Pushing through...

Lately I'm convinced that I have been abducted by "Body Snatchers" and I'm not quite sure where the Robin I once knew has gone! Yesterday, I lost my keys - all of them: house, car, little plastic thingys for grocery store, gym, etc. you name it - they are all gone. I discovered my keys were missing on the bus on my way home from work at about 5:45. However, instead of cussing and fussing over the possibility of having to pay some astronomical amount of money to replace this "state of the art" key to my vehicle - my concern was, am I going to be able to make it to Boot Camp at 7!?! In the back of my mind I was like who are you and what have you done with Robin? I got off the bus and walked to a friend's house who lives nearby, she has a spare set of my keys and let me borrow her car to get to bootcamp and PT. Only AFTER I was done, did I concern myself with what could have happened to my keys. Hopefully they will be recovered, I will know more later this evening - but to think that my concern was missing a workout? Unbelievable...I do not know this person! And I have to agree with Killa Kar, this whole process has really taught me a lot about pushing through obstacles, and my response to them. After joining this process, everything else and its level of difficulty is very relative. On another note, thanks to my BABs family for your support and the offers of transportation in my down time. Hopefully, I will have my independence back shortly...until next time... SN: I read a very appropriate quote, and I thought I'd share: "The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary" -Vince Lombardi

7 weeks to go

I cant believe our journey is coming to an end, 7 more weeks to go. Some people may say thats still a long time from now. But looking back its been 4 months, and they have gone by quick. I know its going to get a bit tougher, ok who am i kidding, its already tough. I guess I just want to prepare mentally, because you know what Dre says its all mental. And its true, not only at the gym, but outside of the gym. (In our own personal life). Just think about it, we are all just getting stronger. :)

Diva Monique- VN Client

Yes I know it's been a while since I've shared but life has been, well CRAZY is an understatement. Just when I think I'm regaining my footing the waves start again and threaten to topple this house of cards! No worries, I got this- or at least I will. I will NOT be out done by a few obstacles.

Since starting VN I've lost a few inches and lowered my BMI! Yes! I'm with in 10 lbs of my personal goal and these are the most stubborn 10 lbs I ever did meet. But I won't be out done by them either!

VN not only teaches you how to eat, it doesn't just change your body outside, it changes it inside too. Let me tell you what happened to me just yesterday. VN is in not a diet right? Right. So, yesterday while I was in class I decided to have a donut and a cup of tea. Everyone around the table was looking in amazement at the fact that I was in fact eating a donut- I'm not on a diet I can have a donut. Even though I heard Dre's voice "when you eat donuts, you look doughy." But I ignored the voice. No sooner than I took the last bite my stomach started to hurt. I was nauseated, I mean if I didn't know better I thought I was pregnant. After a few hours it passed. My body has made up it's mind (even if I have lapses here and there) that it wants to be lean and so don't put that crap in it anymore! O.k. I get it! WHEN YOU EAT DONUTS, YOU LOOK DOUGHY!!! ... but can I still have cake?

Faith Is Hard- Please read for the encouragement to push through and make your dreams a reality!! Awesome!

Faith is Hard

23/03/11COMMENTS 0

Faith is hard.

Why?

Mostly because it’s hard to have faith in something you can’t see, touch or smell. I can feel it in my heart but I can’t see it and I certainly can’t touch it. It becomes especially hard when your brain is talking you out of something your heart is telling you to do.

Many years ago, my husband Ron and I took our two sons to Maine to visit family. I remember it was a beautiful morning and my two brothers decided that we should all climb a mountain. Easy for them to say as I wasn’t in “mountain climbing” shape back in those days, but off we went anyways despite my griping. Due to two bad knees, Ron stayed behind.

The climb wasn’t bad and I soon found myself at the top. Since I’m terrified of heights, I stayed by the tree line where I was certain I would be safe. My family, however, had no fear whatsoever and they all eagerly walked onto the cliff.

Although it was very beautiful up there, I found myself frozen in place. I was absolutely terrified and refused to leave the safety of the tree line. In fact, from where I was standing, I couldn’t see beyond the first rock. It was like an infinity pool as I couldn’t see what was beyond the first ledge. So from my perspective it looked like my sons were standing right at the edge of the mountain. Of course I panicked even more and started pleading with them to come back.

Actually, if you want me to be completely honest with you, I wasn’t just pleading, I was yelling like a screaming lunatic.

My brothers clearly agreed that I was a lunatic because they both turned around and looked at me like I had lost my mind.

To calm me down, my younger brother called to my sons to come back. Lance then turned around and started to walk towards me. When he got closer he gently asked me to walk towards him and told me that it was completely safe. Come and see for yourself, he said.

Faith.

Having faith in something you can’t see, and trust that my heart knew what it was doing.

My inner voice gently nudged me forward.

Shaking like a leaf, I took a step. Then after a deep breath, I took a few more. I soon found myself standing on a very flat rock that winded around the mountain like a staircase. There was no steep cliff. I’ll admit that I felt a bit silly and gingerly wandered around with Lance for a few minutes. To their credit, neither of my brothers laughed, nor did I get the famous “I told you so” line. They simply smiled at me and we moved on.

Now why am I telling you this story?

It’s all about faith …

If you have hit a wall with your business or personal life, then it’s time to move beyond the clearing. You need to move beyond the safety of the trees so that you can go to the next level of your life!

Now I completely understand that it’s hard, I’ve been there. You need to move beyond those fears if you want to get beyond the tree line. Is it a fear of success or a fear of failure? What if I told you that you absolutely can’t fail? Would you move forward? What would you do? How would you act? What’s the first step you would take to make your dream a reality?

Do that now.

Know that there is a huge flat rock beyond that clearing. You might not be able to see if from your vantage point, but it’s there. Now take a deep breath and start. Let faith and your inner voice be your compass.

What’s the worst thing that can happen? You’ll fall?

Listen, I’ve fallen down thousands of times. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with falling. It’s only wrong if you don’t pick yourself back up and try again.

Now take my hand and take that first step. I know you can do it!

If you have faith, you can do anything.

Until next time,

Katharine Giovanni

PERSPECTIVE

Hey Fam!

I haven't been on here in a while for a variety of reasons. I've genuinely been busy and then there's always the debate...do I bother sharing when it's a bad day..or bad days..and then there's just needing a break, so I check (d) for all of the above!

In catching up on the blog, I was both tickled and humbled by Monique and Bea's most recent posts, as they certainly put things in perspective...something I think can be easily lost in an experience as intense as this. Like Bea, I've complained (mostly to myself) about the "lack" of progress I've made. I want a muscle here, a pound lost there...it's always something, right??? I've worked harder than I ever have and with Dre's help, have accomplished something in four months I haven't been able to do in the last 10 years!!! But it nags at you not to be where you're "supposed" to be..and since when did dropping two dress sizes become something to bitch about, anyway? I can wear clothes I'd hidden in the tomb of my closet for the occasional glance of reverence and moment of silence...

Sure, I've been the subject of jokes--"droopy drawers", folks at work leaving bags of chips and Popeye's coupons on my desk, and I've definitely struggled with feeling good about my new body and secretly fearing that, 4 months from now, I'd become one of those chicks who goes out and is afraid to eat anything or pretends she "just ate" ALL the time (yall know the type)...so as to avoid the risk of that one pound Mo was talking about...

And so I think I've been in a troubling little limbo of "the blues" for a while now because of all the mixed emotions. To get through this, you're physically, mentally and emotionally on auto-pilot. Many of us do this at work, meetings, etc. but it's a hell of a thing to have to do it any hour in between! It IS indeed a necessary evil to push personal events aside because you have to "go to the gym" and I think I've started to worry about the impact that avoidance would have on me when I'm done...

And then, last week I got troubling news which threatened to push me over the edge but I only got to the brink. Instead of breaking me, the news motivated me to take a step back and put this thing in perspective!! Although I'm confident my physical fitness will serve me well, in an odd way I'm pretty sure I have this training to thank for the mental toughness to push through the next storm!! And although it's been an incredibly rocky start to 2011, I still feel good about the year! I hope you do too! We can accomplish ANY goal we set for ourselves.

Only One Pound

Heeelllloo D3,

Don't act like you don't know me cause you know you do. I'm One Pound of Fat and I'm the happiest one pound of fat you'd ever want to meet. Let me tell you why; see no one ever wants to lose me because I'm after all only one pound.

See, everyone always wants to lose 3, 5, or 15 pounds but never just one pound so I just stick around and happily keep you fat. Then, on the low, one by one, I call my friends and you don't seem to notice until I've grown to 10 then 20 or even 50 pounds in weight. Yup, I love being only one pound because I can do as I please.

So when you weigh in, keep right on saying "Oh, man I only lost one pound" (like I'm no milestone to celebrate) When you do this it encourages others to keep me around because they think I'm not worth losing. I do so love hanging around you- your arms, your hips, your butt, your thighs and all those lovely parts in between. So go right ahead, don't mind me after all I am only one pound !

3/17/11 Are you there Bod? It’s me, Bea.

Hey Bod. I realized the other day that I often speak OF you, ABOUT you, and AGAINST you, but rarely have I ever spoken TO you. For this reason alone, I thought it’s time to write a few thoughts expressing how I truly feel – to you directly. First off, I’m sorry for staring at certain parts of yours in the mirror and doing my best to sculpt them differently. And for a host of other things such as:

- For taking your constantly beating heart, immune system, lovely glands, and strong bones for granted so many days of our life together.
- For being enraged the time I found your first cellulite dimple.
- For always wanting something other than what you gave me.
- For neglecting and abusing you for so many years by not exercising and eating right.
- For pinching you and making ugly faces and sounds at you.
- For blaming you for feeling depressed and sometimes having low self-esteem

After so many years, I’m finally realizing that I need to take good care of you and let you know just how much I appreciate you:

Thank you for my hands. You help me do everything. Type, cook, drive, wash, eat, scratch, touch, grab, carry, write, dial, text, open doors, flush, the list goes on and on.

Thank you for my feet. You take me everywhere I want to go and give me balance.

Thank you to my immune system for always having my back and being my bodyguard at all times.

Thank you for my skin. You protect me everyday.

Thank you for my stomach. Especially for my appetite and love of food.

For all of these things and many more, I thank you body. I promise to respect you and take good care of you. If it seems like I demand too much of you with all this exercising, I promise that this will be good for us in the long run. I'm so proud of you. Hang in there. Let’s do this.

D3 Fam - No matter how you currently feel about your body or what it’s been through, I urge you to write a letter to it. Apologize and then give it gratitude. We take our bodies for granted, we really do. There are so many people out there that have injuries or are very sick and physically cannot exercise. One thing I have truly come to realize during this intense training is that I appreciate my body more than ever. I owe it to myself to take care of my body while I’m physically able to. There are simply no excuses. I’m realizing that I may not reach my goal by May, but that’s ok. I look in the mirror and I like what I see and that's all that matters!!! I’m thrilled with the progress I’m making and will not take any shortcuts. All of the time and dedication is paying off - slowly YES, but surely. All good things come to those who wait (and have patience). Like I said before, IT’S JUST ME AND MY BREATH, ME AND MY BREATH :)

What do you have to say to your body today?

See you soon,
Bea