PAT YOURSELF ON THE BACK

Something happened last night that has finally made me truly realize that all my hard work and effort is paying off. I went to one of my favorite restaurants with my Mother last night that I hadn't been to in about 4 months. My Ma and I were seated and the menus were placed on our table by the waitress that regularly served us in the past. I excused myself and went to the ladies room. I came back to the table and my Ma said "you are not going to believe what just happened!"

She said that the waitress asked her if I was her youngest daughter.
My Ma told her "she's my only daughter."
The waitress asked her "the same one that came with you before??"
Ma said "Yes, she's my only daughter!" The waitress told her "Wow, she looks so different. So young! I can't believe that's her. She looks so great!"

After a few minutes, the waitress came to the table and told me that I look totally different and asked what I have been doing. That was such a great feeling. I felt on Cloud 9. It’s wonderful to hear feedback from your family and friends, but there’s something to be said about “strangers” commenting on your progress. To me, that kind of feedback seems more real because they don’t NEED to say anything – what do they care, right? When family or friends tell me they see the changes, I’m always like “oh sure, thanks.” Last night was special to me.

It’s so strange that even though I’m buying smaller pant sizes, I don’t give myself enough credit. I’m in denial. I need to work on appreciating myself and be happy with my progress. It just seems like I have such a long way to go and sometimes feel so discouraged. I need to take the time and stop and look at myself in the mirror and compliment myself. “Look at you. Look at your progress mama. You are doing this. Stay the course. No looking back. The past is the past. You are doing good.”

See you soon,
Bea

I Survived Hell Week Part 2

Well folks, 14 classes in 7 days is no joke, but I did it. Today's Zumba's class was a great way to finish off the week. This past week was just what I needed to get back on track and I feel great! My goal for next week is a minimum of 10 classes. I know I have some ways to go to reach and sustain my fitness / wellness goals, but I proved to myself that the excuses that I was so dependent on (can't get up early, not enough time, competing priorities, etc), really doesn't bear much weight (no pun!)

Bottome line is you plan and make time for things that you want to invest in.....

Congrats to my AC buddy Dupe for everything that she accomplished this week!!

I made history at D3!

This morning I went to D3 on a Friday for the first time ever!! For real!! Since 2007 I have never been to D3 on a Friday...deliberately. In fact this week I defended my no- Friday policy on two occasions! Friday is a day for me to chillax. I typically dont schedule any court cases, just so I can work from home. I can sleep late, work at my leisure and then look forward to the evening. At the end of the week it gives me something to look forward to. I can hang out with freinds or do absolutely nothing!! Either its about me chillaxing.

As this week has progressed I have been thinking about going to D3 on Friday, but really wasnt sure if I could do it. Then I guess I had a shift in my mind set. I knew I would not be doing my (semi) usual Saturday, this weekend, plus I knew my ac buddy Josey has been pushing herself to the limit, so I knew just by me going to class on Friday at 6am, that was really pushing me to the limit. So I did it.. And so now Hell week Pt II is officially over for me!!!

I made history twice: burned over 600 calories at the gym and went to d3 on a Friday!! Well alright now!!

Serena's Glam Slam

I always admired Serena's athleticism and healthy body image. She embraces her curves and looks fabulous!


http://www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/fashion-articles/serena-williams-body-0810

Free your mind...and the rest will follow...

I used to sing this song all the time, but I am just starting to understand what it means. I can think of cliche after cliche that echoes this same message, I just never got it. "Just do it!" "Get ya mind right!" "Don't overthink it" and the list could go on and on...but everything about this whole concept defies my superly overly analytical Virgo nature. Why wouldn't I want to overthink it? What else is there to do with it? "Just do it?" Surely, you can't be serious.

However, when I was struggling terribly last week in our BABs PT, Dre said "Get outta your head, Robin" and it all started to come together. I never really believed in "a-ha" moments, until I had one. "Get outta your head, Robin" ..."Get outta your head, Robin"... Hmmm....
As I've started to turn my thinking cap off more, I've found that I can accomplish more. It's all mental...finally that means something to me.

I am the first to tell you all about me, I know just about everything about myself. Things that are static, and just are. For instance, I'm not a night owl, I'm not good at math, I am not a runner. Another thing, I can't do pushups, if God had wanted me to do pushups he would have given me stronger arms and a smaller ass. But I am finding everyday that if I stop thinking about what I am not and what I can not do, that realistically I can do anything! Wow! What a concept!

We put our own limitations on ourselves by thinking about what we can't do (and think of how pissed off we become when someone else tells us we are incapable of doing something).
Truth of the matter is, nine times out of ten, if we think we can do something, we probably can. Dre said last night that "consequences bring results". That is true. But for me, moreso than the consequences, it is the self-speak to just keep telling myself "I can do this", "I got this", "Only ## more"...and I find that I have completed the exercise!! Then, I am looking at myself in disbelief.

My mind wants to tell me that I'm in WAY over my head with BABs, because it is soooo very hard. But my instincts tell me I can do this. My solution is to turn off my "over-thinking" cap and to GET OUT OF MY OWN WAY and ACCEPT that I CAN DO THIS!!

By the way Dre...I'm a BAB not a FAB!! :-)

Robin

Article by Katharine Giovanni-MUST READ!!

This is an amazing article, take a moment to read it! It truly moved me! Dre

Mistakes Power Change

23/02/11COMMENTS 2

Failure leads to change.

If you combine failure with determination and persistence and the attitude that you will do whatever it takes, you will go straight to success.

Listen, if you really want to know the truth, I’ve made thousands of mistakes over the years. In fact, I’ve been knocked down more times than I can count. The real trick to life is to get up after you’ve been knocked down.

I actually don’t think there is anything wrong with getting knocked down, it happens to all of us at some point. What’s wrong is when you don’t get back up. Sure it hurts and we all hate it, but you learn to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and move on.

So I’ll say it again …

Failure and mistakes lead to extraordinary change.

I ran across a very interesting blog post yesterday by Bud Bilanich. In his blog he outlines 50 people who failed before they became successful. Here are a few of my favorites from Bud’s blog …

• Babe Ruth struck out 1,330 times.
• The Beetles were rejected by the Decca Recording Company who proclaimed: “‘We don’t like their sound and guitar music is on the way out.
• Early in her career, Oprah was fired from her job as a television reporter because she was “unfit for tv.”
• The manager of the Grand Ole Opry fired Elvis Presley after just one performance telling him, “You ain’t going nowhere, son. You ought to go back to driving a truck.”
• In Fred Astaire’s first screen test, the testing director of MGM noted that Astaire, “Can’t act. Can’t sing. Slightly bald. Can dance a little.”
• Einstein did not speak until he was four and did not read until he was seven, causing his teachers and parents to think he was mentally handicapped, slow and anti-social.
• Western Union rejected the telephone when Alexander Graham Bell offered them the rights of manufacture and distribution. They considered the technology as having too many shortcomings.
• A newspaper editor fired Walt Disney because he had no good ideas. After that, Disney started a number of businesses that didn’t last too long and ended with bankruptcy and failure.
• R.H. Macy started seven failed business before finally hitting big with his store in New York City.
• Winston Churchill failed the 6th grade. Churchill was also hounded by periods of manic depression.
• Milton Hershey experienced bankruptcy in his pursuit as the “chocolate king.”
• H.J. Heinz saw his newborn company forced into liquidation.
• Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard. His first business called Traf-O-Data failed.

Now let’s take a look at the way a few people have turned around their mistakes:

• Thomas Edison “reportedly tried over 2,000 different experiments before he got the first incandescent light bulb to work. When a reporter asked him how it felt to fail so many times he replied, ‘I never failed once. I invented the light bulb. It just happened to be a 2,000-step process.’”
• Walt Disney once said, “Never forget that all this started with a mouse.”

Now what do all these people have in common?

They trusted their intuition. They KNEW that they would be a success because their intuition told them to not give up and keep going. Your intuition is like a compass that shows you what direction you should be going. They also never gave up. They did whatever it took to be a success, and it worked.

They exhibited the three keys to lasting change …

1. CHANGE – You must be willing to change

2. DETERMINATION — NEVER EVER give up, no matter what. Do whatever it takes.

3. INTUITION — Trust your intuition! All of the people in the above examples trusted what their intuition was telling them. What if they hadn’t? Can you imagine a life without Hershey Chocolate?

Until next time!

Katharine Giovanni

I DID IT!! I found my gym again and worked it out!!

Last I was at a dinner meeting with some colleagues. Whilst nursing a glass of wine (which someone in the group had bought especially for me, so I felt especially obligated to drink it!) I got a text from my girl Josey. She said she had just finished running 2.5 miles and was going to d3 in the morning. Naturally I felt proud of her for meeting and exceeding her goals but I also knew I had no intentions of going to d3 in the morning. I had signed up for the evening classes and I was going to stick to that and nothing more!!! I need at least one morning this week where I can get up at a reasonable hour not crazy 5am!!
But as I fell asleep last night it occurred to me that I have a gym in my building just 2 floors below me which I have not set foot in in over a year. May be I should follow Josey's lead and head to the gym, especially as I would not be in D3 in the morning. Plus I was working from home so I could get up at a reasonble hour and still get my work out in before 12 noon!!

So this morning I pointedly ignored the buzzing off my phone telling me I had emails and phone calls to return and instead headed straight for the gym!! I jumped on the treadmill and did what used to be my usual 4.0, which typically was no joke. I would be huffing and puffing at 4.0 and often times have a back ache and pray for dear life for the 20 mins to be over!! but something strange happened this time..I kid you not!! After several minutes I felt ok so I started inching up the speed, 4.2, 4.3, no back pain. I was amazed!! 4.4 and then 4.5. I must say I never do 4.5. I`m not a runner in any shape or form so 4.5 for me is like a crazy sprint! but this time I did it and burned more calories than ever. I believe it is a testament to my endurance having increased my number of days at d3. I then jumped to the eliptical and once again burned more calories than ever! In 55 mins I burned over 600 calories. That is huge for me!!

I realise most people reading this blog probably start at 4.5 and end up at 7.0 or higher, but for me I start at 3.5 and usually end up at 4.0. So I am proud of ME for acheiving the unthinkable...returning to my gym and running 4.5, whoop whoop, GO ME!!