The YAY ME! awards

Something is wrong with the set of scales at our house. Seriously wrong.

My hubster Superman has transformed his daily diet for the past week into one that Jack LaLanne would've been proud of but instead of losing weight, he has rather GAINED a little bit. I, too, have changed my wicked ways and have only lost half of a pound. (As I said earlier, I'm not as worried about numbers as I am good health, but my poor hubster wants that number to come down!)

Perhaps it is the hubster's hair that is adding weight!

That sweet man who fantasizes about greasy cheeseburgers and large sodas (better than large--or small--greasy women!) has been religiously eating fresh green salads, raw fruits and yogurt daily for over a week. Few are the sweets he intakes and much is the water he partakes (of--okay that ruined my internal rhyme).

Last night when he did his weekly weigh-in, he threw up his hands and said, "I'm just going back to the way I used to eat!" I begged him not to, so tonight before work, he ate his usual green salad before we fixed him grapes and peanut butter-filled celery to take to the job. Baby steps, Superman--baby steps.

As for me, I am doing about the same as last week despite my good intentions to surpass last week's baby steps--maybe even take some froggie hops in this Mother May I "Let's Get Healthy" game. Saturday I walked my one time around the block but had to quit because I had waited too long before walking--it was nearly dark. Sunday I was gone all day, and when I got back, it was snowy and nearly dark again, hence, no walk.

But before I get too negative, let's inject some positivity into this positively positive endeavor of mine.

It's time for the YAY ME! awards:

1.  On MONDAY--ahhh, Monday--the hubster walked with me, and I made two trips around the block. As London Tipton would say on Disney's "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody," "YAY ME!" My legs were struggling but not as bad as before when I only made one round. Muscles DO get stronger with use; my fourth grade health book was right!
AN INCREASE IN EXERCISE!

2.  My baby steps included me eating only the organic burger with fresh lettuce and raw onions on Saturday night when everyone else ate the patty in a carbohydrate-loaded, mayo-laden hamburger bun. (And I only ate one burger to their two!) And what's more--I only ate a piece and a half of pizza at the buffet today when I usually eat at least four.
SMALLER PORTION SIZES AND A DECREASE IN BREAD!

3.  When the snack urge hits late at night, I have still been forgoing potato chips and nibbling baked pita chips and carrot sticks (yes, still dipped in Hidden Valley Ranch dip--*sad sigh*). The next goal is to stop late night snacking altogether, but hey, at least I have changed the choice of snacks and left behind taco-flavored Doritos.
BETTER CHOICE OF SNACK FOODS, INCLUDING RAW VEGGIES!

This was last year's box, but this year's was even bigger!

4.  Check this out--my big box of Valentine's chocolates is still half full and Valentine's Day was over a week ago! You have no idea how monumental this is. I even shared two or three with the hubster. I had to bite my lip when he reached for a piece of that chocolaty delight (Oh no--what if he gets my molasses chew? Surely he won't get my chocolate-covered toffee!), but Lois Lane is always glad to share with Superman. Why, at Sunday lunch, I even passed on my mama's angel food cake topped with peaches and whipped cream so that I could eat a cookie or two (or three or four) at my inlaws' house for supper on Sunday night! I am learning how to barter for my sweets (you can have the cookies if you pass on the cake).
MUCH LESS EATING OF CHOCOLATE AND OTHER SWEETS!

5.  I have decided that to keep healthy eating interesting, we must eat a variety of foods, rather than getting bogged down in the same ole same ole. Today I left behind the world of apples and oranges and enjoyed two exotic fruits--fresh kiwi and mango. They were delicious! I felt positively tropical--nearly put on my lei and hula skirt (oh yeah, I forgot--I can't wear my hula skirt any more because of the jelly rolls/side meat I have accumulated!). Variety is one of the spices of life. Mix it up, people!
CREATIVE NUTRITION LED TO CONTINUED INTEREST IN HEALTHY EATING!

RED ALERT! RED ALERT! It's confession time and the priest ain't here! I didn't drink much water today (being out and about so much all day, plus my distiller broke--really it did!), I drank a few glasses of sweet tea at lunch (I had to meet my cousin to make her wedding plans and the lunch buffet included a drink--I am not one to waste money), I ate a breakfast sandwich from Subway when I met a preacher to discuss upcoming revivals (no excuse except extreme hunger), and I didn't exercise at all today (unless you count the long haul to and from Elijah's baseball field). BAD GIRL!

But now the day is over, night is drawing (has drawn) nigh. Leslie will soar o'er her failures, like birds that have learned to fly.

After all, says Scarlett O'Hara, tomorrow is another day!

Mental motion--Forward! MARCH!

The road may look dark right now, but the sun is shining just up ahead! (Photo by Monty Stevens)

Living the dream has been no cakewalk this week. I felt as if I had been plopped right back into sepia-toned Kansas with the twister headed straight toward me and Miss Gulch riding away with my little dog. When your health suffers, it's hard to focus on doing what it takes to achieve the dream.

Some sort of detestable virus started toying with me nearly two weeks ago, but I was able to keep going--even walking for exercise around the block (in accordance with my dream of being in Madonna-like shape). I would have an okay day followed by a yucko day, as far as how my body felt. (Every day above ground is a good one, relatively speaking!)

By the beginning of this past week, the days of utter exhaustion/queasiness/achiness were outnumbering the days of recuperation. Yet still the virus seemed to be playing ping-pong with me, never hitting with a magnitude that would knock me off my feet yet making life slightly miserable as I kept going. I took Tuesday as a day to simply rest and commune with my Maker, and by the next day, I felt much improved.

But Thursday dawned with the familiar queasiness and abnormal exhaustion. Today wasn't much better; in fact, now the membranes in my eyes and the back of my nose and throat are stinging.

I'm not telling you all of this to have a pity party or to solicit sympathy. I, who haven't had so much as a Tylenol since Dec. 2000 and who had my last two babies at home with no medicine, am not one to play up sickness or pain. However, I am a firm believer in using hardships to learn lessons and grow stronger.

Yes, it was a bitter blow to have been healthy all winter and then get started on my "living the dream" regime only to suddenly be stricken in such a way that I COULDN'T carry out my grand schemes. I wanted to keep up the exercise routine I had started but literally didn't have the strength. (Hard to walk briskly up and down "hills and hollers" when your legs are shaking just from walking from the living room to the kitchen.)

I wanted to transition more and more to healthy eating, but it's tough to prepare what you need when you don't feel like moving from the couch. It's easier to eat Super Bowl leftovers like sausage balls and party mix. It takes effort to clean and juice organic carrots. It requires strength just to fix your hair, put on some makeup and go on a grocery shopping spree for healthy foods for a pantry that has been inhabited for years by canned ravioli, Vienna sausages and sugary cereals.

But here's what I learned this week: even when you can't PHYSICALLY move toward your dream, you can still MENTALLY keep moving. You can still keep the dream alive by focusing on it mentally, by visualizing where you want to be in a month, six months, a year.

"Dream and give yourself permission to envision a You that you choose to be." (Joy Page)

In other words, you've got to see it to be it. So when life's inevitable blows try to knock you two steps backward, in your mind don't you dare give up. In your mind, don't you dare give in to the thoughts of failure. In your mind, see yourself as the you that you want to be. And when the tide turns (as it always does), then reset your physical motion to match your mental motion.

I remember my little sister loving that old song by Little Eva, "Do the Loco-Motion." I say that we dreamers need to "Do the Mental Motion." Don't focus on the negative, such as "I don't want to be fat and bulky." Focus on the positive, "I want to be slim and flexible." Not "I don't want to get sick," but rather "I want to be healthy and whole."

I've always said that Christianity often misses the mark by being so negative--warning people not to be bad in hopes that fear will motivate change. If we would change the focus to wanting to be good because of our love for the Lord, I believe we would see greater change--change that is lasting.

So let's change our mindsets. Let a setback actually be a slingshot that pulls you back before it propels you forward.

Yep, it was a tough week here over the rainbow. But even Dorothy had to fight the Wicked Witch in Oz. And those flying monkeys? Please. Those things creeped me out.

I may feel set back, but I'm on track. I may feel delayed, but I'm a dreamer on parade. I may feel discouraged, but I will be encouraged. I may think I've been slack, but I'm coming back!

Mental motion is where it's at.

I am healthy, I am whole, I am blessed!

She's got the moves like Jagger

We are spirit, soul and body--three-part beings. One of my dreams involves modeling myself after those who excel in each of these three areas of our being. What's interesting (and rather comical) is that my role models in each sphere are so different and so far removed from each other.

 In spirit, I have but one star at which I stare fixedly--Jesus Christ. He IS the Holy Spirit! (When Jesus spoke of sending the Holy Spirit in John 14:18, He used first person: "I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.")

In soul, I have always longed to be like Miss Melanie Hamilton in "Gone With the Wind." What a beautifully unselfish and kind woman she was--an absolute paragon of virtue with a humility and grace that we all should aspire to. Problem is that I have always been natured more like Scarlett O'Hara as far as being impulsive and high-spirited. Miss Melly was ever-gentle and calm. (Let's hear a collective sigh that that will probably NEVER be me, but hey, a girl can dream, can't she?!)

When it comes to body, prepare to be amazed. I decided tonight as I watched the Super Bowl halftime show that I wouldn't mind looking like Madonna as far as fitness and agelessness. If we were talking about spirit and soul, she would be the lowest of low on my list of whom I would like to model myself after. But when it comes to the fleshly realm--doggone, that woman looks good.

It used to be that a woman in her mid-50s was seen stereotypically as dumpy, old, dressed in grandma's polyester pantsuit with gray hair. (Disclaimer: there's nothing wrong with polyester or gray hair.) But Madonna's chiseled limbs and cut abs would make most 20-year-olds jealous. As she sang with Nicki Minaj who is nearly 25 years younger than her, Madonna was by far the better looking one as far as fitness goes.

Madonna and child

So yes, although I don't care much for Madonna, I wouldn't mind being in that physical shape. Let's face the hard, cruel facts: if I tried to do some of her moves, I'd be bedridden or in traction.

And that Jillian Michaels? She's on my list, too. The woman is 37 and in the shape of a 16-year-old. I wanna go there. Yes, I do.

This is coming from a woman whose calves locked up by the time she walked from the Cove Mart to the old Dodson Hotel on Main Street, Walnut Cove, at the MLK March in January. I literally thought I couldn't make it to the destination not even a mile away. Pure old pride got me there--seeing people decades older than me marching blithely past me, watching women pushing baby strollers trucking it on up the hill as I willed my weak legs to take another step.

This has got to stop. If Madonna can do it, so can I. No, I can't afford a personal trainer, but surely I can walk around the block a few times a week or jump on the mini-tramp daily.

Maybe the buddy system is the answer. I need a buddy. Does anyone have Madonna's number? ;)