we forget that who we are being is so much more important. Just ask yourself if your family would rather have that extra decoration, another batch of cookies, or even that extra gift, or if they would rather have you truly present, relaxed, smiling, engaged, and laughing? If you have been going in overdrive to get everything done and as a result have been eating poorly, cutting back on sleep, skipping exercise, and are feeling the stress, how likely are you going to show up over the holidays being who you are meant to be? It’s more likely that you’ll be short-tempered, anxious, and miss most of the fun. I think that’s been the most important reminder for me as I’ve struggled with having to let go of doing while recuperating from surgery. My ah-ha moment came yesterday when I remembered that my purpose in life is not to do something in particular, it’s to be the fullest and broadest embodiment of who I am. No one else in the world can be you. You are unique. No one else has had the exact same experiences, or perceives things in exactly the same way. The gift that you bring to the world is […]

What’s Your Holiday Focus?

For the past several days, I have been more focused on what I don’t want then what I do want.  I’ve been focused on not eating sugar instead of eating for health and wellness. I’ve been focused on my worry over gaining weight instead of being confident in my ability to maintain my weight. I’ve been focused on all the things I can’t do because I am recovering from surgery instead of what I can do. I’ve been focused on being bored instead of milking every ounce of rest and relaxation out of this recovery time. Just remembering that what I focus on is a choice feels so much better! With that reminder to myself, I will practice shifting my focus every time I notice that I am feeling out of sorts. Like magic, not only do I feel better, but I have more fun, my stress level drops, and life unfolds in a more beautiful way. For many people, the holidays are a time where they focus on stress, too much to do, family squabbles, and maybe even judgment, disappointment, sadness, and loss. This is all focusing on what you don’t want. What can you do to shift your focus to all the opportunities presented by the holidays? Here’s what those new thoughts might look like: I’m choosing to do these extra things because I love my family and want them to have the best holiday ever. I will do what I can, and am willing to let go of those things that really aren’t a priority. I am going to focus on how I show up at family gatherings, and will let go of past problems and expectations. The past is over. I […]