Dragonflies, Butterflies & Lady Bugs

That Little Man

There is a little man who is standing on my chest and stuffing my lungs with cotton. I swear it. I can't see him, but I know he's there. For almost a week I have fended him off with echinacea and vitamin C, exercise and a host of other vitamins and good nutrition. He's relentless, though, and arrived in full force today. It's hard to breathe with him standing there. I coughed all night, hoping to keep him at bay, but no luck. This morning he was here and his timing really stinks. Often he invites his friend over, the one who wraps my vocal cords and silences them like a bell packed in foam. I am supposed to co-teach a workshop on Saturday, so I really hope his friend stays home.

In other news, Deeda reached her goal yesterday and we joined Lifetime Fitness. We took a Fitness Yoga class last night instead of Hell Class and I cannot tell you what a difference it was. We left the class feeling like we'd had a workout, but we were refreshed and calm. The yoga mats were nice and thick and very sticky. I will ache a little more as the day goes on, but I didn't leave the class grumpy or irritated by rap music and an "instructor" who's more interested in checking herself out in the mirror than making sure her students aren't hurting themselves. No, this class had dimmed lights, great music and an instructor who cares about form and even walked amongst the students to make sure their form was good. Imagine! Then we went to work out on elliptical machines, of which there were several available and we didn't even have to vulture to get them. It was a beautiful thing, made all the better by knowing we had worked to get there.

So many of you commented on the rewards system I laid out on Tuesday. It's a simple but effective concept. For me it serves two purposes -- one, it breaks down the weight loss into smaller numbers so I don't feel so overwhelmed and two, it reminds me that what I am doing is hard work and that I should reward that. I think that sometimes people who have gained weight feel so guilty -- so much like they have done the bad thing -- that they don't feel they deserve to be rewarded for returning to "the way they should have been." I disagree and argue that this sort of thinking is what leads to ugly thoughts about one's body and also to fitness failure. The "system" I'm using is easy -- break your weekly loss expectation down to something reasonable like 1 - 2 lbs and remember than any loss is a loss! Then find ways to reward yourself. I chose ways that pamper because part of this, for me, is learning to love and nurture myself. Find ways that work for you, but try to keep it healthy. I personally think exercise is a really necessary component -- diet alone won't sculpt a healthy body, not one that's healthy inside as well as out.

All right, off the fitness soap box -- or would that be a step? Anyway, I feel great about what I've been doing. Now if this little man would just pack up and go away, things would be peachy. Be careful what you wish for kids. Yesterday I said, "I wish this stupid thing would just set in so I could get it over with." Today I feel like ass. ::sigh::

One final bit of bright news -- Jeff has a job interview today that has lots of potential. Think of him and send him "get the good job" vibes...

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