Small Successes (Vol 23)

1.  The house is passably clean.  Thanks to the app I told you about last week Home Routine, I've stayed on top of some of my house cleaning.  This has been a great help for me because I tend to get distracted and overwhelmed by a huge house full of mess. 

2.  If you've been following my weight loss journey, you know that I've been making strides toward my goal of getting into a size 10.  I started at an 18, so this goal has been a long time coming.  This week I met that goal! It was such a surprise!  But the bigger surprise is that I missed it.  How could I miss it?  In my mind, I'd moved on to an even bigger goal before I even reached my original goal.  You can read about my minor breakdown here: Missing the Forest  

3.  The bigger success in this goal is that I've gained perspective.  I've been relentlessly working toward this goal for 20 months and wanting it for 9 years, since my first child was born. (Again, how did I miss this?)  Since my meltdown, I've come to realize that God has been answering my pleas for help all along this journey.  I was afraid, at times, that he didn't want me to have a body I felt proud of because it would cause me to lose humility.  In fact, I've been humbled every step of the way.  He's given me strength to push through the frustration and the incredibly challenging workouts and, harder still, dietary sacrifices.  He is with me and has been all along and will be as I move forward in my fitness journey.  

Missing the Forest

I had a minor breakdown today.  It took me out of the blue.  I'd just had a great workout with Chalene Johnson.  I worked so hard and lifted so much weight that I could barely bend my arms.  It was a great feeling! I left all I had on the basement floor.  I was feeling really good about my ability to work hard.

Then, I got on the scale. Not only did I get on the scale, I decided to use the feature that measures body fat.  I had a number in my head and the number that came back was much higher than I expected.  That did it.  All the good feelings, the pleasure of flexing in the mirror, the lightness and the feeling of being fleet of foot were gone.  Stolen.  I lifted my eyes to the mirror and saw nothing but fat. The softness covering muscles I worked until they burned suddenly made my efforts seem worthless.  I spent the rest of the morning crying and alternately begging the Holy Family for help and berating myself for being a fat slob.  I wrote an email filled with anxiety and questions to my coaches, who have been so supportive of me.  "What have I done wrong? What if I never reach my goal? Why is this taking so long?"  At home, the tears ran freely until my 5-year-old and toddler came into the room and I was forced to pull myself together.

As I went on with the rest of my day, it gradually occurred to me that I was missing something.  Something monumental!  For the last 20 months, since I started on my fitness journey, I have been working toward the goal of wearing my pre-pregnancy size.  Sunday, I tried on the jeans in my goal size and they zipped and buttoned and looked good enough to wear in public!  This same size wouldn't budge above my knees only 20 months earlier.  The event was marked with a nice compliment from my husband.  That's it. As I neared my original goal, I began to see what might be possible in the future and set bigger goals for myself.  That's not a bad thing.  But in doing so, I somehow missed that the one thing I have wanted for 9 years and been working toward for 20 months had been accomplished.  20 months of my life dedicated to this one event and I glossed over it!

I REACHED MY WEIGHT LOSS GOAL!!!!  I REACHED MY WEIGHT LOSS GOAL!
I! REACHED! MY! WEIGHT! LOSS! GOOOOOOAAAAALLLLLLL!!!!

How many people stick with a plan and a goal that takes that long to achieve?  I think not many.  It was a long, hard road filled with sweat, soreness and tearful prayers to God in the shower.  I sacrificed sleep, dessert and bread.  I experienced the gamut of emotion as I pushed toward, reached and surpassed each small goal.  I have learned what I am made of and, despite what that scale says, I am not made of fat!  I am strong.  I can do what I put my mind to doing.  I can run! I can jump rope with my daughter!  When I started, I couldn't leave the ground for jumping jacks. I can do 2 military push ups. When I started I could barely do 7 sloppy push ups from my knees.  If I could tell you all the magnificent things that have happened to me as I pushed through my frustration, anger, inability and weakness, I would never stop talking.  I have a new outlook and a new lease on life.  I wish I could give this gift to everyone who is unhappy with their weight and fitness and tell them that if I can lose this weight, fighting for every single pound and inch, anyone can.

How could I have missed this!  I have achieved a goal I have held for 9 years, since my first child was born. I have achieved a goal I have worked toward for the better part of 2 years.  Now I am going to sit down and let this amazing event wash over me while I give praise to God for answering my prayers. Then I'm going to celebrate!

Small Successes (Vol 22)

1.  I lost another pound. I can't find it anywhere! This is one lost thing I won't be praying to St. Anthony for help to find.
Losing weight is very hard for me. My body just loves to hold on to fat. Just LOVES it! So every pound shed is a tremendous success for me!

2.  I've been doing this 30 day challenge that I mentioned last week.  This week I found an app for my phone that helps me make a useful to do list and another one that helps me keep track of the housework.  I get overwhelmed pretty easily when things pile up around the house and then I know, just know, I'm going to be the next candidate for Clean House.  Seriously.  So these apps are called Seize the Day, a free to-do app for iphone that actually is simple and so far is working for me. The other is called Home Routine, the most expensive app I've ever bought $4.99! I decided to buy it because it's cheaper than a maid.  It goes along the lines of the Fly Lady, with the zones and the morning and evening routines, but it is far less overwhelming.  Fly Lady always stressed me out, but this is working out much better.  There are checklists for each thing and it is actually helping me get my house straight in manageable increments.

All in all, I've been much more productive this week.

3.  Now is the time to dig deep.  What else have I succeeded at this week?............ OH!  I know!  Yesterday at ballet, my friend told me that I inspire her to exercise.  I workout early in the morning (otherwise it ain't happen') and she was feeling tired and lazy and a cold coming on, but she remembered that I was up working out and got up and did her own workout because of that!!!  What an awesome compliment!  Then this morning on Facebook another friend told me I was motivating her simply because I post my workout every day!  How about that?  Personally, it's very rewarding and humbling to think anything I do might inspire another person to make a good choice. That is the whole reason I became a Beachbody coach . This is my business and I hope to make a living at it, but if I never earn a cent, the knowledge that I have helped someone is enough.

Don't be modest.  Let me cheer you on!  Share your small successes on Faith and Family Live!

Small Successes (volume 21)

1. It's still Thursday and I'm getting my post written!

2. I know. That's kind of a cheat, so here's my real successes. I've completed 7 days of Chalene Johnson's 30 Day Challenge which means I've written down my priorities, listed my top 10 goals for the year, identifies the top PUSH goal that makes all my other goals achievable and found a good app for my phone for to-do lists that make achieving my goals and staying organized possible. Are you curious what my number 1 goal is? You already know, but I'll tell you again. It's getting in the absolute best shape of my life before my 40th birthday in June. I'm talking bikini body. (caveat: I will only wear a bikini on vacation without my children. Moms with young kids are better off in board shorts or swim minis). Oh yeah, making a public proclamation of the goal can also be part of it, which guess I just made.

3. Toward meeting that goal, I've started a NEW program called ChaLEAN Extreme. I am LOVING it! It's only 5 days (I'm used to 6) and the workouts are intense, but shorter than P90X and Insanity. Plus Chalene is such a great trainer. It's funny. I started the program before I new she was also a motivational speaker. What a great combination,huh? She connects with the whole person, not just the muscle and diet, but the brain. Believe me, my brain needs work!

4. On the homefront: I managed to clean one bathroom and it stayed clean for 36 hours until the toddler somehow got peanut butter on her feet (!) and tracked around the house and into the bathroom. You should not expect to see too many housework related triumphs on this blog. The next time you read a real satisfactory success here, I hope it's because I hired a maid!

You can share your small successes here at Faith and Family Live and let us all cheer you on! Go you! http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/blog/100_small_successes/