You Can't Fire A Girl on a Mission-- Part 2

In September of 2013 I learned that my department in corporate membership was summarily disbanded and that I would be interviewed for other positions in that company.  But, how can you stop a girl on a mission?

I had been promoting fitness before they ever hired me.  I have to do it.  It’s impossible for me not to.

Since April of 2011, I had been doing this for a major fitness organization call center.  I was grateful.  I had learned a lot.  But, I knew I could do more--because I was not just working on commission, I am working on a mission.  Every single day I talk to people whose ideas and schedules and budgets are screaming NO even though they want to (or even temporarily do) say YES to fitness.  Believe me; I don’t need a sales script to inspire them.  I AM them.  I have been obese, injured, broke, overscheduled, unmotivated, and unconvinced.  I have put my infant in the play room even though I was nervous; I have cancelled my cable in order to keep my gym membership; and everything in between.

I know management likes everything to be uniform.  No matter how I crunch the clock, I can’t be. But, our studio isn’t typical either.  I know the standard is for forty hours but I promise I’m going to defy the standard anyway.  Maybe you can too.  There may be ideas and schedules and budgets that say NO but we all know YES is still in there.

PS: To my amazing clients @ Arborcrest.  You Are Yes.  Every single day in Blue Bell you make dreams come true.  You better believe that's a two way arrangement.

71 Days

Note: My friend and colleague Andy Ambruch has entered the 2016 Ultimate Men’s Health Guy Contest.  For those of you who know my story but don’t know Andy, the most telling anecdote I think is that when I was totally incapacitated with plantar fasciitis and frustrated beyond belief, Andy (whose schedule was over full already) trained me in the pool where we worked at PSC Highpoint.  Literally helped me get back on my feet again.  And then 8 months later ran my Broad Street long runs with me on weekends (just twice so as not to repeat my past mistakes.)   To be the picture of health and fitness takes an amazing amount of determination and hard work.  To have the vision to see that picture in everyone else and relentlessly strive to carve it into being well, that is rare magic indeed.

Confession time.  I’m not voting for Andy for Ultimate Men’s Health Guy because he deserves it. (He ABSOLUTELY does of course but many of the contestants probably do   Big deal.)  I’m voting for Andy because WE deserve it.

WE have lost too many fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and friends to the rat race that takes our endlessly adventurous fort builders and flag football quarterbacks, geniuses and jedi, farm boys and superheroes, and reduces them to workaholics, frequent flyers, patients and invalids. 

We need a different body on our magazine covers.  Not a model but a role model for real health and fitness that endures through, NO expects adversity and makes you believe that there are dreams waiting for you on the other side. 

That today you can be great at your job, be counted on by your family, and make time for the run or game or class or mountain that makes you glad you’re here.  And that it is never too late because “The sun comes up every day…”

And for the next 71 times that it does I am summoning all the wives and sisters and daughters and mothers who sit in cath labs and rehabs and churches.  We have 71 days to stand up and say:  “It is going to be different for my son…”

Put it on your calendar people.  http://ultimateguy.menshealth.com/entry/36/

How to Lose 50-100 Pounds-Step 2-Healthy Eating

Step 2: Make Healthy Eating a Way of Life

Truth, I lost 100 pounds in two years.  But, eight years later I still basically eat the same.  Initially I used Weight Watchers, but any sensible plan is just as valid.  The trick for me was choosing something that would work in any situation.  In other words, pick something you can stay on weekdays and weekends, whether you cook or do takeout, at home or when you travel.  Because, if you don't you'll quit.  Quitting for me was not/is not an option. Quitting is the same as saying "I plan to gain back every ounce I lost and more."  I had to choose something that I wanted to stay on for good.  OK, maybe "wanted" is a stretch because I didn't want to be on a diet any more than I want to be on a budget.  But, physics and economics don't care about what you want.  They simply deal in cause & effect.

So, pick a plan that is going to let you have a life.  That doesn't mean it is easy.  Change is hard. But positive change is cumulative too.  So, even though there were things about my program that I resisted, I could phase in these changes and make steady progress. (Just like you can take baby steps to gain financial security.) I have to admit, one of the things I resisted most  has been recording all of my food.  Not because I was cheating.  But, because I had obsessed over food for so long I just wanted to live like someone who never had an issue with eating.  And, it worked.  I could make enough substitutions and exert enough portion control to get to my goal.  But, ten years later I don't see a food journal the same way, or even generate it the same way- thanks to technology.  So, what was once a chore and a stigma to me now seems a lot more of a resource to see how I can do even better.  And, don't stress about the mistakes.  That is why this is Step 2 and not Step 1.  By making weight loss a team effort in Step 1 you are setting yourself up for permanent success whether today is a good day or not.  You are not alone against a culture that is brainwashing you every day to use food for things food can never really accomplish: comfort, celebration, entertainment, company, etc.  You are creating a new culture for yourself that says, really food has to just be fuel for a life where people and actions will provide all the comfort, celebration, entertainment and company I need.