PLEASE SEND ANOTHER ANGEL AND HUG MY WAY

Thursday, September 02, 2010

I just received some very bad news about my older brother who has just been diagnosed with Picks Disease - a form of dementia but very rare (1-5%) and is fatal. I need to read up on all of this. I have worked a good deal of my nursing career with the elderly and this is a form of dementia I have not heard of before. I will meet with my sisters on Sat afternoon so that we can discuss whatever it is we can do, want to do and probably just cry.

I am heartbroken to think of my brother having to travel this journey ahead of him and it will be more horrible for all of us than it is for him. My brother has a beautiful loving wife and 3 children and lots of grandchildren and this will be devasting for all of us.

This is no cure and there is no chance of recovery so I just ask all of you to keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

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DIRECTION OF LIFE

Thursday, September 02, 2010

"I have learned this at least by my experiment that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with success unexpected in common hours." ~ Henry David Thoreau


Where would you want to place knowing what direction you want your life to go or do you even know? I think I had a plan (not really known at the time) of where I wanted my life to go when I first committed to fitnessas a lifestyle . Although it started as an experiment I knew it was something I was ready to have take an important role in my life. So who told me that - who the heck knows but it just was.

Ever so many people get so wrapped up in diet, exercise, tracking numbers, the scale, thinking about competing etc etc etc when, in fact, they haven't done some of the most important work of all - THE WORK THAT BRINGS SUCCESS. I think many who have "been at it for awhile, successful or not" know that there were many peices missing in their journey and even if they succeeded at the weight loss or whatever goals they had that there were very important peices of the puzzle that still are problematic because they never took the time to make them important enough.

It almost walks hand in hand with the "quick fix mentality of today" when you try to put direction to your journey - how do you do that if you really don't know what it is you want and where you want your life to go. Far too many continue to want instant gratification - maybe wear a pair of skinny jeans, compete, attend a wedding blah, blah, blah - very short term and certainly is not an expression of knowing what direction your life is going to go. We don't think in the distant future, we think in the immediate future. We already know that this is a very poor way to think, don't we?????

Setting your direction right up front can make your journey not only smoother but will bring such joy and permanence in the effects of what you are wanting to do. How wonderful does it feel inside to really have some concrete direction in your life - can you even imagine how that feels? I found out when I sat down and planned the direction of my life and have been one very happy and content person since - I AM GROUNDED AND SOLID IN MY LIFE GOALS - can you say that? IF YOU CAN'T THEN GET IT ON YOUR AGENDA - no daudling.

I have another favorite quote that I will place here because it fits perfectly with what I am saying to you:

"THE MIND HAS EXACTLY THE SAME POWER AS THE HANDS: NOT MERELY TO GRASP THE WORLD, BUT TO CHANGE IT." ~ Colin Wilson

I have done many blogs on the power of the mind and the mindset, attitudes, limiting factors and all kinds of other things that should take precedence in your story as you proceed to DIRECT or RE-DIRECT your life. If you have not read them then please go back through and read them. They will all help to put more thought to the process if you don't already know it.


I said that there are always going to be things that will upset your "in control" little world and your mindset is what will take you through those things. Bern had what we thought was a wart of sorts over the top of his right eyebrow last week and today we found out that it was a moderate level squamous cell carcinoma. He has more on his right ear and I pray that is all - they will look over his upper body at next visit in October when they do the surgery on his ear. We both sat in the office with the Doc and laughter abounded -- we have made a pact that we will always take whatever god gives us and GET ON WITH IT. That is what we will do with this. One thing I know for certain - it is from the sun and we will not take that commodity from my husband. It is one thing that he immensely enjoys and is one thing that cannot be taken from him as long as he lives. He did laugh and say "Gee, maybe I should use that sunblock that Karen bought me last year that I hid in the cupboard". He is such a brat!!!

We know the directions of our lives - certainly not when they will end - but certainly we know where we are going as we face any and all stumbling blocks. Bern has taught me much about LETTING GO AND LETTING GOD - something I would never hand over and now I have. I truly believe that we just have to do that or we can destroy ourselves. This also lends much direction to life on a different scale. Now, God isn't in charge - YOU ARE - on things in your life that you can control -- don't blame God or anyone else, take charge and just get it taken care of - again, no daudling.

Also had to go get my new retainer today and it turned out great. I will need to wear it basically around the clock until my new teeth are placed. They had to take the wire off in the back of my teeth and so this retainer will keep everything stable. I kicked her butt today for not telling me how painful that Zoom Whitening was (she had a good laugh and I could have killed her). Don't get me wrong, but I truly do not think I would do that again - it was the longest day of my life trying to tolerate those excruciating lightning bolts going through my teeth at random for the entire day.

So here we are - another day in the life and we are SMILING. So should you be smiling when you ensure that your DIRECTION IN LIFE is planned and ready to put into action. It is a plan without end so there doesn't need to be a big rush. You did not get here overnight and you will not get to your goals overnight - trust in the process, trust in yourself and more importantly of all is BELIEVE IN YOURSELF that you will reach whatever goal you set out to achieve because you also BELIEVE IN YOUR DIRECTION IN LIFE!!!

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ONE WAVE AFTER ANOTHER

Wednesday, September 01, 2010

So sorry I missed blogging yesterday but quite honestly I have never felt such horrible pain and I couldn't focus for one second - it was miserating. I would most definately have to re-think ever having a professional whitening again. How about a hot poker being driven into every single nerve in your teeth and all the nerves firing seperately across your mouth - there was nothing that touched the pain. This only lasts for that one day but have to tell you - NEVER AGAIN - they look great, but never again - I WOULD RATHER CLEAN TOILET BOWLS FOR A LIVING. We move away now from that experience.

We are still heavily into our heat wave and believe it or not when I went for my walk today my 2 little elderly people were out there with their sprinklers going so they could give me a little repieve. I stopped to thank both of them and they laughed that they knew I walked every Mon-Wed-Fri and knew I would be back today = how sweet. I cut it to just 3 miles today because it was just un bearable and I didn't feel real great today anyway - didn't sleep much all night last night with these teefers. Tomorrow I have to go and get the new retainer that I will wear until the implants are placed and then another new one will need to be made (cut me a break already).

"IF OPPORTUNITY DOESN'T KNOCK, BUILD A DOOR." ~ Milton Berle

Many a time, in your journey's or in your lives, you will be presented with things or situations that will complicate your immediate world. This is not the end of the world - may just pee you off in a big way, but guess what - not the end of the world - BUILD ANOTHER DOOR. When one door closes another always opens and if it doesn't then make one.

Right now we have this heat wave - well I built another door - took my training to 3 days per week so that will work for this week and allow me to take the hottest days off from ST. I will keep my nutrition tight and the carbs just alittle lower. Don't ever feel your backed into a corner because there are many ways to stay out of that corner if you get creative. There are always variables - just like variables in your weight training. You can change your sets/reps, order of exercise and many other variables and you can also change many variables in your environment when

Many times we just let ourselves fall into a slump rather than GETTING REAL MAD and doing something about it. WHO'S TOUGHER - YOU OR YOUR ENVIRONMENT? I chose to be the tougher one - my statement to myself is always "You better pack a lunch if you think your going to mess with me". The power of words and statements is really all you need to give yourself an ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT.

Sometimes things can be so simple - all you really need to do is adjust your attitude - there are no really big things that have to happen. This is yet another way you have to look at whether you BELIEVE IN YOU honestly or not. You can't let yourself be defeated and if you believe in yourself you won't let anything defeat you. I do believe in myself and no matter what I will kick my butt any day, rather than fall - FALLING IN NEVER AN OPTION. Don't let it be an option for you either.

BELIEVE in you and you will be amazed at what kind of inner strength that alone will give you.


"CHANGE YOUR THOUGHTS, CHANGE YOUR LIFE." James Allen

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THE HEAT IS ON - still have to live the fitness

Monday, August 30, 2010

OMG is it truly a hot one and this is just the beginning. I pushed myself to walk at dialysis today and I did 4 miles in this draining heat. There were a couple of elderly people out watering their lawns so I asked if I could enjoy some of their gentle rain and they were so obliging. Those 2 soakings are what got me through it - DIEHARD IS THE NAME OF THE GAME IN FITNESS - IS IT NOT? Got home tonight and hit my gym and got that out of the way right away.

Early to bed tonight for my early am dental appt tomorrow, come home and get hubby and he has a physical with the primary so busy day away from home and I suppose that is gooinod cuz it is going to be soooooooo hot.

"EVERY ACHIEVER THAT I HAVE MET SAYS, 'MY LIFE TURNED AROUND WHEN I BEGAN TO BELIEVE IN ME.'" ~ Dr. Robert H. Schuller


I have struggled for many months it seems trying to get my fitness lifestyle back in balance when there were other more important things interfering with that process. What is very important to mention is that I DO BELIEVE IN ME and the determination that I have and although it went on far longer than I wanted - I got through it because I do believe in myself.

I hope you all can say that and truly mean it. We all will have moments where something other than our fitness will need to be front and center more important - it is okay for that to be as long as you have the faith in your commitment to get back on track when the timing is good. I wasn't happy letting go of this because I am truly committed but yet I also know that it can never have such importance that I can't make decisions to walk away from it when I need to. This is called HEALTHY BALANCE.

We don't want addictiion or addictive behaviors to be a part of our journey's - what we want is healthy balance of all the things in our lives. Always make sure you have a back up plan to see you through those times. You can always manage quite well just with nutrition alone if you are disciplined enough to stay the course. Exercise can come when you can fit it in and will come back full focus when its the right time.

When you run into this type of issue and especially if you are in a position where you cannot exercise you will want to drop your calories so that you maintain a negative caloric deficit. You would also want to look at your carb intake and percentage of calories based on your degree of lack of activity. Always remember that carbs are energy - if your not doing anything do you need that extra energy? It will probably end up in fat storage so maintain awareness of that. You do need some carb during the day but what is critical is the timing of that carb to prevent negative impact.

There is such methodology to eating for our fitness lifestyles and just make sure you stay on top of that no matter what things get thrown at you. We are facing a real heat wave here and I don't eat much of any grain carbs when it is hot like this. My favorite items during this heat is raw veggies, fresh fruit and some lean meat - alittle healthy fat. All that fiber will keep you comfortably full.

So, do you have your backup plan in place? Do you use the above strategy when you are deciding what and how to eat even just on lazy days? I know many people, especially in the winter months, spend Sundays on the couch watching movies or football and eating all kinds of high test foods - not good choices. Do you do this - if so its time to re-think what your doing.

Anyway the heat will continue this week and workouts will continue carefully and well hydrated. Always a plan and always a strategy.

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Headed for a heatwave and whatever else is on the mind

Sunday, August 29, 2010

What an absolute glorious and beautiful weekend we have had and we have enjoyed it to the fullest. But now we are moving to a heat wave most of the week so are trying to mentally prepare for that. Its tough when we have had alot of fall type weather to now go back to a heat wave - well here we go.

I am once again doing battle with the sore throat thing - not sure what is going on here but will see what tomorrow brings. I think it is this healthy body putting up a big fight for something that is trying to attack it - pray tell my body will win. I dont' feel well today but have kept moving anyway. I put another 25 miles in this week in outdoor walking and hit all my weight training - feels so good to be back to consistency.

Tuesday I am on board all morning for the teeth to be cleaned and then zoom whitened in prep for the new teeth to be placed in early Nov, this way the new ones will match the permanent ones. Bern has a physical in the afternoon so we are going to be gone all day - guess that is one way to beat the heat. He has been extremely tired so I am just watching him to see if anything in particular is going on. All my Mom's tests at this point have come back negative and she is well according to her doctor - I think they are missing something but we wait and see how she does.

Someone asked me today what it is that I eat to get and maintain my body. That is a loaded question and one that is difficult to respond to. My nutrition is all based on my goals of the moment and that changes with frequency which makes it very difficult to describe. I vascillate between 50-30-20 and 40-30-30 and places in between most of the time. I don't do particularly well on carbs that are too low so I don't go any lower than 40% most of the time. I have done lower in comp prep but it is something that I don't do well with personally.

Nutrition is a very personal and unique blend that needs to be adjusted for your particular body and your particular life and lifestyle. What works for someone else may not work at all for you or only work for a short time. There are many variables that are unique to individuals and each person needs to find the place that gives them the best results. I hear people discussing this topic all the time and giving advice all over the place but that is truly not the answer ever. How your body responds to food and what it does with food is unique to just you.

I am a person who does not need a large variety of food to prevent boredom etc and I am so glad for that. The more variety you need the harder it is to follow any kind of tight nutrition parameters. For me I eat roughly the same every single day and just vary the foods within my own little tight network of selections. Because I am this way, I no longer need to monitor calories and macros etc because I know what I have to eat everyday to get where I want to go - EASY IS THE NAME OF THE GAME. It is hard enough to do everything we have to do everyday and not having to keep track of numbers is one thing I am glad I no longer need to do.

My grains are very limited and ingestion is seasonal. I am not much for grains in the summer months because it is just too hot and they are just too heavy. In the summer months I will generally do oatmeal or eczeil bread for a grain at breakfast. I will sometimes have a grain at lunch and after that i eat veggies and fruit as my starch. I eat lean meats only, I do not eat cold cuts and I don't eat frozen dinners. I eat all veggies (or those that I like) and I love fruit, the fresher the better. I will opt for a fruit portion before I will opt for a grain.

I batch cook on Sundays so my protein is cooked for the week. I love my meat cut up cold with raw veggies and fruit for lunch and at dinner I may or may not eat my meat heated. I don't do a whole lot of tossed salad just because I love those bad dressings and can't eat salad well without them so I don't eat much of that. When I have it I try to stick to vinegar and oil or just a very small amt of light.

I may or may not carb cycle depending again on what my current goals are but I do utilize that now and then. I otherwise eat healthy at least 90% of the time and allow that 10% play time through the week. In the winter months I allow many more optional foods that I generally wouldn't be eating in the summer - things like yams, brown rice etc. I love my bodybuilder chili and eat that real often in the winter(love the dinner in a dish).

This kind of gives you alittle idea of how I eat. I am very disciplined (when I want to be, which is most of the time) but I am not afraid to enjoy something when I want it. I am not fixated on anything nutritionally at all and certainly am not obsessed either. Being natural and eating in a manner that is healthy, but makes you happy is the ultimate best way to get where you want to go.

Your nutrition depends on your goals - the loftier your goals the harder the nutrition and deprivation is. Always pick goals that make sense for you - for example, you may want a figure competitors body but there is no way in he..... that you can follow that kind of nutrition strategy - so why would you want to have such a lofty goal. Make your goals realistic FOR YOU and for a LIFE TIME, not for some momentary fix.

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