13 days later...

I am still alive!  Wow, I used to brag how I rarely got sick, but when I did, I would be the first getting over it.  Not this time.  I have been humbled!

Now on my second week with an awful head cold, I am due to leave to Nashville for another John Lennon art show.  It will be held at the Franklin Art Fair and we are the featured main event.  I would love to travel with a clear head, but I guess I have been really lucky all these years and this time is an exception to the rule!

OK, I must confess:  I have been completely alcohol free for a month.  Yes a month and I want to say, I do not miss it.

Do not get me wrong! I have never been the kind of person to think drinking alcohol was "bad" for you and, in fact, have a reputation as a trainer to be very lenient with alcohol.  Well, I kind of had to be, after all, I would be a hypocrite to suggest to a client to give up something I wouldn't.

This is the fuel source now.  It's just water!

All the power just seemed to fizzle from my nightly glass of wine or vodka/ soda with a squeeze one day.  I had just gotten back from Sarasota, Florida and I became obsessed with trying to lighten up our monthly expenses.  (Those boys in college, you know!)  My husband and I decided to turn our pool into a self-sustaining pond, complete with fish and lily pads.  Then the sun came out and my energy escalated and the next thing we knew our vegetable garden was planted.  Without my even realizing it, I had not had my nightly fix!  Was it because my stress level went down?  Was it because my husband decided he didn't want to drink anymore?

Whatever my reasons doesn't matter much to me.  I have had my share and if I should want to have a drink in the future, so what?  But for now, this feels really good!  Oh, and I don't have that monkey on my back saying, "Well, you drank alcohol and it depletes your vitamin C, so that is why you got this cold so intensely!"

No, I just got a bad cold.  So what?

"Purge, Organize, Beautify"

That is my mantra when I am stuck in some area of my life.  It is a simple formula for moving forward and making progress, but in the case of this being about making fitness (and lets face facts, appearance) changes, this mantra is especially effective!  Don't believe me?  Just try it!  All you have to do is repeat the mantra when you are feeling like you are not making progress.  Then actually do as you say!

First word is purge and it is one of the most important of the three, really.  The word has gotten some bad rap lately, but the truth is, in order to bring in something "new" in your life, you must make room for it.  Because of the very nature of weight loss, losing those energy blocking piles of stuff we accumulate over time, is powerful medicine!

To purge the piles of dated offers, correspondence and magazines, whose presence only seems to stress you, not comfort you, is cathartic and transformational!  Finish preparing or paying bills that have sat unopened on your desk.  Get rid of those things around you that only take up valuable space and feel your energy flow!  Start slow, but continue throughout your life to make room for the new!  (I could write an entire book on this subject.  And will continue to touch on it throughout my life as a blogger, but for now I am just going to outline this strategy for body changing success.)

Second word is organize and for those that know me know I use this word a lot when discussing strategies for weight loss and fitness increases.  You are your best when you have organized even the most basic areas of your life.  So, after purging, organize the valuable and important stuff left in your domain.  You don't have to be Suzy Secretary, just give it your best shot and leave it alone!

The areas that most affect our moods when we are working on body changes is:  the kitchen, office, bedroom, closet, bathroom and car.  Get these areas updated and easy to maneuver around and within them and you will be more empowered to persevere and stay the course.

The third word is beautify and let me tell you, life is about beauty so you have no choice but to create it whenever you can.  Revamp your bookcase and store the extra books, placing one or two interesting objects in the open space.  Hang your art in new locations.  Indulge in new bedding or candles for a softer more relaxed bedroom.

But nothing beats what happens to you when you beautify YOU!  Taking the time for your appearance is by and large the single most powerful strategy of all.  To take care to put yourself together, even if it just clean skin and a pony tail with jeans and a t-shirt, you can take the extra time to be polished and feel your value and confidence exude!

It was time to beautify!  Help, Karen!!  I need to feel young and fresh again.  Can yo help me?

I needed a little pick-me-up last week and saw my Esthetician friend and owner of Hello Beautiful Skin Clinic, who thought I'd be a good candidate for an Opulence Infusion treatment.  all I can say is I am hooked!  After the first treatment my husband said immediately after seeing me, "OMG! Your skin looks amazing!"  Seriously, he said this, like that.  That is my before photo of my face.  Next week you will get the after and let me know what you think!

Stay tuned!!

"I Am Afraid I'll Fail"

"Fear is the dungeon of the mind into which it runs and hides and seeks seclusion.  Fear brings on superstition and superstition is the dagger with which hypocrisy assassinates the soul."  -Philosopher

Out in front of my house, Helen was willing to play as a part of her workout.  She said, "What the heck!" as neighbors walked by.  Here she is balancing on one leg as she bends to pick her "marker".  (No fear.)

The only man (woman) who makes no mistakes is the man who never does anything.  Don't be afraid of mistakes, providing you don't make the same one twice."  -Theodore Roosevelt


"Perfection is the scariest of all flaws."  - Debra Devincenzi

Helen said she was never able to keep a hula hoop going, but tried it several times until she got it!

Yes, I came up with that one!  I love it and it is so true.  If we have nothing else, we have hope, right?  If you believe you can make health improvements, you will.

Jumping rope can burn more calories than running....so can hula hoop!  Try it!

Just, get away from your computer for a few minutes right now.  Go for a fast walk, bound up stairs, do some yoga, whip out some well performed push-ups or crunches.

Or go play!

Start with what you LOVE!

When I am wanting to live a bit more lean, I will wear clothing that moves.  This way I can do my exercises on the run.  A bit here and a bit there.  For my "go to" exercise I will do my  Plank Dogs.  Start in downward facing dog.

If you are wanting to lose unwanted and unhealthy pounds you must first shift your thoughts from, "I have to lose weight; This fat makes me feel like such a loser; or "I don't want to have to deal with thinking about this right now." to that of, "I enjoy everything in moderation because it makes me feel so much better to eat lighter."

Then move carefully and seamlessly to plank.

Instead of panicking and dousing your energy with fear, ("I'm afraid I will fail again.") it is time to calm down and give yourself a big hug!  Diets usually fail because of the state of mind of the dieter.  Most people think of losing weight with fear that they will suffer and be deprived.  Fear makes us become emotionally charged and the result is irrational assumptions of failure, suffering and overall negativity.  "I will have to stop drinking my wine; I'll never get to eat chocolate again;  I can't go out with my girlfriends!"

You can modify the plank by taking it to your knees.  You will  still want to keep your core muscles active and shoulders very stable!

When lowering body in chaturanga, keep your mid-section strong and straight!

Just for today, make the decision to NOT panic about eating or working out.  Instead, eat just a bit less than normal or make a better choice whenever you can.  Just for today give yourself permission to only workout for five minutes.  If you end up doing more, double hugs!!

End in cobra or, your back can handle it, upward facing dog,   Push back to  downward facing dog carefully and slowly.  The slower, the harder!

"I'm Back!" (Rebound Weight Gain)

It's the little things we do that create the big changes.

One of the most difficult aspects of my profession (fitness training) is when a client realizes ten to twenty pounds later that she has gained her lost weight back.  I would say twenty-five percent of my long standing clients have had this frustrating experience.

When in doubt: water, water, water!

It usually starts like this:

"I don't want to weigh in today.  I went totally crazy over the weekend and ate copious amounts of chocolate (or whatever)."  To which I reply:  "This is the best time to weigh in, so that you know where you are, now, as a result of going overboard and get focused again."  (Now I have to ask, why is it perfectly OK to check our blood pressure, cholesterol and our temperature, but not our weight?)

"No, I don't think I could handle it."

And on it goes, week after week until her favorite jeans have been sitting in the closet for a few months.  In the mean time, her denial about what is happening to her body is keeping her from wanting to be willful with her program.  Old patterns resurface like eating mindlessly while watching TV.  Or more excuses as to why she didn't go for her usual walk (link to my YouTube video's for a no excuse fast workout!) and opted instead to "deal with something more important" like putting stray photos into an album.

I alsways feel better when I have my favorite healthy, lean foods around to keep me revved and ready for action!

This well meaning woman then starts to justify eating two helpings of mac and cheese (or an extra large wedge of homemade carrot cake) because she "hardly ever eats stuff like that".  I am here to say that most women in the US eat more than they need to maintain good health.  So why do we think it is down right obsessive if we endeavor to moderate our caloric intake?

Discover new recipes that you can make easily.  This one from Ellie Kreiger, "the Foods You Crave" is fantastic.

I am going to dedicate the next few weeks to getting on or back on track with your fitness and diet and learn ways to stay the course even with the occasioned pig-out or lazy slump.

These were the pants she used to wear at the hospital.  Nurses are always giving to others, she started giving to herself

For now, take a good look at what and how much you are eating.  The best way to do this is to write it down.  And, please, this is not crazy and overboard!  We do not learn anything new without study and practice!


The sun will eventually come out and you will likely want to wear something that will expose your arms or legs.  Don't look at regaining weight as "all is lost and I'm a loser".  It is the small and doable steps that get you to your goal.

Oops, can't wear those anymore!  She has always made sure she enjoys her favorite treats, only now she has just a bit.

Remember Helen?  She almost slid and she got right back on the scale and began being conscious.  She is much happier with her leaner, healthier body and feels the small amount of time she puts into her body is time well spent!

We can do many things to work out, such as clean our floor.
The End

Powerless?

Have you ever felt that way?  Powerless, that is.

We lost power this last weekend.  Fifty-five hours of dark, cold, quiet.. so quiet.

We had a party to go to on Sunday and I felt like my hair was greased to my head.  I'd jumped into our hot tub trying to feel fresh.  Yuck, it was luke warm.  (Get over it, whiner!  There are people in Japan who would give their I-teeth to have your suffering!)

You know what?  The perspective helps, but, let's face facts, it can also make you feel worse that you feel crappy and shouldn't.

This is a photo of myself taken on Monday night.  Randy hooked me up with an ineffective book light we'd purchased the night before.  He finally clipped it to a baseball cap and stuck it on my head so I could read the last pages of the book I'd been reading:  "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest". 

It was interesting;  neighbors, that we had at best perfunctory conversations with before the storm, were suddenly like family.  We shared our "wealth" with each other.  They had the ability to charge my phone in their car, we had a pool, thus water for flushing toilets and bathing.  We also had fire wood and gas in case one wanted to heat a kettle for coffee.  They had a connection with someone at PG&E.  They had a few bottles of wine or vodka.

I thought about my best friend, Celeste, who is so not like me.  She plans for a month's back-packing along the Pacific Coast Trail as a leisure trip.  She lives in a cabin with very little amenities.

Who would I go to if the going got rough?  Her.  She'd put me in perspective.  She'd love it.  Finally a world without the Internet or the comforts of heat warming us without having to haul wood or several blankets draping their weight upon our bodies.

I am spoiled rotten.  I am used to the comforts of being a kid who grew up with mid-century advancements and I have known of nothing else.

I know we must be prepared for the very real possibility of not having power, but that doesn't mean we are powerless.  Take the time to prepare for a life without electricity.  Learn to live without it and to appreciate the amazing sound of nothing.

My Secret Life

When I was young, I wanted to be an artist.

I drew this of myself when I was 17.  I held a mirror up to my face.

This is my husband before he was my husband.  He loves to fish.  It helps me to paint when I am angry at him.

This is Rosa, my younger son's girlfriend.  Painted when she had just graduated from high school.  

We all have something about us that most do not know about.

He also loves to watch baseball.  That is where he is right now, in fact.  Spring training in Arizona.

I love to hike and this is of a photo of me taken by my best friend.

I didn't have the kind of parents that understood the value of being an artist so they encouraged me to make art my hobby and to focus on my typing skills or how to keep my knees together while sitting.

The hills around my home are like my friends.

Don't get me wrong, now, I had great parenting, just no artists in the family and therefor no positive reinforcement for my passion.

Rocky and Boomer.  

In my secret life, I am an artist.  Mostly I paint with acrylics and I almost always paint people; especially ones I know.

A fantasy phase I went through when I was 18.

I just started this painting of Kirby.  I have painted her before.  She and my oldest son had a three and a half year relationship.  It helps me to paint when I am feeling sad about something.

What is your secret life?  What is it you love to do, but aren't recognized for it?

I am curious...