Wow! It seems like JC has really upped the celebrity action! First it was Nicole, then Sara and now Jason Alexander! First off, Nicole and Sara are both doing great and are on track, I know some people are afraid they won’t see as much of them. That’s not the case. Jenny Craig hasn’t had a male spokesperson since Baron Davis, so Jason is filling big shoes

I’ve always loved his work and am really happy to see that he’s taking the necessary steps to get healthy. He talks about it with Valerie Bertinelli here in this video.

It should be a fun Journey!

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Yay!!! So Christmas is literally right around the corner with New Years coming up as well! It’s party time . . . and you know what that means. Food. And not necessariliy the kind you should be eating. But it’s the Holidays, right? Well, here’s some good news for those that would like a special treat. you can have your cake . .make that fudge, and eat it too! This recipe is really good, and although a portion size is small, it’s really rich and enjoyable. And no candy thermometer required! The fun thing about this recipe is that it can be personalized to your taste. You could add extra cinnamon, or even cayenne if you want to make a spicy Mayan fudge. Play around with it! Watch my how-to video and let me know what you think!

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So in case you haven’t heard . . . Sara Rue is Jenny Craig’s newest celebrity client! You’ve seen her most recently on Eastwick and Big Bang Theory. It was announced a little over a week ago so you can already find videos etc on the JC site. Check out this article from People Magazine that talks about how Sara has already lost 7 pounds !!! What a way to kick start the program. Anyhow, Val has said that she is super excited to mentor Sara, and I’m excited to see the process!  If you want to follow her progress too, you can read her blog at http://jennycraig.com/successstories/blog/sara and follow her on Twitter http://twitter.com/SaraRueForReal

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So I’ve made a few recipe videos for you! Jenny Craig has so many recipes on its website and I thought it would be fun to go through them and show you how to make a few. The first video is about making a healthier version of pumpkin pie. I know my family enjoys pumpkin pie throughout the holidays! Here it is! Be sure to comment and let me know what you think!

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This topic really comes from my personal struggle with people who used to be very close to me, but after catching them in SO many lies I finally got the courage to eliminate them from my life. BUT lately I’ve realized that when you point 1 finger at someone else there are 3 pointed back at you.

There are some common “lies” that I tell myself or have told myself along this journey and the more I expose the lies the healthier I become. So my challenge to myself and to all of you if you wish to take it is to tell the TRUTH…to come clean.

Here are some of my little “lies” that I can still tell myself that I need to dig up and throw out of my life:

1. I tell myself there’s something wrong with me when I deviate. I can go into deep analysis. TRUTH: I’m human and imperfect and have had years of using food to cope so I slip sometimes so what. Just move on.

2. I can start to doubt my ability to go all the way to my goal weight. TRUTH: Doubt doesn’t mean don’t. In other words I can move forward and still doubt. It’s just a feeling/emotion it’s not a fact

So those are just 2 of the lies I need to throw out of my life. How about you?

Here’s to our own personal truths. A life of integrity starts with keeping promises to the person we spend the most time with….ourselves.

Here we go….. Hope

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On my second flight yesterday, there was this little girl who just kept staring at me. I wondered what she was thinking as she smiled so innocently at me. It took me back to her age and the thoughts I used to have when I’d see women like me…dressed in a suit, seemingly going “places”, and wondering just what life had waiting ahead. Then this quote came to me that I think applies to our journey:

“We must give up the life we had planned to have the life waiting for us”

Childhood dreams sometimes come true and then sometimes not. For some of us, we are living lives VERY different than what we imagined for ourselves. BUT the innocence on that little girls face made me see it from a new perspective. Even though some dreams haven’t come true and some may be lost forever, there is still a lot WAITING for me and all of you on the OTHER side of our goal weight.

Can you just imagine for a minute what’s waiting for us when we step into our lives at our goal weight?
*reduced risk of all kinds of diseases
*increased longevity and/or quality of life
*improved energy
*more consistent state of mind (drastic reduction in self loathing over weight)
*new hobbies
*looking in the mirror and feelin’ HOT
*increased self esteem and self respect
*new clothes and lots of options for places to shop
*new friends who share our new lifestyle habits (working out, kayaking, hiking, running, etc)

The list goes on and on and each of you will have a customized list of all that’s waiting for you.

I personally want to challenge myself to feel okay with where I am. In some aspects, my life may not be what I planned but I’m EXCITED about what giving up those plans could mean for me and anxious to see what’s WAITING on the other side. So that’s my challenge and that’s what I offer to you….Are you willing to give up some of what you planned to go for what’s waiting for you? Are you willing to let the possibilities of what STILL CAN HAPPEN in your life be the driving force to go for what you want today?

Here we go……

Hope

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I have to come clean. Since reaching halfway I have had a lot of fear bubble up. I know others have expressed before so I wanted to make FEAR the topic this week.

For SOOO much of my adult life I’ve realized that I hid behind my “weight” issue for a lot of different reasons, and some I’m JUST now discovering as I get smaller. I would always blame or fall back on the weight when anything didn’t go well. For example if I went out with a guy and we didn’t hit it off, then it had to be because of the weight. When I lost my baby I blamed . . . what else . . . weight. In spite of boatloads of evidence to support the contrary, it was like my default button. So lately I’ve been getting more attention and while it’s great, it’s also uncomfortable at times.

Then there is economic fear. For all of us in this country it is a volatile time. I’ve been added to the list of potentially having to change positions and even relocate completely - all potentially not definitively - but it has introduced another layer of fear for me.

My coping skills for fear and other emotions have gotten better but they aren’t perfected to the point where I don’t think of food when all of this starts swirling in my head. Last night I had an old school sugar binge . . . cupcakes, cheesecake, and carrot cake. I just didn’t want to be awake for the pain . . . BUT the ironic thing is that the binge didn’t do for me what it used to. I think I’ve worked SO much on becoming self aware on this program that I instinctively started journaling.

I wrote all my fears out and then I wrote what I could do if all those “worse case” scenarios came true. It made me see it was MUCH bigger in my mind that it was in reality.

So that is my challenge for me this week and I offer it to all of you if this is applicable in your life. FACE whatever is bothering you. Play it out on paper all the way through and see for yourself that YOU DO have what it takes to survive . . . no to THRIVE.

So this morning is a clean slate. I’m about to throw the remains of the sugar binge away and head to my consultation.

NEW definition of FEAR:

F Face
E Everything in my life
A and
R Remain on Jenny Craig

So there . . . what’s there really to fear? I’ve just turned it into something good and that’s what it’s all about . . . how we DEFINE a situation/feeling determines how we feel, which then determines how we’ll behave.

Let’s get it started. It’s a brand new day, a clean slate just waiting for all of us to make our mark.

HAPPY NEW DAY everyone!

Here we go…..

Hope

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It can be tough to stick with water at a party or after a long week of work. So what do you do? Well, one strategy is to plan ahead and instead of denying yourself a drink, make a smart choice about what to have. EatingWell Magazine put out a great article that taste tests light beers. Here are the results (I like Michelob Ultra Amber, myself):

*Nutrition information for 12-ounce bottle | ABV = alcohol by volume

Michelob ULTRA Amber
ABV 5.0%
114 calories
3.7 grams carbohydrate
Dark golden color and malty, sweet flavor.

Redhook Ale Brewery Slim Chance
ABV 3.9%
125 calories
8.7 grams carbohydrate
Refreshing and light.

Sam Adams Light
ABV 4.0%
119 calories
9.6 grams carbohydrate
Crisp, malty and smooth.

Shipyard Light
ABV 3.9%
97 calories
7.4 grams carbohydrate
Nicely balanced beer was the most mild of the batch.

New Belgium Brewing Skinny Dip
ABV 4.2%
110 calories
7 grams carbohydrate
Bright golden color and delicious citrus notes.

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I barely made it to my consultation this week because I was so sick. I was at a conference where I had H1N1 exposure but thank goodness that’s not what I picked up. Turns out it was just a nasty cold. It did make me think about being “sick and tired” though.

We talk about how bad it feels to go around others and feel insecure because of our size, we talk about how we don’t like being the “largest” (at least for us women, who hasn’t scanned the room to see if someone is bigger and internally rejoiced about it), we spend our days consumed about our size, weight loss progress or lack of, we start a lot of conversations about what we “should” do…..

Then somewhere along the list of complaints there’s inevitably the comment “and I’m so sick and tired of this”….SOOOO my challenge to myself and to all of you who wish to take it is: HOW SICK ARE YOU?

Sick and tired enough to dig in and do the WORK required to change lifestyles?

Sick and tired enough to bring up problems/struggles with the intent to find SOLUTIONS?

Sick and tired enough to be uncomfortable as those old habits die a slow death?

Sick and tired enough to know the scale will not always say what you want, by the date you want?

Sick and tired of making the scale your ONLY data point to measure success which inevitably will lead to a rollercoaster of emotions?

Sick and tired of NOT accepting that sometimes you can do everything right and the scale doesn’t reflect your efforts? Are you willing to give up the meltdowns over a single number on a single day?

Sick and tired enough to know that emotionally you will not always feel pumped up and raring to go open another Jenny Craig entree but you do it anyway?

Sick and tired enough to find the kind of workout and workout “style” (meaning social or alone) that you prefer and accept that it may take time to find your personal “click”?

Sick and tired enough to make wallowing and self pity unacceptable and that from this point you choose to be powerful not pitiful?

Sick and tired enough to stop being your own enemy with negative self talk but working to have daily affirmations to change it?

Sick and tired enough to realize perfection isn’t required and so neither is a complete meltdown when imperfect days happen?

Sick and tired of starting and stopping the program only to realize that quitting never makes your progress faster?

Sick and tired of comparing yourself to anyone other than your former self?

………….So that’s it for me. How SICK are you?

For me today I can honestly say that I’m sick enough of talking about weight, so I continue to commit to my program. I went to my consultation anyway because I know that this is the ONE area of my life that I have complete control AND it comes with a guarantee of feeling great about me and my life.

So as I morphed into a major pity party for being sick, I simultaneously took care of what I could take care of….my eating, my thinking, and my “no matter what” I’m going to my consultation.

No weigh in this week because I had two liters of water before my consultation from being dehydrated from the medication I was on, but I’m happy to say that I’m better and I’m “sick and tired” enough to do the work to continue to move towards my goal weight.

Hope…sick enough to do the work!

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I just read this fantastic article by Rebecca Pratt, from SparkPeople. It gives you 10 reasons why you working out in the morning is the best. I have to agree, although I find that getting into the rhythm of getting up early can be challenging! When do you schedule your exercise?

1. Exercising early in the morning “jump starts” your metabolism, keeping it elevated for hours, sometimes for up to 24 hours! As a result, you’ll be burning more calories all day long—just because you exercised in the morning.
   
2. Exercising in the morning energizes you for the day—not to mention that gratifying feeling of virtue you have knowing you’ve done something disciplined and good for you. (Much better than a worm!)
   
3. Studies have shown that exercise significantly increases mental acuity—a benefit that lasts four to ten hours after your workout ends. Exercising in the a.m. means you get to harness that brainpower, instead of wasting it while you’re snoozing.
   
4. Assuming you make exercise a true priority, it shouldn’t be a major problem to get up 30 to 60 minutes earlier—especially since regular exercise generally means a higher quality of sleep, which in turn means you’ll probably require less sleep. (If getting up 30 to 60 minutes earlier each day seems too daunting, you can ease into it with 10 to 20 minutes at first.)
   
5. When you exercise at about the same time every morning—especially if you wake up regularly at about the same time—you’re regulating your body’s endocrine system and circadian rhythms. Your body learns that you do the same thing just about every day, and it begins to prepare for waking and exercise several hours before you actually open your eyes. That’s beneficial because: 1. Your body’s not “confused” by wildly changing wake-up times, which means waking up is much less painful. (You may even find that you don’t need an alarm clock most days.) 2. Hormones prepare your body for exercise by regulating blood pressure, heart rate, blood flow to muscles, etc. 3. Your metabolism, along with all the hormones involved in activity and exercise, begin to elevate while you’re sleeping. As a result, you’ll feel more alert, energized, and ready to exercise when you do wake up.
6. Many people find that morning exercise has a tendency to regulate their appetite for the rest of the day. Not only do they eat less (since activity causes the release of endorphins, which in turn diminishes appetite), they also choose healthier portions of healthier foods
7. People who consistently exercise find, sometimes to their great surprise, that the appointed time every morning evolves into something they look forward to. Besides the satisfaction of taking care of themselves, they find it’s a great time to plan their day, pray, or just think more clearly—things most of us often don’t get to do otherwise.
8. Exercising first thing in the morning is the most foolproof way to ensure that other things don’t overtake your fitness commitment, particularly if you have a hectic family life. (It’s so easy to wimp out in the evening, when we’re tired or faced with such tasks as rustling up dinner and helping with homework.)
9. More than 90% of those who exercise consistently have a morning fitness routine. If you want to exercise on a regular basis, the odds are in your favor if you squeeze your workout into the a.m.
10. Non-morning people can always trick themselves in the a.m. Having trouble psyching yourself up for a sunrise jog? Do what I did—tell yourself that you’ll still be so fast asleep that you won’t even remember—much less mind!

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