Experiencing Life

Eleanor Roosevelt has become somewhat of an intriguing and captivating figure to me. During the past few years I have run across quotes from her and she seemed to be such a well educated individual. After reading her book entitled "You Learn by Living: Eleven Keys for a More Fulfilling Life" I learned that she really had no formal education yet seems to be such a smart individual and a person that would have been fascinating to meet and listen too.

Here is one of her more famous quotes:

"The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience"

For some reason, this just smacks me across the face and tells me to ponder, consider and reflect on my life and what I'm doing with it. Am I living it to the utmost? Do I reach out and eagerly reach out without fear for those newer and richer experiences? Honestly, I have to say no. I'm a person that likes things to be black and white and unknown or vague situations are not circumstances that I handle well.

I learned through my weight loss and fitness journey that I would be experiencing situations of this nature and slowly I had to embrace them. Now I have come to love them. The gym to me in the beginning was not a familiar place to be. I really didn't know what I was doing. Fortunately, I had a great trainer and some awesome material. However, I still was doing it on my own basically, and I had to struggle through the uncomfortable stages and awkward feelings. Nevertheless, I now, blast through the gym doors and know what I'm doing, and why. I now have people asking me for help. What a change! I've learned to enjoy different foods not only for their taste but also from their texture and color and I'm better now because of it.

I know that I want to experience more in life. I know I have a lot more to experience in life. I can't say yet that I will do so eagerly but I am committed to "reaching out".

What fears or concerns you have about losing weight and being healthier that are keeping you from living your life to the utmost? Let's work on them together so we all can begin to really experience life.

In It For Life

Two nights ago, during my Weight Watcher's meeting I posed an interesting question to the group. I wanted to know by a show of hands, how many of the members would describe themselves as being on a diet. I was pleased when not a single hand was raised. It made me feel confident that each member of the group is destined for success in the pursuit of their weight loss and fitness goals.

Weight loss and ultimate fitness cannot be contained by following a fancy diet of high this, low that or none of those. It has to be a sensible approach to choosing healthy foods 90% of the time and getting our tushies off the couch and moving more. We have bones and muscles in our bodies and they need to be used. If we don't use them we will lose them.

Too many people start the process thinking in terms of being on a diet and that once they reach their ultimate goal whether it is a certain number on the scale, a specific dress size or what have you, that they are done and all will be well from then on. When this approach is taken, it is just a matter of time before the individual reverts to the same lifestyle that brought them to where they were to begin with, and in many cases they end up worse off than they were before.

The sooner we resolve ourselves to the fact that this is the way we will need to live our lives from now until the end of time, the better off we will be.. This means learning to find moderation in what we do and eat, embracing moving more and having healthy activities incorporated into our daily lives.. It means believing in ourselves and filling our minds with positive thinking and the desire to pass these lessons on to our families and to the next generation. It means learning to love the feeling of rolling on the floor and playing with our children or pets and not having to dread the thought of having to say that we can't participate.

Folks, if you want to be successful, you must be in this for the long haul, for your lifetime that is. Be in it for life and it will become your lifestyle. If you do this, I can say with confidence that your weight loss journey will be much easier and a lot more enjoyable.

Time in a Bottle

I often hear people say that they don't have enough time to exercise or cook healthy meals. I've talked often about tips for prepping foods on the weekend and planning to help us have a smoother week. I also posted a few months ago a schedule of mine showing how busy my day is and how I get through it.

My come back to this comment is we have all the time there is. The problem is: How do we make the best use of our time?

Here are couple suggestions for helping you.

1. Work on developing a routine pattern.

If we plan our day with a routine pattern waking up at the same time and incorporating our activity as an essential part of our day we are less likely to miss or skip it. If we have a general pattern as to when and what we eat we are less likely to stray.

2. Say no to nonessential tasks

Many times we find that we agree to take on additional tasks and work without considering how this will impact our own life or those around us. Before agreeing to one of these tasks consider your own goals and schedules and ensure that you can still ascertain what you want to accomplish.

3. Maintain good health

Maintaining good health through proper nutrition, rest and regular checkup help us to ensure that we can continue with our active lifestyle..

All of us have only a limited amount of time on this earth and as sand through an hour glass it can quickly disappear before our eyes. However, using this time and making it count for something is the beginning of good judgment and lasting happiness.