Please Knock It Off With The Bacon Already!

It seems everywhere I turn I see bacon.  Restaurants and fast food places are putting it on everything.  Now, I like bacon - but I've never been able to eat more than a couple of slices at breakfast or a BLT...with more L and T than B.

Since I've been eating better I don't even touch the stuff, except for a grilled chicken sandwich with avocado and bacon a couple of months ago.  I enjoyed it, it only had two strips on it, and my bacon craving is satisfied for the next several months.

Pretty soon though, I won't even want it once or twice a year, thanks to seeing it every five minutes on a TV commercial.   Denny's shows us just how much bacon they can stack on their BLT.  Double the bacon, double the heart attacks.  And just how gross is Burger King's bacon sundae?  Really?  My son and I stopped at a BK after swimming a couple of weeks ago, Whopper Jr for him, grilled chicken for me, split order of  fries.  That was our treat for the week.  But it was more like a trick when their board kept flashing the bacon sundae at us.  My son took one look and proclaimed it disgusting.  We sat as far away from the menu board as possible so we could eat in peace - and keep our food down.

From what I hear there is also a House of Bacon, where you can buy chocolate covered bacon...plus anything and everything made with bacon that you can think of (and some things you probably never would have dreamed up). 

I'm tired of looking at bacon all the time...and not just because I'm eating healthier, but also because there's TOO MUCH OF IT.  It's bacon overload.  Please everyone, knock it off with the bacon already - before all of our heads and stomachs explode!

Spin Till You Win!

No, I'm not talking about a slot machine for all of you gamblers out there.  (Though I've been known to play that one on rare occasion...)  I'm talking Spinning class!

Many of you know how much I love spinning.  My budget only allows me to take a class once a week, maybe with an extra Friday class here or there - but I look forward to it each and every time.  And lately I love it even more.

Why?  Because I'm getting stronger and pushing myself harder...not only at the studio but at home with step and kettlebell workouts, Pilates, and Zumba.  All of the cross-training I do makes me better on the bike.

Last night I had my best spin EVER.  I could do a lot more work out of the saddle, while still pushing myself in the saddle and making attempts at some of the moves I didn't think I was strong enough to do in the past.  I discovered I could do it...and I DID!

I'll let you in on a little secret...before every spin class I say a prayer, asking God to help me have a great spin and do more than I did the last time.  Believe me, it works.  When you realize that you can do anything through His strength, it's empowering.  And the momentum only builds from there.

So I encourage you to give spinning a try...just remember to pray for that extra "push" from above!

Ahh...Very Pinteresting!

I have an addiction.

No, not the sugar addiction - you already know all about that!  I am officially addicted to Pinterest.

It all began innocently (doesn't it always?) when a couple of friends suggested I follow them on Pinterest.  I set up an account and started out slowly.  But I've discovered in the past few weeks that I'm really getting into it.  I'm finding a lot of great fitness info and healthy recipes on there, plus sharing mine with others.  I'm also starting to find other interesting stuff on there: books, horses, etc....it's so much fun!

Yes, I'm still getting my workouts in...spin was awesome last night and I will be doing a Zumba DVD tonight in the nice cool basement (only cool room in the house - air conditioning's broken!).  But I'm also learning new exercises to try whenever I log on to Pinterest.  That can only help me be the best I can be!

So until there is a PA group - Pinterest Anonymous - please join me over there and follow me at http://pinterest.com/writerchicmarie/ .  We can all share with each other...and all reach our goals!

Extreme Makeover Weight Loss Edition - Jacqui's Singing a Brand New Song!

I have a confession to make...I REALLY, REALLY relate to Jacqui.  In a way, she could be my long lost sister.

No, I didn't start out at 355 pounds like she did, but I still know the feelings that got her there very well.  The feeling that you're letting people down because of your weight.  Being so scared you quit on something when you've barely gotten started.  Having setbacks earlier in your life that still haunt you well into adulthood.  And being frustrated whenever you try to overcome all of this.

Now Jacqui was assaulted as a teenager, and thankfully that's something I cannot relate to.  But I can see where that made her want to add layers of protection to her body.  I did that myself as I grew up, being hurt over and over again by classmates and trying to eat away the pain - even though that only made it worse.  Other than my parents, it seemed nobody believed in me or my dreams. I was shot down anytime I tried to stand up for myself.  And when it came down to it, my parents wanted to protect their only child from being hurt, so they urged me to get a "real" job and forget about singing and songwriting.  I know they were only trying to do their best to look out for me, but they projected a lot of fears onto me about doing the "secure" things in life to keep me "safe".

Now this path I've been on has led to many blessings, like meeting my husband and having my son.  I did my best wherever I was.  But something was always missing - something I tried to replace with food.  At one point I lost all of the weight, but when my mom got sick and then passed away I ate away the pain again.  And ever since then I've struggled...sometimes moving forward, sometimes taking a step backward.

So of course when I found out Jacqui was a singer who was too nervous to get on stage because of her weight I saw even more of myself in her.  You HAVE to pursue what you really love in life - your passions: not the ones of your friends, relatives, or anyone else.  It's taken me a long time to get to the point where that is what I'm doing.  Trying to follow everyone else's "rules" only made me anxious and depressed...which made me eat lots of sugar and fast food for temporary relief.  Until the point, that is, when I had to take charge, learning to balance family and personal repsonsibilities with pursuing my passions and pushing away the negativity.

Chris helped Jacqui overcome her fears - fitness and music wise.  She lost 207 pounds. She is like a whole new person; the person she was always meant to be is finally coming out.  And once she got started, there was no stopping her!

I know I still have my days when I struggle trying to balance it all and still have quite a bit of weight to lose...but I'm getting there.  I'm writing songs, singing whenever I can and writing articles, along with the novels I hope to soon have published. 

Nobody said it would be easy - but it will be worth it.  And with a role model like Jacqui, there's no way I can go wrong!

Extreme Makeover Weight Loss Edition - This Is How You Do NO EXCUSES!

Season 2 of Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition started off with a bang.  And I couldn't help thinking how for all of the Biggest Loser talk during this past season of "No Excuses", the first man featured on the new season of EMWLE put them all to shame.

If anyone should have had plenty of excuses not to lose the weight, it was Tony.  He started out at 398 pounds, with a very ill disabled son and pretty much no help at home.  After the first 3 months of the challenge, he was down 104 pounds and broke up with his extremely whiny, unsupportive fiancee and moved out of the house.

Problem was, he had nowhere else to live.  Chris helped him move his stuff out, but had no idea that Tony was sleeping on friends' couches or in his car, working out wherever he could.  He decided that he needed to stop being in the fast food business and work his way up as a bodyguard.  Chris helped him get training for that. 

Tony's son, Marcus, also passed away during this time, and his new girlfriend paid for a plane ticket so he could go to Michigan for the funeral.  (And I have to say...even his ex-wife seemed more supportive than his fiancee!)  TONY NEVER GAVE UP.  No matter what was thrown at him, he kept pushing toward his goals, doing it for himself and in honor of Marcus. 

With so many obstacles and stresses in his life, Tony truly showed what NO EXCUSES means.  His final weigh-in, at his 50th birthday party, found him down 200 pounds and weighing 198.  His goal had been to get under 200 - he reached it even with everything else going on in his life.  He is now working as a bodyguard, has a new place to live, and proposed to his new girlfriend who is much better suited to his positive lifesyle and personality.

Makes all of our excuses look flimsy...doesn't it?  Let's all follow Tony's lead and get it done NO MATTER WHAT!!!

June Fitness Goals!!!

Happy June 1st!  It's been a rough week with stress including a death in the family, but I know I have to get myself back on track.  And what better day to do this than the first of the month?

So here are the goals I've set for myself for the month of June:

1. Lose 10 pounds - doable as I commit to the other goals below.
2. Play more tennis!  I try so hard to get better and have so much fun I don't realize I'm exhausted until afterward.
3. Get back to drinking more water.  Over the holiday weekend and the stressful few days that followed, I drank diet soda more than I should have.  Time to cut that out!
4. Keep up with Spinning and Pilates.
5. More fresh produce - my fruit & veggie count wasn't that great this week either, and now is the perfect time to get the good stuff in!
6. Walk/run on days I'm not playing tennis or spinning.  I've done a lot of walking, but it's time to step it up more with running intervals.
7. Come up with more healthy alternatives for favorite foods that are not so good for me.  Limit treats!

My plan is to rock June!  How about you???