What's Been Going On

July has treated me quite well!

The 90 Day Challenge still remains part of life, and, although my food tracking has been sporadic [until now : ) ] I've seen more weight loss.

SBF Marji reminded me of a great Rev. Michael Beckwith quote she put in her blog..."The pain will push us until the vision begins to pull us." (Or words to that effect.) During a recent convo, Marji and I were a bit befuddled as we didn't want to dwell in all the "negatives" of being overweight. We kinda left it there and then a day or so later Marji came up with Rev. Michael's gem. Yes!

It's the idea and the vision and the feeling of where I want to go that pulls me along in my weight loss journey. This morning during my meditation (a new element to my 2-week recharge, details also available in Marji's blog) I spent a few minutes visualizing what that would be like, including feeling what that would be like. That's one pulling aspect.

Another is a new way of looking at my weight loss...I'm 11 and 1/2 pounds away of losing 100 pounds from my highest weight ever. That didn't dawn on me until a few weeks ago and it's been a great incentive to keep up with the interval training, the 1500 calories a day plan and the regular walking and step classes. SBS Teresa said it best: "Soon I'll be able to say 'I know someone who's lost 100 pounds--and it's you!' That's the kind of thing that gets a person on the cover of Prevention magazine!" (Or words to that effect.)

Finally, a shout out to SBC Jeanie, "The Fitness Jeanie," who I've written about as being an expert fitness trainer and now can personally proclaim that is indeed the case as she created a super strength training workout plan for me and led me through it for the first time yesterday. You know that "good sore" feeling? That's what I got going on -- and I love it! : ) Thanks again, Jeanie! (If you want your own super strength training workout from The Fitness Jeanie, you can get it -- all online. Check out her site.)

More soon!

90 Day Challenger Touching Base

I understand people are reading this...so I better write something once in awhile! ; )

I'm staying super clean on my NAFP, and that's helping me cope during a busy time. I'm getting a new business up and running and keeping busy with marketing and PR work from clients, too.

Things have been going well. The 90 Day Challenge has pretty much become a way of life for me. If I falter anywhere, it's in tracking my food, however after a day or two (and some encouragement from SBF Marji) I'm back on it. I think that is key when looking to lose weight, for sure. What works best for me is using my menus as a planning tool before I put a morsel in my mouth. My strongest days are when I follow a menu I planned out the day before.

I've eliminated caffeine (yet again) because it wasn't serving me or my loved ones well. (After drinking too much one day I felt like I would not only fly out of my skin, but also punch someone if they looked at me the wrong way -- not good for a peace-lovin' gal like myself!) It's not like I was drinking a whole lot in the first place -- usually less than 200 mg a day. Even so, I feel my best when I keep it below 100 and more at 50 or 0 mg.

I've boosted my activity level to include more interval training as suggested by The Fitness Jeanie. (A Super Best Client of mine.) It means pushing myself more and wasn't easy to start. Now, though, I must say I look forward to my "interval sessions" at Balboa Park, where I incorporate some running into my walking routine. The scale has been staying stagnant lately, and I trust this will bust through my "mini plateau."

SBF Marji and I were talking the other night about the benefits of following the Challenge, and that includes saving money by not eating out so often. So following the 90 Day Challenge can help fatten your back account! : ) We would probably agree that the biggest hurdles come when visitors are in town or we travel. Although I can usually hold my own on my NAFP, it can be interesting to stick to 1500 calories on travel days. The Fitness Jeanie pointed out that Marji wrote a great posting about that subject and I agree -- you can read it here.

Not a whole lot of travel or visitors coming up in the near, near future, although I'm looking forward to a visit from SBS Teresa in August. I foresee things going really well in all realms, though -- because I'm going to plan for that!

Doing a Course Correction

I've hit a slump in the 90 Day Challenge 2.0. I was giving it some thought last night and this morning and then in church this morning had the overwhelming urge to whisper to SBF Marji that I needed her help. I just had to put it out there. Turns out, she needs a pow-wow, too, so we're going to do that later tonight.

Basically, I feel like I need a "course correction." The calories have been creeping up past 1500 a couple of days, and the heavy duty exercise hasn't been there. So I've identified what I don't want and now will concentrate on what I do want: days of 1500 calories or fewer and that little bit extra in the exercise.

What I think I'm going to do is commit to two mornings at the gym where I do some interval training and get some speed going on the elliptical machine and then hop off to go do a circuit of weights upstairs. That, in addition to my frequent walks and step classes, I believe will do the trick exercise wise.

Calorie wise, it's going to center on limiting the snacking -- that's one area where the extra calories are appearing. Also, I'm going to cut down, not eliminate, the fats I've been eating.

Yes, I believe this is going to do the trick.

I'll keep you updated!

It's Amazing What You Can Do When You...

...try!

That gem came out of SBF Marji's mouth on Friday when we went for a celebratory 90 Day Challenge walk and even incorporated a bit of running!

That came about after SBC (Super Best Client) Jeanie Callen (aka "The Fitness Jeanie") made such a suggestion in my previous blog post.

Here is a key part, in case you missed it:

"I know the best friends in life are those that congratulate our successes and push us to do even more, so I'd like to pass along this tip for The 90 Day Challenge 2.0.

"While you are enjoying your walks in Balboa Park, try to spend at least five minutes really pushing yourself, I mean so much that you want to stop. This may even mean taking it up to a jog. I know you probably hate the thought of running, but adding some other challenge will help you accelerate your results. You don't have to do this every day. For starters, try it once per week. That's it!"

Nice and easy -- just the way I like it. Well, 5 minutes isn't quite what Marji and I did, but we did do a few minutes of jogging, and worked up a bigger sweat, so that works for me. I've been trying to walk faster and faster on my walks, too, just for those reasons Jeanie mentioned.

Marji and I both are ready for The 90 Day Challenge 2.0 to begin. Not that we've gone completely off kilter this week, but we've expanded our eating options and it shows, for me, in more tiredness and moodiness. Who knew that keeping it simple eating wise would make for a better life experience? Now I do!

Oh, one last thing, some updated measurements. Since Jan. 12, I have lost:

Neck: .25 inches

Upper arm: 1.25 inches

Chest: 2 inches

Upper waist: 3 inches

Lower waist: 3 inches

Hips: 1.5 inches

Thigh: 2.5 inches (Thank you, step classes!)

Whooo hooo!

P.S. You can check out more gems from The Fitness Jeanie at her site.

Successful Weight Loss

The 90 Day Challenge officially ended last night and What. A. Ride!

I have made such a mind shift from those entries made more than 3 months ago where I was grappling with fears and resistance. I'm grateful for those feelings, though, because they launched me to where I am today, which is...

20 pounds lighter!

Yes, from 270.5 to 250.5 exactly.

I added it up, and in the last 3 months I have...

• Danced my way through 21 hours of step class
• Walked about 292 miles through Balboa Park
• Tracked my food & calories 81 days
• Inches lost: TBA (SBF Marji and I are meeting on Friday for that. I'll try to get a picture of our thinner selves, too.)

Pretty good, I'd say! (Also, as I'm fond of saying, "I like this! More of this, please!")

Speaking of, The 90 Challenge 2.0 starts May 1...so stay tuned!

Love and success to you, Donna

Kickin' It Up a Notch

We're heading into the last couple of weeks of the 90 Day Challenge, and, for me, I was thinking I'd like to kick it up a notch to have a surge of weight loss before the calendar says April 20.

After thinking about it more the past couple of days, though, I realize that taking it to a new level means

• a little more of somethings
• a little less of other things
• and staying consistent with several things.

In the little less category, if I keep calories between 1200-1400 daily, instead of the benchmark of around 1500 I have been, that would be cool.

In the staying consistent area, I'm slotting exercise. I initially was thinking of boosting that, but I added it up and see that I exercised 10+ hours last week. There's not a whole lot more I can add to that and keep my energy and the benefit levels high.

In the little more of things area, I'm putting in sleep. I caught up on some zzzzs over the weekend and it felt really good. I felt thinner each time I woke up. Keeping up on sleep gives me more energy for everything else, also the defenses go down when I'm tired and it's then I'm more likely to eat more. So more bedtime for Donna.

There you go!

P.S. 3 more pounds down this morning for 17 total since the Challenge began. Yay!

Weight Loss: Accepting Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes

Like David Bowie sings...

Strange fascination, fascinating me
Changes are taking the pace I'm going through

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Oh, look out you rock 'n rollers
Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes

Releasing weight is a fascinating process, and the last few weeks I've been adjusting the mental visual to the actual visual of what I'm looking like.

A real shocker came a couple of weekends ago when I was visiting Ron & Tara in Vegas. Ron was kind enough to take some new pictures of me for an Internet business I'm launching soon. After a couple of hours smiling for the camera in various poses, he uploaded them and we took a quick look.

And, peering over Ron's shoulder, I was stunned into silence. I was shocked at how much smaller I've become (and, frankly, how blonde I've encouraged Troung to make my hair--but that's another story).

Seeing myself on that screen was a wake-up moment. In my mind, and until then, I had seen myself 40 pounds or so heavier. What I was seeing on screen didn't match that and I actually had a moment of "that's not me."

The whole situation was enough to get my attention, though, and acknowledge that, 1) yes, that is me, 2) I'm looking good (I wish I could have Ron's special hairlight always shining down on me, tho) and 3) get ready for more moments like this as the weight loss continues.

I like the new look -- a lot! And I am indeed looking forward to seeing less and less of myself in pictures to come.

In the meantime, here's a sneak peek of one of my favorites -- don't know if it'll be appropriate for the website, but I love the way I'm exuding confidence. What do you think?