Body Image

I read a wonderful post this morning about body image, which is something I've struggled with my whole life. Here's a snippet:

"The thing is, no matter how much any of us workout or what we weigh, we are likely never going to look like whatever ideal we have in our head (whether it's a celebrity, our former selves or some other imaginary version of us). If we have stretch marks and cellulite, we will probably always have them. Even at goal weight. So I think the first thing we need to do is understand that and have realistic expectations. Because all we can do is eat better and move more; but we have little to no control over what our bodies will look like as a result of that work.

So instead of being disappointed that you don't look a certain way, I want you to reframe it: The next time you find yourself saying negative things about your body because of what it looks like, I want you to see all the ways your body is amazing - think of all the things it does for you in a single day: it keeps your heart beating and keeps you alive, it gets you around from place to place, it walks, it drives, it bends, reaches, grabs, writes, sews, paints, draws, plays instruments, runs, bikes, swims, jumps - it picks up and holds your kids & your loved ones. Your body is a truly amazing thing - a functional work of art."

You can read the whole post here on Sheryl's blog.

I stared into the mirror last night, analyzing myself (stretch marks and all)...and I realized how far I've come and what I can do now that I couldn't do before. I can run a mile, I can walk a 5k, I can do jumping jacks and pushups, I can walk up and down the stairs without heaving, I can cook fantastic DELICIOUS satisfying foods that even my husband loves.

So like Sheryl said, no matter what we look like - we truly are a work of art. :o)

A Mile at a Time

Yesterday, I ran a mile. 1 whole mile.

It was AWESOME!

I know so many people who have done 5k's, 10k's, half-marathons, and full marathons...but they all had to start out with just one mile at some point in their lives.

I had actually just intended to walk (by myself, Matt was down with a bad cold) but made a split second decision after a 5 minute warm up to run.

I ran past a sweet old lady who was out enjoying the wonderful fresh air.

I turned a corner and ran to the next block.

I saw a gray van two blocks down.

I ran past it.

I saw the end of the street, took a left, and kept running.

Then I just made up my mind that I was going to run home.

I ran and I ran and I actually ran PAST the house, to the end of our block, because I wanted to ensure that I had run a full mile.

All the while, I imagined people cheering me on. All of you were there, lining the street, jumping up and down, waiting for me to cross that 'finish line'.

Remember Me

I just wanted to do a quick post this morning, because I've been wearing a shirt recently that I purchased on our honeymoon in March of 2009. Sometimes we all need a reminder of what happened along our journey. We need to stop at the reflecting pool to keep in touch with who we were then and who we are now.

Scripture

I have to quickly share this great piece of scripture before I head off to bed. It's been on my mind since I stumbled across it this morning on beautiful Mandisa's blog (which I ALSO stumbled upon -- thank you, KLove!) She included this little gem in her "Scriptures on my Journey to 100" post:

Philippians 4:12-13- I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Easter :o)

Easter 2011
(down 90lbs!)

From L-R: Matt (my husband), me, Mike (my dad), Sharon (my mom)

On a side note, check out my mom's Easter post that includes a fun little video outtake from this photo shoot!

Do You Hear the People Sing?

On break today, I made a new Pandora station on my phone. I set it to play songs from and "similar to" Les Miserables (funnily enough, it only played songs from Les Mis and nothing else!) The song, "Do You Hear the People Sing" came on and I just knew that I had to find it to post on here. I am dedicating this to all of those who are marching in uprising against their cruel dictators, those freedom fighters, peacekeepers, 'troublemakers', those who are getting the word out to let us know what is REALLY going on in their country, to the woman in Libya who is being 'silenced' for accusing those in power of raping her...

This is your anthem.

Chubby Cushion of Comfort

**Author's note: The formatting on Blogger is wonky and isn't retaining my paragraph breaks, so I apologize for the really 'wordy' looking post!** I read a blog post yesterday that completely describes my current state of mind! "Sometimes You Just Need Baggy Pants" I've reached the point where I am slowly running out of (what I will call the) Chubby Cushion of Comfort. I can feel my hip bones, my collar bone is noticeable, and I can even see my ankles and the veins in my feet on a regular basis. This is WAY beyond my 'comfort zone'. It's almost a little weird and unnerving. Like, where am I melting away to? Where did it all GO? I'm not taking the weight loss for granted, don't get me wrong. It's AWESOME. I feel AWESOME. But I barely have that Cushion to hang on to. It's the Cushion that let me slide through life just being *average*. It's the Cushion that gave me the excuse that I was too overweight to exercise, because...what difference would it make, right? Well, now that the Cushion is fading away, I don't have an excuse to have excuses any longer. I don't have an excuse to NOT buy the cute shirt. I don't have an excuse to NOT sign up to run a 5k. I don't have an excuse to NOT smile when my husband compliments me. Do you or did you have a Chubby Cushion of Comfort? If you still do, have you thought about ways to chip away at it? If you did have one, what steps did you take to push it out of your life? On a side note, I'm down 85 pounds! Just this week, I was able to fit into three pairs of pants that I'd been hanging on to for over 6 years. Baby steps!