Gaining Strength: Saturday Slice of Life

Gaining Strength.  More lessons from the garden.  This is the Artichoke plant that could.  It started with What If I had No Excuses, progressed to Seeds of Success, a Living Dream to more Seeds of Success and just a few days later, What If I just Let things Happen.   and NOW, today, Gaining Strength.

This weight loss journey, for me, is more about gaining strength in my Personal Power more than just weight loss. It is about creating a life that is full, vibrant, stunning, and shines with the radiance of who I have always been.  The part of me that I kept restrained.  My personal power.

For years, I just gave away my personal power.  People took it from me at an early age, but I continued the process for years.  I gave my personal power to other people’s opinions, their reactions, I gave it to food and the scale and not just my body image, but my self image.  Diets, lack of exercise, contributed to the physical part of my demise, but it was not filling my well, not seeing what I was portraying to the outside and trying to keep myself small that got me here.

Diets only change the outside.  I want to LIVE a full lifestyle. I need to find what works best for me.  For me, it is finding ways to turn the body I looked at like some out of control weed, into something beautiful and vibrant.  I have been VERY successful this week and it doesn’t have much to do with the scale. (Yes, I have weighed and yes, it is moving downward) but my success is how I am handling my life stresses.

I have some pretty awesome things going on for me right now…Things that really could change my life… Things that could make me stand out just like all the blooms on my artichoke.  The stresses are the uncontrollable sets of circumstances that have affected 4 of the people closest to me.  All of which have a majority to do with finances and the economy.  Things I just can not change.

My stress, most often, comes from worrying about those closest to me.  Not me, but the ones I love the most.  But here’s the deal.  Most all my life, since I gave my personal power away to them, I felt their pain.  I felt I failed if I didn’t make it right.  I felt it was my fault.  But not today!  I am gaining strength in my behaviors and can love them, be there for them, support them, but take care of me.

During this stressful time, I have been just like my Artichoke plant.   I made No Excuses my mantra for doing what I needed to do for me.  I carved out my goals by planting seeds that would support my success AND incorporated it into what I knew has worked for me in the past..A dream board.  I sat and just watched the progress with more seeds and breaking the plateau.  I moved to the next step of letting go and just letting things happen…as they should…in their own time.

Which brings us to today.  Gaining Strength.  It represents bringing all the slices together, not just focusing on one or two things.  Creating the Big Picture.  The beautiful picture.  While I was ecstatic that I could look forward to eating artichokes, lots of artichokes, this summer: what I have gained is SO MUCH more than that short time of just eating something delicious.  A beautiful bounty of bright purple blossoms that light my way to a new LIFESTYLE not just a diet.

I don’t go to a gym.  I use what I have at home to help me exercise.  I use Exercise TV, my Wii Fit, and NOW our family, walk-run-bike rides. I watch what I eat, work on drinking my water, stopped making my excuses be who I had become, and I ask questions.  My interview this week with Jody was about that.  I asked questions.  Seeing how someone I admire has made this a part of her life.  Why? Because I have always wanted to incorporate strength training, specifically weights,  into my life.

My eating habits are following the same path.  My measure of success…I did NOT use food to relieve my stress.  That is HUGE for me.  That is what is becoming the habit now.  Food is not a magic pill.

My biggest question this week, was stepping out of my embarrassment and asking someone at work just how far a 5K and 10K was.  I honestly didn’t know.  When I found out a 5K was approximately 3 plus miles, I realized I can do that.  I am slowly running a little more each day.  Why?  Because I have always wanted to see what running was all about. I have always felt if I could just physically run, I wouldn’t just go into fight or flight, and I would finally be free.

So, I am taking tiny steps and watching my progress.  My thoughts now…today…in the moment….

You know, I have always wanted to go to Vegas….maybe, just maybe,  I might allow myself to go this December….the possibility is there.

What are some ways you can gain strength in your personal power?  What can you just let blossom in your life instead of eating your way through it?   I REALLY want to know!