Celebrating

I sat here with my cup of coffee reading wonderful blogs this morning and just had to feel excited about being here. Wow, this site is so amazing. All kinds of people from all walks of life and every imaginable place, all traveling the same journey! Sharing our ups and downs, drawing on the experiences and wisdom of others, and celebrating a growing healthiness!

 I was reading the blog of one of my Rockstar sisters, Chrisie, when it dawned on me that my weight loss is different this time because it is coming from the inside out. My mind and heart are being healed of years and years of abuse, self abuse! I keep hearing so many of us say something to the effect of getting our groove going, and things that indicate that our hearts and minds are in this thing this time and we can actually feel the difference! If you are going on willpower alone, the battle is too hard to sustain, for me anyway. This is what I have always needed and what I still need to be successful.

 Imagery is very important. We need to see ourselves as what we want to be… and I hope that what we are all wanting to be is a healthy, strong, fit body, not just a thin, sexy one. You can be thin and unhealthy and unfit. So I’m going to keep getting up every morning and looking in that mirror for the thin, strong, healthy, fit Holly that is now in residence there, and invite her out to replace the Holly I see in the mirror. The Inside Holly knows instinctively how to eat and how active she needs to be, the Outside Holly is learning to be inside out!!!!

Have a beautiful Lord’s Day and be healthy and happy! Hugs from Holly Rockstar

A.L Williams made the famous statement, “All you can do is all you can do.” Truer words have never been spoken, if indeed you have examined the facts and it’s the truth.

I was messaging with Lara this morning when that thought hit me. I’ve really come to terms this week with learning to accept that sometimes what I want to do, at any given moment, may be a goal that I can’t accomplish no matter how much I want it. I have limitations.

I would be disappointed if I had not done the best that I could do, but the point is, I did do the best I could do, so to beat myself up for not doing more would be soooo counterproductive. It’s the kind of thing that turns a good honest effort at getting healthy and fit into a hopeless situation that then becomes a seemingly valid reason to give up and not fight it anymore. “You are fat, you will always be fat and there is nothing you can do about it. You can’t stay on a diet for more than 20 pounds, if that, so just cut the crap and get over it.” I’ve been in that spot so many times that I can’t count them, and every time I would throw my hands up and give up on every being perfect! I’m scratching my head and chuckling over the audacity of thinking I could be perfect!!!! Life is full of challenges and I’m not perfect, but that doesn’t mean I’m not up for the challenge to make my dreams come true!

I’ve been really sick for two weeks with spring allergies gone wild, causing a super case of bronchitis and allergic asthma. Just walking from the house to car is enough to throw me into spasms of coughing and gasping for air. I can’t even walk indoors because my lung function is so compromised. So ok, no exercise this week even though I REALLY want to. That’s life, we don’t always get what we want, but it’s not the end of the world. Really.

What I could do is drink my water and journal my food intake. I did that, and pretty darn successfully I might add! I could read the blogs and encourage my fellow slimmers here, and my Rockstar buddies to do our challenges I couldn’t. I did that! So as far as I’m concerned, I had a successful week.

I may not have lost a single pound but I learned a lesson that will help me do this thing right this time. It’s to hang in there when things aren’t what you want, keep on doing the things you can control and not criticize and berate yourself for what you didn’t/can’t do. If you can evaluate it honestly and see that you could have done something better, admit it and make a challenge to yourself to do it better next time, ask for help and encouragement, the folks here are so loving and helpful they will flock to your aid. But most of all don’t throw the war because you lost a battle. You are worth your best effort toward reaching your goals, even when you just aren’t up to par, for whatever the reason is. I am worthy, I am beautiful, I am a Buddy Slimmer!…and Rockstar too! Oh yeah!

It’s Not How Much You Drink, It’s How Fast You Drink It!The kidneys of a healthy adult can process fifteen liters of water a day! You are unlikely to suffer from water intoxication, even if you drink a lot of water, as long as you drink over time as opposed to taking in an enormous volume at one time. As a general guideline, most adults need about three quarts of fluid each day. Much of that water comes from food, so 8-12 eight ounce glasses a day is a common recommended intake. You may need more water if the weather is very warm or very dry, if you are exercising, or if you are taking certain medications. The bottom line is this: it’s possible to drink too much water, but unless you are running a marathon or an infant, water intoxication is a very uncommon condition.

There is a disorder called hyponatremia, which means “low sodium.” This occurs when someone drinks enormous amounts of water and/or loses too much salt from the body in a short time. Drinking an enormous amount of water overwhelms the kidneys and they can’t process and eliminate the water fast enough, so the amount of sodium in your blood drops too low. Your brain needs sodium and when the sodium levels drop this low a person feels confusion and lethargy. Severe hyponatremia can lead to twitching, seizures and even death.

Hyponatremia can happen to a marathon runner who drinks gallons of water and doesn’t replace the electrolytes during a race, or to people with certain psychological disorders who can’t make themselves stop drinking water. Hyponatremia can also occur in older people and people with certain medical conditions.

Hyponatremia won’t happen to a healthy person who spreads out his or her water intake over the course of the day. This means it is fine to drink two gallons of water over 16 hours, but drinking two gallons of water all in one sitting can be very bad.

The 1996 Position Paper of the American College of Sports Medicine recommends:

Cold: Drinks should be cooler than room temperature.Flavored: Drinks should be flavored to make them taste more appealing, helping people to drink more. A squeeze of lemon juice or a pinch of a flavoring can help without adding calories.

Sports Drinks: Use a sports drink to replace carbohydrate and electrolytes when exercising longer than 1 hour. Plain Water: If exercising less than an hour, plain water is just fine, maybe with a squeeze of lemon juice or other flavoring if preferred for taste.Drink to Thirst: Updated guidelines in 2006 caution endurance runners and walkers that overdrinking can cause hyponatremia, so exercisers should use thirst as their guide rather than forcing fluids.

Successful people are willing to do what others are not willing to do. I have resisted making out my goals for the week all weekend long, and I just can’t continue to do that! I know it’s a tool the successful use to plan for success, and if there is anything I want it is to be successful at this ridding my body of the fat that holds me back from so many things I truly want to do. So here they are….

1.  Be kind to myself. Speak words of truth in love, and don’t be critical of everything I do or don’t do. Treat me as good as I treat everyone else.

2.  Journal my food everyday, even if I’m not happy with how many calories I ate. How can you face the truth if you hide it?

 3. Drink at least four bottles of water a day. Two should be prior to 1pm.

4.  Take two 15 minute breaks at work to walk away from my office and get some exercise.

5. Use my new exercise video at least twice.

6. Get off the bus, one stop early at least twice, or catch it one stop early at least twice.

7. Use the Rockstar Affirmation EVERY DAY whether I get points for using it or not!

8.  Hug and encourage my friends at BSlim, they are my encouragers and my best inspiration. Pray for them daily!

I found out last week that my grandaughter’s beau asked for her father for her hand in marriage. He is planning on proposing next Saturday down by the river when they are getting their photos made for the spring dance. Shhhh! it’s a secret, she doesn’t know! He wants the whole family there so that we can witness the engagement! So I’m going to be working as hard as I can this week to be as thin as I can be for a hefty gal. LOL

When my son got married three years ago I bought two dresses, one was a little tighter than I like but I loved the dress. I ended up wearing the other because I decided to be as comfortable as I could be for that long day! The one I didn’t wear is still hanging in the closet in the dress bag and the beautiful matching shoes with it. It is a size 16. I really hope its too big by the time these kids get married but if not, I have a lovely dress all ready for me to shrink into! I better go get busy! :D 

Just wanted to take a few minutes to say HI to everyone and let you know that I’m looking forward to tomorrow cause I think I’m going to feel so much better. I had Homeopathy School today and we formulated a new remedy for my bronchitis.  I’m feeling better already and expect that by this time tomorrow I will be MUCH improved and boy oh boy am I ready! This week has been a real drag because I wanted to dive head first into the Rockstar challenges and keep moving my weight tracker down the line toward goal, but couldn’t. I will be happy at tomorrows weigh in, if I can just hold at my current weight. I’m concerned there may be a higher number there because of the use of a lot of juice and a lot of sugared throat drops. We will see.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend. See you tomorrow!

These spring allergies I’ve been dealing with are now a full blown case of bronchitis, so I need your prayers, please. I have a huge project at work that needs to be finished by end of work Thursday since I will be off Friday, so that I can complete a huge project at my church that day, as well.

 I need both healing and strength. Thanks, you guys, you are the very best!

Love and prayers,

Holly

I’m not sure how I missed telling you this before but Friday night I went shopping and bought a smaller sized pair of jeans and a couple of smaller sized shirts. I didn’t go overboard, cause I don’t plan on staying this size for very long at all, but I was going to my recovery group that night and I wanted to show off just a little! And it felt so good to slip into those jeans and not even be uncomfortable in that smaller size!

I’d sort of like to set a goal up for “by June 30th” cause that’s when I go with my girlfriends to the beach for our annual Get Out of Town with The Funseekers Week but I’m afraid to, because I don’t want to make it easy to think I can eat this cinnamon bun cause I’m still on track for my goal, if I just pick an easy one. One the other hand, if I dream big and then don’t make it, I don’t want to feel let down and like a failure. So what should I do?

Maybe pick something easy (realistic is a better word) and the dream one to work toward, knowing I may not make it but as an incentive not to slack off on the effort to make the dream one?

All opinions appreciated!

Woke up this morning with full blown allergy miseries, so I stayed in bed as long as possible. Finally drug my hinny out and got ready for work, before staggering to the kitchen for my first fresh bottle of the magic weight loss elixir, only to find that my roommate had left me a note asking me to feed the dogs and give the diabetic one, Rocky, his insulin shot. Yikes, the train was due in 20 minutes and I still had to do all my packing up of  healthy snacks, etc not to mention these new added chores. Needless to say, I missed the train, it pulled off before I could even pull in the parking lot <dag I hate that> so I had to drive, <dag I double dog hate that> and that allowed stress to immediately set in! 

And wouldn’t you know, just past the train station is a fast food drive thru with the most amazing cinnamon buns, and I turned right in without giving it a single thought…but I pulled up to the order spot and my little rockstar angel whispered in my ear that coffee to warm my aching throat and boost my moral would work wonders… and that sugary old CR would make me feel like a failure and add more stress. Bless her little heart, I got a small black coffee and went on my way! 

I think every bad driver in Nashville Metro area was on the road with me! I was so raging over the poor driving habits! The little rockstar angel whispered,” this only hurts you, Holly Rockstar, when you get angry your T cells go down and you will get sicker than you already are”. So I decided to take a longer route with less traffic and hopefully that helped! 

Guess my point is that we don’t have to let life dictate how we will respond to these situations. I still fall into that trap, but I’m making an effort to be mindful. Thank heaven for my little Rockstar angel who speaks up when I’m on a course with disaster! 

Hope you all find a little angel sitting on your shoulder helping you to make good changes and avoid some of your old pitfalls too! Blessings to you ! Holly Rockstar 

I don’t even know where to start! It’s just been a whirlwind experience to become part of this site! So how could I pass up the opportunity to share some of the excitement I’ve been a part of? And how could I pass up the chance to share the thing that has really fueled my energy level and success here? Well, I couldn’t, so here goes!

I’ve shared with you that I told the leader of the Rockstars, Lara, that I just didn’t have the time to devote to being a team member, but I would try it out and see how it went. She just took me right in and I felt so loved and cared for, that it made me want to be there! And here on the blogs where I get incredible information and encouragement too! So now I’m thinking that I don’t have time for some of that other stuff I use to do like making and munching brownies! LOL

The Rockstars were just forming when I joined and now we have 18 members! How exciting is that? I was named MVP this week! Me? Are you sure? Wow! That was a real boost! And, I got my red star this week!!!! Oh that was just so rewarding! I know there are people who would groan and tsk! over a grown woman getting all excited over a red star like some kindergarten child, but hey, that red star took thought, courage, dedication and work. I’m proud to pieces of that Red Star!!!!

My friends and total strangers have challenged me and encouraged me to do my best and after only a week and a half here I feel like I can really do this! I believe I’m going to finally get rid of the weight that zaps my energy, my health, and my self-esteem! Why would I pass that up? Well, I’m not, I’m just going to keep putting one foot in front of the other until I reach my goal. I know there will be obstacles, that’s the way life is. So I’m going to do my best not to let the obstacles be more than what they are, just life happening…I’m going to make you a promise, if you see me doing anything else, you message me and be honest with me and I promise you I will love you for it and it will help me get back on the road to success, because I’m a smart woman, a good mom who wants to be a good examble to her kids and grands, and Rockstar! How could I do anything else?

Wishing you sunshine and flowers, sweet thoughts, big laughs, warm hugs and healthy bodies and minds for the journey!

Holly Red Star Rockstar