Woohoo!

I am feeling sooooo very good about moving. Tawny posted an epiphany (via Paige) which hit me, too: Athletes train to compete, not to lose weight. While I'm not quite athletic, that IS what I want. I want to train to make a healthy, strong body, not to "lose weight". The weight will come off as a result. Thank you, Tawny and Paige!

My latest favorite thing is the Nike+gps app for my iPhone. Please. It's totally fun! While you're "running" (that's what they think I'm doing, but I'm still a walker), you get to hear cheers every time a friend hits "like" on FaceBook. It may sound nutty, but I really live for those cheers. Also, a voice comes on to tell you when you hit mile markers and when you exceed your longest "run". Also, when you're finished, you get a complete report on distance, pace, time, and a map showing your route. Are you kidding me? It's awesome! And it's free ... at the moment. I sense a fee coming in the future.

Pilates whipped my large bottom this morning, but it is by far the most needed class I'm taking. I believe I may find this core of which they speak. It's in there, somewhere. And the wonderful stretches you get. Ahhhh ...

OK, kids ... let's go get 'em!

Maybe, Just Maybe ...

This may be it! I may have found the food solution. Of course, I've said that a bijillion times before, but this time ... maybe ... NEVER BE FAT AGAIN is sort of a cheesy title (though it is anti-cheese), but this guy isn't an "author". He is a biochemist. Someone who really understands what is happening in our bodies.

I'm not even a third of the way into it, but I'm making huge changes, already. It's drastic, to be sure. It means admitting that what we've been doing hasn't worked. That may sound like a no-brainer, but it's something I'm really having to grapple with. He has had the smarts to put the actual beginner's diet plan at the back of the book, to be followed only after the reader has read the whys and why nots. I do keep peeking back there, and it scares the holy heck out of me, but then I quickly flip back to the page I'm on and pretend I'll never "have" to eat like that.

I've already started down the organic path. Just like the day that I put down my diet cokes and never looked back (YEARS ago, now), organic eating simply became something I wanted to do. Right there, I'm sort of in his camp and a little more easily convinced that what he says is true. But, to go 100% by his plan ... that just sends shivers down my spine. Still, I know I will.

As if a new mindset has just taken over, little changes are happening. My breakfast oatmeal was already a good idea, yet I was cooking it in the microwave, thus chemically altering it. Who knew? I didn't want to drag pots and pans out to use the stove, then it occurred to me that oats don't HAVE to be cooked. A friend mentioned soaking oats in a blender when juicing for a creamier taste. So I soaked them in their spices, honey, and almond milk for 20 minutes. Dang! It was good! And even less work. This, I like.

The author's premise is that we're fat because our bodies are not being fed. The crap that we put into it is either not food at all, genetically modified so that it only looks like food, or nutritionally destroyed by preservatives and/or cooking. He was supposed to have died years ago, so he must have a point.

Loving my daily exercise! Check my calendar for the new classes I'm taking :) I look hysterical in Latin dancing, but there's only one way out of this, so I'll take it!

Greatest Gifts from the Ridge

The Ridge just keeps on giving. I check the FaceBook page of alums nearly every day and I get the very best motivation from those entries. I feel so ... normal. It's easy (in a manner of speaking) to do it at FR, but when you come home, the old habits and limitations just pop right back up. Thank you, everyone for easing my guilt. I have a tip, though.

The 10K (which was meant to be just a 5K, but my joi de vivre took over) was courtesy of a cool group that everyone should know about. Maybe you do, but I sure didn't. I was going to post this on the message board, but I agree with a previous poster and didn't want to advertise other things on FR's page.

ANYWAY, this organization is literally everywhere, no matter where you live. It's the American Volkssport Assn. (http://www.ava.org/). Here's the California listing of events .

There are big ol' walks, like the one I took last weekend, and smaller, local ones more often. I'm going to my first local meeting tonight, so I'll know more, then. They even have walks (year round walks) you can do any time you want. The "walk box" contains directions and points of interest. These are scattered everywhere. I'm excited about this. As a single gal, hiking with the bears, all alone isn't exactly thrilling. But this way, they know you're out there, where you're going, and expecting you to return. Besides, you meet others on the walk and can walk with them, as I did last time.

I'm just beyond excited about this summer. Again, thanks to the Fitness Ridger who commented that she just starts over every ... single ... day. I don't know why, but that has meant more to me than anything. Check my calendar (right side). I'm actually moving a whole lot more than I was.

Starting Over All Summer

Summer vacation: The goal is to move it every single day in some way. I wish I could remember who, but some brilliant woman on the Fitness Ridge FaceBook page recently said that she starts over every-single-day. EVERY day. Powerful. She has finally come to terms with that and has gotten it together. I realized that I'm not a loser for all of my start-overs, but I will lose if I keep starting over. Just keep doing it.

So this week has been different. Over the Memorial Day weekend, I easily got myself through the front doors of my new gym for the first time for a little treadmilling and eliptical. The next day, I flopped around on my mat in pilates, and on Monday it was water aerobics. Oh, yeah. I've got this.

Summer vacation officially started today and oy, did I kick it off! I went from couch warmer to a 10K at 7,000' msl. Holy cow! I'm really, really sore, but tomorrow I plan on starting over ... again. :)