The Towel

Oh my, goodness! Last night, as I was drying off after my shower, I was thrilled to discover I could wrap the bath towel around my body. Yes, I was able to wrap and tuck the towel around me. After my shower I stood happily at the mirror with the towel securely wrapped around my body and completed my personal hygiene regimen without loosing the towel. Small successes like these keep me encouraged.

No Limits

Tenatively lacing 'em up!

Most of my childhood was spent on the sidelines shying away from physical activities because I was overweight. But, things have changed. Now that I’m shedding the pounds, I’ve decided to reclaim my childhood, and so I continue to try things that I was unable or unwilling to try when I was younger. This weekend, I found myself at Skateworld shuffling around in a pair of roller skates.

My friend who invited me skating, loves to skate and he's  really good at it. So he spent most of the time skating at speeds I would never dare and making moves that I only can dream of. Meanwhile, I mostly shuffled the perimeter of the lobby -- very cautiously, I might add. After about 45 minutes of shuffling around, joking with my folks, and receiving encouraging words from everyone (Even a group of young ladies I didn’t know) I finally made my way to the actual rink. Oh my, was it slippery. I just held onto the ledge and kinda propelled my feet forward. I’m not sure what I was doing was really considered skating, but…I was out there, trying and having some fun while doing so. I’m sure I only skated a few feet but as pertrified as I was it seemed like I took the whole rink. 

With every new adventure I embark on, I’ve been thinking about the Chrisetta of the past. And, what's changed about me is my spirit, my will, and my desire. I’m no longer in the passenger’s seat -- I drive and I’m willing to take a few risks along the way. Like Vince Lombardi said, “It's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get up.”

Kenny lending a hand

Mama keeping me encouraged

An Apple A Day

I love apples. Absolutely love them. My favorite variety is Gala. What a great, nutritious, portable snack. Not only are they wonderfully crunchy and sweet in the raw, but there are many ways you can prepare and enjoy them. For breakfast, I like to dice them and add to a warm bowl of oatmeal with Craisins or on top of plain Greek yogurt with Craisins and walnuts. At lunch and dinner they continue to impress; they’re great on salads. A friend, hipped me to another way to jazz up an apple: drizzle a little lime juice on it and sprinkle with Chili powder, yup Chili powder - delightful. It’s a hit with her kids and I love it, too.  Of course, I can’t forget to mention the not-so-healthy American favorite…Apple pie – yum.

One day recently while I was enjoying an apple, the adage, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away,” came to me. I started wondering how much truth there is to the statement, so I researched it. And, low and behold, I found my love for apples goes beyond a tasty snack but indeed I’m getting loads of nutrients too. Here’s what I found:

Five Reasons To Eat An Apple Every Day

1. Your Diet - Apples are the perfect, portable snack: great tasting, energy-boosting, and free of fat.
2. Your Heart - Research confirms it! The antioxidant phytonutrients found in apples help fight the damaging effects of LDL (bad) cholesterol.
3. Your Digestion - Just one apple provides as much dietary fiber as a serving of bran cereal. (That's about one-fifth of the recommended daily intake of fiber.)
4. Your Lungs - An apple a day strengthens lung function and can lower the incidence of lung cancer, as well.
5. Your Bones - Apples contain the essential trace element, boron, which has been shown to strengthen bones - a good defense against osteoporosis.

Source: VirginiaApples.com

The Will

For the first eight months of 2010 my life was going relatively smoothly, but in late August I hit some major bumps in the road, and well, I suffered some bruises. For about six weeks, my head was in a cloud and I was not working out as regularly, eating as well, or blogging. However, throughout this time I never, ever lost my will to fight this battle. I’ve vowed to lose weight and adapt a healthy lifestyle many times in my life, but this time I really, really mean it. My will is strong this time around -- it’s a profound feeling I have deep inside of me. I will never give up on myself, and I will meet my goals. So as 2010 comes to an end, although I’m filled with pride because of my accomplishments I realize the battle is not over. Therefore, I’ve re-evaluated my goals, and am refocusing my efforts.  For once and for all, Farewell Fatso!

P.S. Magically, it appears my writer’s block is gone, so I plan on blogging regularly again. Yay!

Writer’s Block

I’ve always loved to write. As a child I had a vivid imagination and could write some pretty elaborate stories. I also am a trained journalist so I’ve had to write under extreme deadlines and report the facts. But, for the last couple of weeks I can’t seem to formulate my thoughts. I have several half written blogs sitting on my desktop. If only I could put them all together and make one cohesive blog. Sigh.  Y’all will be the first to hear from me once I overcome writer’s block. Until then look for updates on Facebook.