A Walk in the Park

One of the reasons I love Austin so much is the number of great parks hidden in the city. And since the weather here is so nice this time of year, it's the perfect time to check out some of the local trails. And despite his tiny size, Denver will never turn down a hike if it's with his favorite peeps (that would be us). Actually, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't turn down a hike with any peeps, favorites or not, since he's never met a human he didn't like.

Since doing workout tapes in the sanctuary of my living room can be a little claustrophobic when it's a balmy 80 degrees outside, exploring local parks is a great alternative for getting some much needed exercise. Thus, Nelson and I have embarked on a "tour de trails" of Austin.

Our first was this past Saturday morning, in a very residential neighborhood that we never would have found except for Nelson's super sleuthing skills (i.e. Google). It was the perfect place for a relatively easy hike and lively political discussion. It's interesting how you think you really know someone, after 10 years, and then get caught off guard when you hear what their REAL political views are.

At any rate, behold the beauty that lies deep within the city of Austin, whether you fancy political talk or not.


And check out the best little hiker under 12 pounds, along with the always elusive Nelson, looking very dapper in his very "non-hiking" attire.

Biggest Loser and I are friends again....

So ok, despite my earlier thoughts on how Biggest Loser may not be as motivational for some as others, I do have to say that the workout DVD's are pretty awesome. I'm currently doing the Power Sculpt workout that features Jillian, Bob and Kim from the show.
So far, I've only done Jillian's portion, but it's one of my favorite workouts now. I like that she uses contestants from past seasons, so that I feel I'm working out with "real" people. The moves are mostly compound moves, which I like because it feels like I'm getting more done in a shorter amount of time. You can also do one, two, or all three workouts - kind of like a "mix and match". So if you are short on time one day, you can just do the 20 minute workout, or if you are looking to be more challenged, you can add on one of the other two. I'll soon be adding Bob's workout, which I'm SURE I will love because he's just really pretty to look at. :)

On another note, I had my second weigh in yesterday at Weight Watchers, and am down 2 more pounds, which makes a total of 6 pounds in two weeks. Whoo-hoo!

Random Picture of the Day

Is that a boot on your head, Nelson, or are you just happy to see me?



And people think I'M the crazy one in the family.

Stepping Out in Faith

"Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step." Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

This is the quote on the bottom of my food diary page from yesterday. And it's so relevant, for so many reasons. First of all, my faith has been a major part of my life since an October night in 1997. Stepping out in faith is something I practice on a regular basis.

Ironically, I'm currently participating in a bible study, with an awesome group of women, called "If You Want to Walk on Water, You've Got to Get Out of the Boat." We often talk about "stepping out of the boat." And for me, that's exactly what I do each morning when I wake up - I step out of my boat of safety, having faith that I'll be able to follow a healthy eating plan, and have the energy to workout, and that by doing those things, I will bring happiness and health into my life. If I didn't have faith in that, what would be the purpose?

The second part of the quote says that you just have to take the first step, even if you don't see the whole staircase. Which is interesting, since looking at a major weight loss seems like an eternal staircase with no end in sight. But if I choose to look at it in steps, the first is easy. All I have to do is follow a healthy eating plan and workout. Should be a no-brainer. And if I look at the next step as just losing 10 pounds, how hard can that be? And if each time I lose 10 pounds, I look to the next 10 pounds, pretty soon it will add up, and eventually spell out a major weight loss.

So I'm going to continue to step out in faith, and continue to look forward to the success that I will enjoy along the way.

Biggest Loser is Not My Friend

So yesterday was my 2nd week at Weight Watchers, and my second weigh-in. I'm proud to say that I've lost 4 pounds!! Although what I WANT to say is that I've lost "only" 4 pounds. You see, unfortunately, the show Biggest Loser has completely ruined me. And I know I'll probably get hate mail for this, but I think the show has set me up for disappointment. Now don't get me wrong, I think the idea of helping so many people lose great amounts of weight is awesome - after all, I'm trying to do the same. On my own. And that is where the problem begins.

On the BL, the participants generally lose pretty large amounts at once - many times up to 15-30 pounds their first week. So, in comparison, 4 pounds seems like a rather weak weight loss. Now I know they are "at the ranch" with top trainers, all the healthy food they could want, non-stop workouts, yadda yadda yadda. And that usually 2-3 weeks in, their weight loss becomes more like 3-5 pounds. But what is troubling is that when they do hit those slowdowns, the trainers are always so upset - and always ask what they've been doing wrong. They essentially get chastised for not having as successful of a week as what the trainers had hoped for. And that just makes me sad. Aren't they supposed to be setting examples for the millions of people watching - most of who are NOT going to have the luxury of trainers, cooks, etc?

This is why I love Weight Watchers so much. Every weight loss, great or small, is applauded and rewarded - and it adds up week after week. I'm not getting fancy trainers or someone planning my meals for me every day and standing over me several hours a day while I sweat it out. But I am getting an idea of what it looks like to be healthy, and how I can maintain that every day for the rest of my life. And the best part? I don't HAVE to work out 6 hours a day to see results. After all, who has that much extra time on their hands?

It may take me a lot longer to lose it, but at least I know the odds are better of me keeping it off. And in the end, that's what it's all about, right?

Dancing With the Stars? Not so much.

My obsession with dancing began in the 5th grade. It might have begun even earlier than that, come to think of it. I remember my Uncle Dave babysitting me in the late 1970's, teaching me how to disco in the living room when my parents went away for a weekend. He was the coolest uncle ever, and I thought I was the luckiest girl in the world, learning to dance so fancy. (By the way, I still think he's the coolest uncle ever.)

You can only imagine my delight, then, when the popular show Solid Gold debuted in 1980. I didn't just love the Solid Gold Dancers, I wanted to BE a Solid Gold Dancer. They were soooo thin and beautiful and shiny. The way they danced around to the hot 1980's music made me so envious. And I knew I had what it took to be a dancer. After all, I had created all kinds of fabulous dance routines in my basement to the likes of Donna Summer, the Bee Gees, Irene Cara (remember her??), Kool and the Gang, and KC and the Sunshine Band.

Since I didn't really have any money, being only 12 and all, I couldn't afford to buy any cassette tapes. (You may remember cassette tapes - they followed the 8-track cartridge as the more advanced way to listen to music without a turntable.) I did, however, have a father who loved to tape music and always had blank cassettes on hand. So I did what every other thrifty 12-year-old of the day did, and that was wait patiently all day by my radio with my tape recorder ready to roll. When one of the songs played that I wanted to tape, I just held the recorder up to the speaker and hit record. Admittedly not the most efficient way to record music, but nonetheless, it afforded me the ability to have my very own "mix" tape that I could use at any time. Technology sure has changed, hasn't it?

Despite having all the best dance tunes and a basement to use freely, I never did take a single formal dance lesson, instead choosing singing as my musical outlet. But I never stopped yearning to be a dancer. The closest I came was being a cheerleader and doing a dance routine during half time at the basketball games. Not quite the same, I know, but for 4 minutes once a week, I got to at least pretend.

Fast forward to adulthood, and I still have that little girl in me who would love to be a dancer. So when I decided to embark on my big weightloss journey, I knew that I would need various workouts to hold my interest. Dance videos seemed like the perfect option. Since I love Dancing With the Stars, I was delighted to discover they had put out a dance workout DVD - all for just $9.95 at Walmart. I figured, how hard can it be? It's only a workout video.

Famous last words. It's HARD. And the skinny, smiley, way-too-happy instructors make it look sooooooo easy. They appear weightless as they bounce about, kick-ball-changing around the dance floor, barely even developing a flush. I, on the other hand, keep tripping over my feet, running out of breath, missing every other step, and looking like some kind of clown who's been drinking.

Oh well. My comfort is that I have no witnesses but the dog, and occasionally my husband who normally hides out to avoid the debacle. Maybe it's just more practice that I need. After all, practice makes perfect, right???

Wake up, it's Tomorrow!!

That's right. It IS tomorrow. You know how they say tomorrow never comes? Well, I'm not sure who the collective "they" is, but "they" are wrong. Tomorrow does come. It comes when you decide to do what you've been putting off til then. And for me, that is today.

Thus, my first blog entry. I've been saying forever that I'm going to start a blog. And in my mind, I'd think "I'll just do it tomorrow." I have a habit of saying that a lot. I've also sworn to start my diet tomorrow, clean the house tomorrow, start my workout plan tomorrow, get organized tomorrow, blah, blah, blah. But this time I mean it. And actually, I mean it about all those things. But first, the writing. After getting my degree in writing from St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas (the best little private college ON EARTH!), I swore I was going to write all the time. Get published. Write really, really "smart" things. But, turns out, when you graduate from St. Edward's with a degree in writing, you pretty much write non-stop until you graduate. To say I was tired of writing by graduation day would have been an understatement. So I thought perhaps I would take a short break and at least read some great literary books. But, nope, didn't do that either. Instead I OD'd on mindless magazines like People and Us. Now don't get me wrong, I love celebrity gossip as much as the next girl and maybe even more. However, I wasn't really sinking my teeth into anything meaty. I worked my way up to Chick Lit, and it earned a little place in my heart which will always be there. (Chick lit, not my heart. although I always hope my heart is there too.)

I'm happy to say though, that 5 years after graduating, I'm actually following through on my promise to write. And to read some good literary books. As a matter of fact, I'm going to start a book club with my dear friend Terri, who by the way, is one of the coolest chicks ever. Right now it's just the two of us, so either that means we are very intimidating, or nobody likes us. I like to look on the bright side and think that hey, at least we get to pick all the books we read!! And speaking of books, I found this cool website about 1001 books you should read before you die. I can't wait to dig into the list. And for anyone who wants to join me and discuss, you can check out the list here: htttp://www.1001bestbooks.com/

And just to add a little more to my writing plate, I'm also going to write a novel in 30 days. Yes, you read that write (pun intended). 30 days. Am I crazy?? Yes. Am I still going to do it? Yes. It's all part of a fabulous website called National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo for short. You can read more about that here: www.nanowrimo.org. If you've got any great plot ideas you'd like to see turned into a novel, I'm taking suggestions. :)

God Has a Sense of Humor
Yes he does, and I can prove it. So like I said, I have a problem with putting for today what I can do tomorrow. That includes losing weight and exercising. That is until a person who is very important in my life and whose opinion I care about greatly, finally pointed out the obvious. And that is that I have a weight problem, whatever I'm doing isn't working, and I need to take action now before I suffer some dire consequences. Ouch. I'll admit it stung a little. It's not as if I walked around believing I was a svelte size 4 or anything, but I like to think I'm sort of "incognito." How I can think that, I have no idea. I also suffer from the opposite of body dysmorphic syndrome in that I think I'm way skinnier than I really am. Thus I hang out with all kinds of beautiful, thin people and think I fit in. How sobering it is, then, when I can't fit into a booth, bend over to tie my shoes, walk around the block without being able to catch my breath, and all the other indignities that come with being overweight. Actually, a LOT overweight. But, my dear friend's words finally hit something deep inside me, and I decided it was time to act. On a promise to her that I would join Weight Watchers, I actually did just that the very next day. There is one close to where I work and they offer it during lunch time. I've been to it before, and figured I could just walk there. Clearly, I have a bad memory, since I didn't realize it was going to take me half my lunch hour just to walk there, uphill. In bad shoes. Really bad shoes. By the time I arrived for my first weigh-in, I had shin splints and I could feel the sweat dripping down my back. Yay me!! But I did make it, joined, stayed for the class, and then realized I had to make the trip back. More shin splints, in even hotter weather, but fortunately downhill. Sadly, by the time I got back to work, my hair was sticking to my neck and I felt like I had run a marathon. The good news? I got over 40 minutes of exercise in on my first day - all before lunch!! So yes, God has a sense of humor. I kept saying I was going to work out and he made sure I stayed true to my word! Stay tuned for more updates on how my weight loss journey progresses. And please pray for me. I'm going to need it.