Exciting is building!

tomorrow my husband and I will fly to Golden, Colorado for the EAS BFL Champions' Weekend. We are so excited. It will be our opportunity to thank all the people who have helped us changed our lives. It will also be the chance to meet the 2004 Champions who represent thousands of people around the world who are working hard to build their best bodies ever.

Frankly I am a bit nervous.
I worry about meeting the "standards" these champions have set. Each has overcome so much to transform their body, minds and spirits. It's hard not to fall into the trap of comparisons. The questions have been racing around my head for days. Will I be as toned as the other women? Will I be less of a champion because I still haven't developed a six pack? What about my little "Meno-pot?" Wow....if I let them...these worries will ruin a weekend that I have been dreaming about for a long, long time.

Now--thanks to BFL I am stronger than that!
I have decided to push those negative thoughts out of my mind and focus on the fact that I have been chosen to represent women over the age of 50. There is honor in our longevity and life experiences. I will hold my head up high...enjoy every minute and bring my trusted spandex. For the first time in my life I am happy with who I am. This has been my greatest reward for accepting the Body For Life Challenge.

Life is precious...

An article in the MARCH 17TH, 2005 New England Journal of Medicine calls attention to the Obesity Epidemic in America and its consequences.

Olshansky et al.1 estimate that the current life expectancy at birth in the United States would be one third to three quarters of a year higher if all overweight adults were to attain their ideal weight.

Now that doesn't sound like much time but if you multiply that one half year average by the number of Obese Americans...it adds up to a lot of "people power" being lost to this deadly epidemic.

I can't help but also think of the lost opportunities. How many of these people will lose the opportunity to see their child graduate from high school? The birth of their first grand child? Or perhaps lose the opportunity to write the Great American Novel or even cure a dreaded disease...all because their life has been shortened by obesity?

The thing is---just 100 excess calories a day...over time will earn you a diagnosis of obesity. If you choose to work your body enough to burn off that extra fuel you will maintain your weight. If you eat a little less and exercise a little more...you can lose weight. Until that magic pill is invented...that's the way things work.

It's a real balancing act. But once we understand what is at stake...know the rules and make a commitment to follow them...we can regain our health and earn more time to enjoy life.

Body for Life works, if you work Body for Life.

Minnesota hotdish...

I have had a string of thoughts I'd like to share today.

--First...in last week's Newsweek magazine there was a small article about how our world is adapting to our country's obesity epidemic. It was about the super sizing of our...toilet seats. The new and improved one was larger and could hold over one thousand pounds. Can you imagine being a salesman at the local home improvement store trying to sell that produce delicately? By the way---there is still no model for asymetrical butts. (Sorry Homer Van Damm)

--Last night I couldn't sleep so I pulled out the Body for Life book. Every time I read that bookI take away something new. In the foreword there is a promise. "No matter who you are, no matter what you do, you absolutely, positively do have the power to change."
I now realize just how much I had relied on that promise during my challenges. When I first started the program that promise empowered me. Today I realize it's a promise that's still being kept!.

--Photos. We all know how essential they are for our success. Before, during and after our challenge. They don't lie. It has been months since I had an after type photo taken of me. Last night my husband got out the camera. I noticed how far I had come...but I also notice that I am still not where I want to be.
I have mentioned this before. Our minds can play tricks on us--especially when we stand in front of a mirror. Sometimes we see only the things we want to see. A picture on the other hand...won't let you avoid the truth. It is there is living color. I plan to have my pictures taken once a month now to chart my progress.

--We can be our own worst enemies or our own champions. By the way--I have put up some new before and after pictures on bfltracker.com.

http://www.bodyforlife-tracker.com/searchprofile.cfm?id=10524

Plateaus are not a bad thing......

For many, many months I have stalled in the weight loss segment of my ongoing transformation. (YES ongoing, as Body For Life is a lifetime thing.)
The scale hasn't budged. We'll if the truth be told, there are days it goes up a pound...and days it drops back down. I guess I have reached a new established set point. Frankly I am getting pretty tired of wandering around this plateau!

The old set point was around 188. My current setpoint is 140. I have maintained at this level for 12 months. This to me is an amazing accomplish. After years of diets that failed me---depression that trailed them---and the extra pounds that tagged along behind...I have finally found the answer. Diets don't work. Exercise and proper nutrition do work. But I want more!

My new goal is 135. I plan to lose my "meno-pot" and add a couple of pounds of new muscle...I want a six pack and I will get one!!!

To do it...I will have to be more careful in my nutrition. I will break out the measuring cups and use them. Those measuring spoons too! No more eye balling my servings and guessing the amounts of my ingredients.
I will make sure I am eating enough (that's right enough) to support my current level of activity. On the days I don't hit that sixth meal...I know I am asking for an extra free day. So if I have to I will force feed myself that sixth meal of the day! LOL

Plateaus are not a bad thing...but it can get pretty boring wandering around the same territory month after month. My present goal is to find my way out and climb the mountain for a better view.

Tommorrow I start week two of my Ultimate Red Bikini, BFL challenge.
My 53 birthday is approaching. On May 12th I will be at the top of that mountain and the plateau will be miles behind me!