Change is unavoidable

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Well, I'm again headed to major changes in my life. I have no idea how it will all pan out. What I do know is that I am exhausted from the roller coaster of emotions that my life has been on for the past 7-8 years. With the newest change in my life, one which I did not have any choice in, I am hoping things will calm down. I want to sleep and baby myself for awhile and tend to the emotional scars that I've experienced during this timeframe. I am so grateful that at least I can retain some normalcy with continuing my journey with SparkPeople.
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  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

LADYCHAZ 1/31/2012 11:45AM

Jeff - thank you for the kind and supportive words and welcome to Spark People. It is an amazing site and the people who are on this site are pretty incredible. I wish you much luck along your journey. Joan - thank you so much for your friendship. I will be emailing you in the next day or so to catch up on everything. I'm truly blessed to have incredible friendships in my life. Report Inappropriate Comment

JOJOMKE 1/31/2012 6:35AM

Chaz, Hang in there...I'm thinking of you. Take care of yourself. Hugs, Joan Report Inappropriate Comment

VAILIEN1 1/29/2012 11:35PM

I don't know what the issues are in your life but I agree with you that Spark People has brought some much needed stability to my life since I joined the beginning of the year. I look forward to spending some time on SP, planning my meals and reading articles and communicating with people. It's like something has changed in my life and my whole outlook is different now. I continue to evolve every day and I suspect that's what life is all about - Change and evolution. Please do take care of yourself and know that Spark people is a safe place to nurture and take care of yourself. Peace, Jeff Report Inappropriate Comment

Let's hope I like it!

Thursday, January 19, 2012

A friend and businss associate is taking me as her guest this evening to check out her gym. It's a nationally known chain, and from the comments I heard with the women I used to work out with at Ladies Workout Express, they also enjoyed this gym.

Keep your fingers crossed that I feel comfortable and fit in. If this gym is a place that I do feel comfortable and can get to 3-4 times a week, I will be back on track!

Let's hope I like it!

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  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

LADYCHAZ 1/20/2012 2:07PM

Unfortunately, my friend had to cancel going to the gym last night, so I did not get to check out the possibility of joining this gym. Maybe this weekend! Report Inappropriate Comment

Time flies by...

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

It's been a long time since I've written a blog - about 4 years, 3 months. It really does seem like just yesterday when I was here back in 2007. My whole life has done a complete 180-turn around. Things changed drastically for me in this time, some for the better, some that were extremely painful (and still hurt to this day)!

I was promoted in January 2008 at my job, but with this promotion came about 12-14 hour days, working 6-7 days a week. I was stressed out, and I wasn't getting to the gym or eating the way I had in 2006 and 2007. Needless to say, with this added stress and the fact that my healthy lifestyle was on a temporary hiatus, I was not able to continue the streak of my weight loss and I actually gained back ALL of the weight that I'd worked so hard to take off in 2006-2007, PLUS some!!

The good news is that by the fall of 2009, being disgusted with processed foods, and because of a special request made by someone who at the time was very important to me, I started to cook almost all of my meals at home.

By cooking the food yourself, you are in charge of the fat, the sodium, and any other ingredients that go into the meal. I also learned that I'm a pretty damn good cook, and that I enjoy it. It's become easier and easier for me to do, and it makes taking lunch to work even easier. Plus, home cooked meals taste so much better than a pre-packaged meal.

I did find a gym that opened up down the road from where I live, but I honestly can't stand it. Too many men there and when I work out, I prefer to be around women, not men. So, I'm probably going to cancel the membership this year and stick to working out at home. As much as I know I'm not as motivated to do it from home, I do not really have a choice. I know that once I start to incorporate my work outs back into my daily routine, the weight will start dropping again.

Ironically, after dropping the weight that I put on in 2008-2009, I am now right back EXACTLY where I was weight-wise in 2007.

It's been a lot easier to get back into tracking my food than I thought it would be. I'm looking forward to where this journey will take me by the end of this year...stay tuned...

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  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

LADYCHAZ 1/19/2012 1:38PM

Hi, Joan! I'm so glad to be back on the Spark plan and to be communicating with you agin. Yes, please keep in touch!! ~Chaz~ Report Inappropriate Comment

JOJOMKE 1/18/2012 5:50PM

Hi Chaz, I'm so glad you are back. I'll email you soon! ~Joan Report Inappropriate Comment

Zumba is as Zumba does

Friday, October 26, 2007

This past week I started taking my workout clothes in my duffle bag to work so that I could change into them and go straight to the gym after work. I'm trying to get myself into the habit again of going to the gym BEFORE I go home since I lose my motivation once the sun goes down and the days are getting shorter and shorter. Daylight savings time will end in about another week, so I thought this week would be the best time.

Well, I'm glad I switched around my time; now I'm arriving between 5:45-6PM instead of 6:45-7PM. This hour earlier is allowing me to participate in the Zumba, which is like a salsa aerobics style of dancing to latin music. It's a lot of fun and more challenging than riding a stationary bike for 30-minutes and I'm getting much more of a sweat in 30-minutes of Zumba than the bike. I'm proud to say that I've been able to do 30-minutes of the Zumba on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday this past week and then complete my 30-minutes in the circuit pumping weights. I feel as though I'm getting back on track physically.

I will check back in 2-4 weeks to post how my progress shapes up.
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  Member Comments About This Blog Post:

FROLIC838 10/26/2007 1:09PM

That sounds like so much fun. Perhaps I'll have to look and see if there's a class offered in my area. One of the keys to success with a fitness routine is finding something you actually look forward to. Sounds like you have struck gold in that area. Congratulations! Report Inappropriate Comment

Seeking revenge

Sunday, September 23, 2007

This was the Healthy Reflections article that I just finished reading on the SP site. The part of the article that struck a chord with me is the line regarding some people are just inconsiderate and mean because they are probably insecure and trying to deflect their own insecurities and bad experiences onto someone else. I can't help but think of "Watermelon" when I read this line. She has been so toxic and hateful to me for so long that the nice behavior she has been exhibiting lately makes me weary. I keep wondering when the other shoe will drop and she'll revert back to type with her hatefulness and demeaning attitude. I will try my best to focus on my goals, my sucesses and the positiveness that I already possess when/if she decides to lash out at me again in the very near future.