National Dance Day Playlist

Welcome to the 2nd annual National Dance Day! As part of today's celebration, I am posting some of my favorite songs about dance to get all of us motivated. (Of course, I'm ALWAYS motivated to dance!!!) Put on some of these tunes...then get up and move!!!

"You Should Be Dancing" - Bee Gees

"Just Dance" - Lady Gaga

"I Hope You Dance" - Lee Ann Womack

"Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" - C & C Music Factory

"On The Floor" - Jennifer Lopez/Pitbull

"Dancing on the Ceiling" - Lionel Richie

"Ballroom Blitz" - Sweet

"Boogie Wonderland" - Earth, Wind & Fire

"Flashdance (What a Feeling)" - Irene Cara

"Last Dance" - Donna Summer

"Dancing Queen" - ABBA

"All She Wants to Do is Dance" - Don Henley

"Dance the Night Away" - Van Halen

"You Make Me Feel Like Dancin'" - Leo Sayer

"Let's Face the Music and Dance" - Nat King Cole

"I Wanna Dance With Somebody" - Whitney Houston

"Till The World Ends" - Britney Spears

"Please Don't Stop the Music" - Rihanna

Even if you just turn on the radio and dance around the room, start dancing. It's such a fun form of cardio, you won't even feel like you're exercising...but you are! Happy National Dance Day!!!

Love Your Workout - At Your Current Size!!!

We all look forward to the day when we can go for a run or a bike ride at our goal weight. We imagine ourselves strong and healthy, turning heads and inspiring others to get fit. We know how proud we will be when we reach that milestone.

But I have a question for you. Why should we wait until then to be proud of ourselves? It doesn't do you any good to shut yourself indoors, relegating all workouts to the treadmill or exercise DVDs. When the weather is nice and you feel like walking through your neighborhood, playing tennis, or going for a swim, you have every right to do that - at whatever size you currently wear. Running outdoors is not only for perfectly fit people. (If it was, there would certainly be a small minority out there on the trails!) If you stay inside, you will get bored. If you get bored, you won't want to work out. And if you stop working out, you are right back to Square One.

You may be afraid of someone saying cruel things to or about you as you stroll by. There are some of those people out there, but don't let their small-mindedness stop you from achieving your goals and enjoying life. For every idiot that makes nasty remarks, there are two people who admire you as you show how you are taking control of your life and are happy to see others working on their health. As you become more fit, the jerks will be left speechless!

If you are worried about finding workout clothes in your current size, there are companies who make the items that fit your needs. Check out websites like Junonia and Swimsuits For All, who carry plus sized workout gear, sports bras, swimsuits, tennis clothing, and more. There is no reason to sit at home when clothing is available for maximum comfort and movement, and you can enjoy the same sports your fitter friends do!

One last note: You may be trying out for a show such as Biggest Loser or Dance Your Ass Off, but don't wait for that casting director to call you before you start your journey. Only a small percentage of people make it onto these shows, so you should get out there and start living life now. Why waste time sitting by the phone? Live every moment of your life starting right now!!!

Back From a Well-Needed Mini Vacation!

Ahh...had a wonderful 3-day vacation in the Smoky Mountains. I'll tell you more about it later, because now I have to start getting everything ready for back-to-school with my son! Today's going to be a busy day...this is just a quick post to remind you that I'll be blogging about Huge tonight, so don't forget to tune in. Also, the Dance Your Ass Off Semifinals are tonight, and I'll be covering that as well. Have a wonderful day and I'll blog you later! :o)

Not Just on National Dance Day...EVERYDAY!!!

Saturday was National Dance Day...what did you do to celebrate? My son and I danced along to the Hairspray movie, to honor the fact that size, race, and other factors do not matter in dancing. It's for everyone, in whatever style you prefer. I also pulled out one of my new dance DVD's and started learning the moves, because I can't get enough dancing!

Dancing itself is a celebration of life. It lets you show your joys, and helps you work through your sorrows and other tricky emotions. There is nothing that you cannot express through dance. As a writer I use words to express myself, but there are time when words alone fail to capture how I feel. When I dance, I come alive and live completely in the moment. When I watch others dance, the beauty and honesty they portray pulses through me and takes me through even more emotions. It is a moving and cleansing experience...one I could never live without.

Check out the amazing dancers of So You Think You Can Dance, and you will never be the same. Every week is a new and exciting experience; make sure you have plenty of kleenex on hand. And don't be afraid to get up and move yourself...watch Dance Your Ass Off and be inspired by people of all sizes who learn new dances every week and totally rock it! Dancing is not just for one day a year...dance every day!!!

Remember to Watch, Read...and Live HUGE!

HUGE, the new show that premieres tonight on ABC Family, is actually based on a book of the same name by Sasha Paley. I have not read it yet, but when a show or movie is based on a novel I am always one to recommend reading the book as well as watching it on the big or small screen. If you happen upon a copy from its original printing, the cover picture will be a stack of s'mores with a big red circle around it and a line through it. The new printing has the cover you see in the photo above, featuring Nikki Blonsky chillin' in her shades and gorgeous blue swimsuit. (You know me now...I LOVE swimsuits!!!) It's cureently in hardcover, but the paperback version with be available on July 13th, which is only a couple of weeks from now.

I will be blogging about HUGE about an hour after the show...I'm also covering Dance Your Ass Off for Ballroom Dance Channel. HUGE is on at 9 and DYAO is at 10 on Oxygen, so I will write about both of them right after both shows air. I can't wait to watch HUGE. If you have a daughter or niece that deals with body image and/or self-esteem issues, please get them to watch this show. Afterward, please share your opinions with me on this post or the one I write later tonight. We can all find ways to live our lives to the fullest...live HUGE!!!

Motivational Monday...Back On Track!

The picture above is me with my husband, in 1991 when we had only been dating a couple of months. I keep these old pictures nearby now, to motivate me to get back down to that weight. Back then I used to fluctuate between 122 and 126 pounds, but always stayed within that range.

I worked hard this week, and it showed on the scale. I lost 3 pounds, so I lost all but .2 pounds of what I put on over the holidays. I'm at 193.2 and thrilled to be back on track. At least now I know more about exercise and nutrition, so I can lose the weight the right way. Back when I lost weight the first time, I hardly ate anything, and when I did it wasn't always the healthiest choice. I'm sure my exercise is what kept me going, but now my body doesn't even want to work out unless I fuel it in the right way. Too much sugar or other junk makes me hardly able to move around, or too dizzy to even think about the treadmill or an exercise DVD.

This past week I drank lots of water, NO DIET SODA at all. I ate clean, healthy foods and got back to working out. I worked my way up to my usual treadmill pace throughout the week, since the first couple of days my body was still getting over being sick. It's amazing how much better I feel already!

My motivational person for this week is Marissa Jaret Winokur. You know her from Hairspray on Broadway, Dancing With The Stars, and as the host of the first season of Dance Your Ass Off. She recently attended the Biggest Loser Resort in Utah and learned about nutrition and exercise herself. She has lost quite a bit of weight and looks awesome...and she is very happy that she now knows how to feed her young son better foods. To find out more about Marissa, please go to www.officialmarissajaretwinokur.com.

How did your first full week of 2010 go? Let me know...we are all on this journey together!

Motivational Monday!!!

Well, I knew I'd had a couple of rough spots this week, since I missed a couple of workouts due to a sinus headache and allergies. I also had cake at my niece's birthday party. I did well otherwise, so I was curious as to what I would see on the scale this morning.

I am now at 203...I lost 1 pound. Normally I'd be a little more bummed about this, but knowing that I didn't get all of my exercise in and I had that cake I'm pretty happy with my results for the week. All I know is I will keep moving in the right direction and push harder now. I'm drinking water as I write this, and planning out my strategy for the week ahead.

I do have some other great news to report: I took my measurements again today, and my waist is 40 1/2"; my hips are 47 3/4". This means I have lost 2 1/2" from my waist since I started, and 2" from my hips. It helps to see that progress...and I'm looking forward to seeing my waist get under 40" very soon!

It was hard for me to pick one motivational person of the week for you after seeing the Dance Your A** Off Reunion, so I'm picking all 12 of the contestants! Go to http://dyao.oxygen.com/ to see everyone's transformations. I'm sure I will feature them individually at some point, but I've learned so much from the whole group that I wanted to give you all of their inspiration.

Now let's all go out there and dance, walk, run...just exercise our a**es off like them, and we all win!!!

OFB: Setting New Goals!!!

This week our Operation Fat Blaster Mission is to create a new set of goals, and also grade ourselves on how we've done so far...a progress report of sorts. Now, I always enjoyed progress reports when I was in school, because I was not a troublemaker and my parents always received good notes from my teachers. Let's see how I did for my fitness progress report!

My original goal was to get under 200 pounds by Labor Day. Since that was yesterday and I am at 204, I didn't quite reach my goal. I have, however, lost over 9 pounds...most of which was since I announced that goal. I've also lost inches and feel healthier and stronger. I've learned how to get right back on track after a slip-up and stay motivated. I've been challenged and met those challenges head on. I'd say all in all I did pretty well, so I will give myself a B.

Now for the new goals: My son's birthday is in 16 days, on September 24th. I will be at 198 or lower by his birthday. I will workout one hour every day and continue my healthy eating habits. I am also back to drinking more water...I've done well with that, but this past weekend not so much, so I'm back to it again. I will change up my workouts so I don't get bored, and try out the Pilates DVD that I have to work my core better.

In watching last night's Dance Your A** Off Reunion Special, I was completely motivated and inspired by what the contestants have done since they went home from the show. This also helped me form my new goals, and the show aired at the perfect time...right as one deadline came for me, and I was ready to set the next one. It goes to show what you can accomplish with hard work and determination, and it's time to incorporate even more of that mindset into my life.

I am going to make sure I can give myself an A come September 24th. Once that goal is reached, I will set a new goal. I will never settle...always reach to be better!!!

I'm A Lover...AND A Fighter!!!

This post is dedicated to the people I've had in my life who've done rotten things to me, especially in regards to my weight. I used to let you make me feel depressed and think badly of myself...and that usually led to binges (especially on sweets), giving up on exercise, and laying in bed for much longer than I should have. It made me feel self-conscious around not only you, but other people...because I thought they might be thinking the same things about me that you did. I didn't always enjoy myself to the fullest because of this.

Some of you didn't want to be seen with me, and a couple of you even went so far as to tell my husband that you would like him to join you at parties and events, but that he should leave me at home because it was embarrassing to be seen with me. I am so thankful that I have such a wonderful husband, who stopped even having contact with you because of the way you were treating me. At times others of you would just stare at me like I was a freak or make snide comments about me. I would try to ignore it when your kids made fun of me, thinking that they were still so young and learning about how to act toward people. The thing was - you would do it too, so you were teaching them that ridiculing another person is OK. That was what REALLY bothered me!

Just recently, a couple more of you have decided that it's permissible to make fun of my weight, or the weights of friends of mine who are not even overweight. If you think this is still junior high school and it makes you better than us, you are very sadly mistaken. It just shows that you never grew up.

Over the last few years, I have done a lot of praying and soul searching. God has brought so many awesome people into my life. He gave me the gift of those who show me that I am beautiful - inside and out - no matter what size jeans I wear, and I should live life to the fullest every moment and not let a number on the scale stop me. He also brought those of you helping me on my weight loss journey (whether you are from Operation Fat Blaster, Biggest Loser, Dance Your A** Off, or somewhere else) into my life to help me get healthy.

Of course I am eternally grateful for all of you who are such positive forces in my life...but I also want to thank those of you who did negative things. You thought you were going to bring me down for good, but I take what you've said or done and turn it into motivation. I feel like Christina Aguilera's song "Fighter" is my theme song, because you have made me work harder, be smarter and get stronger in all areas of my life. I take the negative and turn it into positive...I wish everyone would learn to do that. Thank you for the life lessons!!! xoxoxo

Who Is It For You?

We all have at them...some of us have several. I've had some since childhood, and I'm sure many of you have too. I know I've picked up some more along the way, through my teen years all the way until now, and I gain more of them every single day of my life. In my mind, you can never have too many of them.

No, I'm not talking about shoes...although that's a pretty nice dream! My thoughts today are about something that does not come in pairs; each one is unique. These are in fact not inanimate objects...they are people! I'm reflecting on the role models in life who inspire and motivate you to be better in life in some way. Most of us grow up admiring someone, whether they be famous or people we actually know. I must say that God is obviously at the top of my list, and always will be. I also believe He wants us all to be inspirations for each other on this planet, so today I'm focusing us the earthly heroes who make us want to improve ourselves and the quality of our lives.

My role models all inspire me in different ways. I started out at 5 years old not only crushing on David Cassidy, but looking up to him. Because of him, I learned the joy and power of music, and discovered that I loved to write songs. He still inspires me now, because of all of the things he has been through in his life and what a wonderful human being he has become through all of the madness he's experienced. Other singers and musicians have motivated me as well...notably Barbara Mandrell and the members of Alabama, for their songwriting, love of music and words, and their deep faith in God. There are so many who inspire me through music even now...especially Keith Urban, who also fights through his addictions and helps us all with ours because of it.

I have athletes that I admire as well, like Greg Louganis, for his hard work and perseverance no matter what life throws at him. Former Cleveland Indian Jim Thome motivates me with the person he is on and off the field. (I still admire him even though he plays for the White Sox now!) I am so inspired by Brian Boitano, who not only works his butt off every day of his life, but shows the world how he lives out his faith and is a wonderful person to everyone he comes in contact with...no "star trips" here! He is the real deal, and represents the way all celebrities (and non-celebrities) should treat people.

In weight loss and life, I am learning so much from the Biggest Loser trainers and contestants...and now also everyone involved with the show Dance Your A** Off. They show me how to take control of my health, and to not let life pass me by while I'm getting there. So many of the professionals on Dancing With the Stars are inspiring, as many of them have gone through more than you could ever imagine to get where they are today. Just check out Maksim Chmerkovskiy...and see how many injuries and other barriers he has overcome since he was a kid. All of the dancers on DWTS, SYTYCD, and DYAO make me want to dance and improve my life in other ways too.

Finally, I want to mention that so many of my friends and members of my family inspire and motivate me on a daily basis. I would not be where I am without any of you, and I am so thankful for anyone who is or has been in my life, whether I know you "in person" or not. I hope to continue this and inspire as many people as I can. God wants us to learn from others, then show what we've learned to those who need it, so the cycle of inspiration continues.

So now I'm curious, so please share with me...who inspires and motivates you?

Back on Track

What a crazy week last week! From all of the celebrities we grew up with that died too soon, to my High School Reunion, it was a whirlwind. I will say this...I am so thankful to God that he got me through this past week without gaining any weight! I got on the scale Monday morning, fully expecting to see a number I didn't want to see. I weighed exactly the same as the Monday before! Even with all of the celebrating over the weekend, I must have done something right.

Of course, this does not mean that if I keep partying like that I will continue to maintain my weight. Besides, I need to lose, not maintain. I appreciate the fact that I'm not starting back up again further in the hole...but now it's time to really take charge!

I'm always inspired by the Biggest Loser contestants, but now I am also motivated by a new group of wonderful people as well. Oxygen has a new show called Dance Your A** Off, which combines all of my favorite elements. It's Biggest Loser meets So You Think You Can Dance, so it is must see TV for me! They even have Dr. H from BL to guide them on their journey. I write about the show for Ballroom Dance Channel, but I would be watching no matter what...it's that great! While I watched it the first time I was writing, but the second time through I just danced right along with the contestants in front of my TV.

As for my eating, Monday I started back to the healthy stuff. When I went this morning to pick up a prescription, I stocked up on my favorite Fage Greek Yogurt and Organic Starbucks Coffee. (Bonus: the coffee was on sale and I saved $1.50 on it!!!) I'm drinking a lot more water again and making sure I get more produce into my diet. I plan to finally make a trip to the Trader Joe's that is 15 minutes from my house, so I'll fill you in on that when I go there. I hear so many great things about that store from several reliable sources.

It feels awesome to be back on track, and I really do feel better when I eat the right foods. Never ever give up...and whatever you do, KEEP ON DANCING!!!

Empowered

Yesterday was such a nice day here, we took advantage of it and played tennis. Our son is ten, and he has picked up mine and my husband's love of the game. (Of course...I had to say LOVE!!!) I have not had any lessons, but hope to take some when we have the funds for it. One thing I can tell for sure...I am moving around much better, and my serves and volleys have improved since I started working out again. I do have an exercise video that is a tennis workout, but I need to get the VCR working again so I can use it. It's such an awesome feeling knowing that I am getting stronger everyday: in body, mind, and spirit!

Since we did tennis, I did not get on the treadmill, but I did part of a dance workout DVD and some wall push-ups a little later in the evening. Today we are getting thunderstorms, so if there's too much lightning going on I will either do that DVD again or one of my Leslie Sansone walking DVD's. I used to make excuses when there was a storm so I could skip my workout...but like I say now: NO MORE EXCUSES!!!

I'm still enjoying my organic Starbucks and Fage Greek Yogurt, and I have made a vow to include even more fruits and vegetables in my diet. I've always eaten them, but I know it was nowhere near the amount I'm supposed to be eating. Drinking a lot of water everyday helps as well. I'm not missing the diet soda at all, which is saving us money on our food bill. It's all about choices at the grocery store...cut back on the stuff you shouldn't eat and then you can afford to purchase the foods that are better for you.

God has not only given me the strength to do this, but He is showing me that I had strength from him all along that I was not really using. He has also brought many wonderful people into my life. I want to give a special shout-out to all of the Biggest Loser and Dance Your Ass Off contestants who are on Facebook, and all of the other awesome people involved with those shows who are my friends there as well. You all inspire and motivate me, so I can do the same for others who may need it. I'm very blessed to get to know all of you, and may we all continue to help others become empowered in their lives! xoxoxo

Nutty But Wonderful Day!

This day has been utterly non-stop. Of course, it didn't help that I was up until 3 AM in the first place! I watched and reviewed a great show on Oxygen called Dance Your A** Off. After I sent off my review I was so pumped that I couldn't sleep! After finally falling asleep, I got up at Noon!

This set me into superwoman mode for the day. Laundry needed to be done, along with several writing projects that are going on at the same time. I meant to get on the treadmill at about 3:30, but first had to finish up a couple of things on here. Then...my dad called, so I spent some time talking to him and finally made it on the treadmill at 5 PM. This was not negotiable...I NEEDED to get my exercise in!

I went at 2.8 mph for my walk, but I also was brave enough to do something that I had never done up until now. I walked the entire time without holding onto the sides of the treadmill! I always think of Jillian yelling at people not to hold on, and I've done it for a couple of minutes here and there, but this was the first time I did it all the way through...37 minutes straight. Also, I usually walked at 2.5 while holding on...so I went faster and pumped my arms at the same time! I know Jillian would be proud, while at the same time she'd bump up my speed. That's OK, I consider this a personal victory.

Now I'm showered and ready for my next assignment...in about 45 minutes I'm recapping So You Think You Can Dance. This is the thing: I'm loving every minute of this crazy day. It's so wonderful to be doing something you love and also taking care of your body. I feel like I'm really living life...and it feels awesome!