Santosha!

All great things begin with a single step. 

I stepped on that damned thing today.  It was exactly as I expected.  I am up 6 1/2 pounds since 5/21.  Yuck.  However, on the bright side, I know that is less than what it was a week ago.  I can at least fit back into my jeans. 

So, I figure it this way.  I can take that off over the next 3 weeks at an easy pace of 2 lbs per week... just in time for my trip to Utah with the girls!  The good news is that there will most likely be lots of weight LOST on this trip.  7 of us, Trish, myself and 5 of our clients, are headed to Ivins, UT to the Biggest Loser's Fitness Ridge for one week of the biggest loser experience!  Yippee!  Can't wait.

A couple things I was thinking about lately. 

#1:
A good friend of mine repeated a line to me from one of the latest 'Losing it with Jillian' episodes.  Jillian says, "Why do we continue to fail when success is an option?"  Read it again.  And again.  The key word in that sentence is 'Why?'  

We all must figure out our 'why', with whatever it relates to.  Here in this context, it relates to the issues I have with self esteem, body image, self worth.  I happen to know a lot of my 'whys', and yet I still allow myself to consider most of my 'weight-related stumbling blocks' as failures.  I am speaking theoretically here.  Not really giving or asking for answers... just planting the thought in all of our heads.  Whatever IT is in our lives that we continue to let ourselves fail at... 'WHY'?  What do we fear?  What are we afraid of?  Sometimes I think that I have spent so many years of my life focused on getting to a healthy weight (whether it was 5 pounds away or 50 from it)... that I might not know what to do with myself if I ever got there. 

#2:
My wonderful yoga instructor, Kelsey, whom I adore and admire tremendously, shared a yoga niyama during our session yesterday that I have been living and breathing for the past 24 hours.... SANTOSHA...which means, contentment.  To be content with what I already have.  To have gratitude for what already exists in my life and not to focus on what I think I want or need.  The fact of the matter is, I already have everything that I need. 

We could all use a little more Santosha in our lives, right?  So, I invite you to use your next 24 hours to focus on santosha in your own life.  It's already there.  When you start to focus on your life this way you will soon discover that every moment has a gift in it that you might not have seen without contentment.

Enjoy your day, my friends,
Traci

Here we go again...

So, I have to confess... I have been avoiding my own blog!  Yep.  I suck.  Actually I probably don't suck, I am probably just human, but I am not the kind of person that wants to make any excuses.

The fact is that I have been afraid to get on that damn scale since I returned from Europe.  That was over 2 weeks ago.  So, lo and behold, because I have given in to my fear, I am probably WAY worse off than I was 2 weeks ago.

It is like the party that doesn't want to end.  The problem is, as my wise-graciously-older Auntie says, "The more you play, the more you pay."  So, here I am paying up.  Tomorrow, I will step on that damn scale and accept my consequence.  Some of you are probably thinking, ' ok, wait, stop, you are being way too dramatic and over-reactive'.  Maybe.  But, I am pretty sure I am not alone in the way that I have been feeling lately.  Let's face it... leading a completely healthy lifestyle in this country is not made very easy with all of the temptations we have around us.  And, haven't we all at some point felt like Eve in the Garden of Eden with not just one apple tree but a fricking ORCHARD of them!!!  When I am living in my own little controlled bubble, I am on point.  Take me out of my routine and I have to kick in the will power BIG TIME to control temptation toward something I love... FOOD!  These are the only times that it FEELS like 'willpower'.  Normally, it is just the way I live my life.  And, trust me, if it wasn't that way, I would be upwards of 350.  That I am sure of.  I have an obsessive-compulsive personality, and I don't know about you, but I would much rather be OC about exercising and eating healthy than the opposite.

Anyway, welcome to my journey, take 2.  What is wrong with this picture?  Nothing really.  Isn't it, after all, a lifelong journey?  We all fall down... many times throughout life.  We must choose to get back up.

“Our Greatest Glory is not in Falling but in Rising Every Time We Fall” ~Confucius

Until Later...
Trace

Way Too Long...

Hey there friends!

I have been back from Italy and Cruise for a week and a half.  Trying to find some courage to get back on here.  Pretty disappointed with myself as of late.  Completely fell off the wagon.  Afraid to get on the scale.  Trying really hard to get back into my awesome routine!  Anyway, just wanted to let you know I haven't forgotten about you.  I know that you look forward to reading my inspirational posts and recipes, etc.  Just feeling a little slumpy.  Hoping that I can pull myself out of it...

Until later,
Traci

Ciao! And, Don't Worry, Be Happy!

Well, as of tomorrow I am off on a new adventure.  We leave Syracuse for Toronto at 4 pm.  We'll be spending the night and next day in Toronto then taking off Thursday around 9 pm to Rome, Italy.  

I am very excited about this trip.  It is the 'play hard' part of our (Frank and I) philosophy of life, 'Work Hard, Play Hard'.  It makes us happy.  We are very grateful to be fortunate enough to have opportunites like this through Frank's employment. 

As a double bonus, our kitchen is also being remodeled while we are away.  This too releases the 'happy-bug' within as we have wanted to have our kitchen re-done for many years now.

The concept of  'Happy' has been on my mind lately.  I think about everything in my life.  I think of all my goals and aspirations.  I think of my husband, Frank, my Maggie-Pie, my friends, my family, my clients.  I think of the places I've traveled and the feelings I have about my home and everything that encompasses 'My Life'.  And, the definitive conclusion I am always reminded of is that everything I do in life is so I can experience happiness or create happiness for others.

When it all comes down to it... we do what we do because it makes us happy or we think that it will make us happy.  At the end of my life, whenever it may be, the memories of me should and will be that 'she was happy', 'she lived a fulfilled and happy life'.

Nothing else matters.  So, without drawing this out too much... DO what makes you happy in your life.  DO what creates happiness around you.  LOVE every single minute of it.

Ciao, my friends...
Trace

Haven't Forgotten You!!

Hey there!  I haven't forgotten about you guys.  The past two weeks have just been a whirlwind.  I am getting ready to go off to Europe and get our kitchen remodeled while we are away!

I ended up losing a total of 5 1/2 pounds in my biggest loser challenge with the boys.  This was good enough for 2nd place!  I feel great even though I fell short of my original goal.  Halfway through the challenge I started feeling so much pressure.  So, I re-evaluated what I was trying to accomplish and why.  I was already at a healthy weight for my body in general and for what I do, I was very happy with myself.   I also decided that to take it to the next level and have it mean something, I would have to further refine an already disciplined diet regimen.  I decided that I like my wine on the weekends and the occasional pizza too much to give them up for a six-pack!  Haha!...

Anyway, more later I promise.  I won't have my computer in Europe but Frank will have his and I hope to get on here a few times and let you know how I am keeping up with my healthy lifestyle abroad.  :)

Until next time...
Traci

Checking in!

Wow!  I just noticed it has been 7 days since I posted. 

I had a very busy week, which just ended with our Weekend Warriors!  It was an amazing weekend.  Lots of exercise and good food and great friendships.

I promise to get in here soon and post something with a bit more substance, however, the next 9 days are going to be crazy crazy.  I have Relay for Life coming up this weekend, I have an entire kitchen to clean out for our remodel that is happening when we are away, and then next Wednesday we leave for Europe!!  Yay!

My chance in the Biggest Loser is pretty much toast.  But, I will say that I can be and will be happy with a 5 or 6 pound loss over the 6 weeks.  More about that later...

Until next time,
Trace

The Power of Movement: EASE vs. DisEASE

Our diets are so much a part of our overall health that I spend a lot of time here talking about it.  I implore my clients, friends and family to seriously take their diets into consideration as 80% of their 'total healthy life' equation.  That will never change: 80% Diet, 20% Exercise.  From this we can conclude that if we don't address poor dietary habits we can exercise until we are blue in the face and it won't make a significant difference overall. 

With that said, we also know how important exercise is in our daily lives.  With movement we are 'well-oiled machines' per say, without it... think of the rusted up Tin-Man from The Wizard of Oz. 

To be able to MOVE with EASE through the power of regular physical activiy, which strengthens our heart muscle and all other skeletal muscles, which strengthens our connective tissues, which helps prevent osteoporosis and arthritis in our joints, which all the benefits are so vast I couldn't possibly name them all... is an absolute, sure-fire way, to prevent disease.  After all, can't we break the word disease down to 'dis'-ease?  Without the ease of movement, which our bodies are designed for, we are on a path to dis-ease not only of our movement but of our internal organs that thrive on being active!  Over the last few decades, so much forced or implied movement has been removed by the booming technologies that make it so easy for us to sit on our butts.  Isn't this true? 

Our body, our metabolism, is extremely efficient.  It is not wasteful.  If we don't move our asses, then our metabolism adjusts and only works as hard as it needs to.  Why wouldn't it?  It is perfection.  Our bodies adjust to whatever circumstances we place on it... whether good or bad. 

When we don't move and we eat too much crap, what happens?  Well, just turn on the first episodes of this season's Biggest Loser and question answered... our body adjusts and gets fatter and fatter and less efficient because we are telling it that it isn't required to do much and yet we are giving it way too much food and it miraculously adjusts by expanding. 

On the other hand, if we push it to limits that it is above and beyond what it used to, what happens?  Well, now you just have to turn on a current episode of this season's Biggest Loser and question answered... those previously 'dis-eased' individual's are now of the physical body of an elite athlete.  Don't tell me it can't be done. The human body is versatile and amazing.

So, my message today is... get moving!  Move a little more this year than last, more this month than last, more this week than last, MOVE more today than yesterday. Before you know it... You will have a healthier body and mind. All great accomplishments start with a single step forward.  Nobody said it would be easy, but isn't anything you really want in life worth a lot of hard work?  Isn't the Ease of Movement something that you really want?

Today I Will Give Everything I Have.
Until later... Trace