What a difference a week makes!

It’s not surprising that this “journey” to better health and living has its ups and downs. Last week I blogged about two weeks of downs/struggles that caused the scale to move in the wrong direction and me to lose my emotional edge. It also had me worried that health issues (I will spare you the details) would interfere with my plan and progress longer term.

This week, I am happy to report that I am back on track and reporting a -10 lb weight loss for the week! For me that is a huge. It means I lost what I gained in two weeks and a few more to get to my lowest weight in well – a really, really long time. All worth celebrating. Yeah me!

But what is most compelling about this is the process of how I got there and what I learned from it. Thus this blog. The lesson behind the challenges and triumphs is important to me and likely for anyone else struggling with weight issues, life balance and having time for themselves, achieving all they can achieve…

So, in true Lori fashion and in the spirit of the title of this blog – “She Climbed Until She Saw” – I want to make note of the lessons behind the success, and acknowledge that this is a twisty road I am on and I must be mindful of the successes and celebrate them but also be grounded in reality. My reality is that I still have a long way to go to goal, it is getting slower and tougher, and there will be many more challenges ahead, and in those important lessons. The best we can ever do is be aware, fully experience them, learn, adjust and keep on a truckin.

What I did right this time…

• Realized what is in my control and what is not. Accepted what I can’t control and adjusted/focused on what I can. Okay, truth is I can’t control the fact that I am aging and stuff happens. I can control how I process it, react to it, and attend to it. I was awfully quick to freak out and play the “victim” when I wasn’t feeling well and physical and emotional symptoms were affecting my day to day life in a big way. But after some reading/self-educating, very little wallowing, and garnering support from other women friends, I was able to accept what I couldn’t control. I made up my mind that I wasn’t going to let the physical and emotional changes in my body affect my program. I made attitude adjustments, refocused and moved on. Whew. That’s kinda cool.
• Worked the plan. I listened to my program director, Leif Anderson, and everything we were taught at FN and I worked the program — one meal, one workout, one day at a time. Slowly but surely the combination of my execution of the plan and the physical issues self correcting – I felt a lot better. The  pounds started to come off and by week’s end I was back on track and smaller!
• Working the plan is also about more than the meal plan and workouts, its about journaling and blogging, food tracking every day, shopping and staying focused on future goals like my mountain climb… I know what to do to execute the full plan and every time I do – whola it works!
• Lori in the center. I followed Denise’s advice and what I know to be true about my number one goal – I kept myself in the center of the equation – even when I had good reasons (excuses) not to. I was every bit as busy if not busier and more stressed with clients this week, but I held on to my workouts, my sleep and my overall plan.
• Acknowledged the emotional and embraced it, but gave up victimhood. I acknowledged that I am a passionate and emotional person and gave myself the two weeks to be emotional about what I needed to feel, but I didn’t wallow (okay, well, maybe just a little). I moved on and adjusted my attitude. Again, back to number one, the only thing I can control is how I react to it. So the optimistic, fun, passionate Lori came back to lead the charge and had fun doing it. I really am a funster and kick butt when I am focused!
• Check out my photos from a fun Labor Day weekend photo shoot in Rochester with my adorable friend and photographer Jean Voxland, and a shopping spree with my Mom that yielded many cute designer labeled clothes and some great new workout clothes. Yeah!

So the lessons here are simple…really. And I needed to make note of them for me and for all of you who may have similar ups and downs. For now, I am enjoying the ride and embracing my great week, and gearing up for a fun but crazy busy week on the road. I am excited to hike and climb some mountains on the North Shore for my workouts. Certainly, I will be more challenged to balance the work with Lori time and stick to the meal plan while traveling. All things I have done many times and can more certainly do again.

All smiles today as I pack my cute clothes for the next leg of the journey.

Lori

Click on this link to view images from my Labor Day Fun photo shoot – me at -140 lbs.