Under Construction!!!

Oh don't you just cringe at the sign "Detour Ahead"?   Blech!  And we all have our gripes about road construction.  But usually we all want the end results.  Yes we want the wider interstates so there will be less traffic jams and hopefully LESS car accidents.  But we hate the inconvenience.  I want the awesome results just don't mess up my daily routine to get them, right? 

Well as I tend to call this my healthFULL journey I am learning that I want the end results but that means I have to put in the extra work of adding detours and mapping out my new blueprints.  You don't go from 300+ pounds and in two weeks at optimum health looking great in a bikini.  (Although there are a lot of diet pills, scams, and books that want you to believe ANYTHING is possible ;)  But if I want the end result to be better for the future that means some uncomfortable detours now. 

First I have to listen to my body of today.  Yes I want my future lifestyle to include healthy eating and exercise to be my daily fun not my daily chore.  Its getting there, somedays I feel I am there at the end of the construction project and other days I look in the mirror and say "DANGER AHEAD!" . So first I have to eat for this body of today.  Not the one I had two years ago and need to let go of those comfort foods of past (pop/soda, chips, and sweet pastries) and I look forward to craving my daily needs of beans, greens, and little meat.  But not quite there.  Too much health food might have me running back towards the comforts of the past :)  I ate chinese two nights in a row.  Oh many of you know how I crave those sweet sauces, and fried tastiness.  How does this fit into my new blueprint.  One night we ordered in and one night we cooked it ourselves.  Our version twenty times tastier than the delivery version.  I don't know how fresh the restaurant's food is but I know exactly the freshness and what ingredients we cooked with. 

I want to get more active and I wish I could say that my family never overlooks the beauty of a beautiful day.  Today was a gorgeous day for a family walk.  We however ended up taking a family nap.  Which also can be healthy.  Obviously, we all needed a bit of extra sleep.  This is something we should either adjust at night or that we all do have a tish of a bug.  I am getting over a cold and my sweet darling son decided to puke on me three times in a row (there is nothing worse than sour milk).  It actually was this last incident that made me think of the detours we need to take for the betterment of our later journey.  His second bath for the night and my evening shower weren't necessarily on our agenda but when a detour pops up sometimes we don't have a choice but to follow. 

It would have been easy to say after the low key day and not feeling a hundred percent to say oh phooey to the exercise portion.  But after two suppers of Chinese food back to back - my body kind of begged for a little health stop.  So I checked my pedometer at 11 pm and still had about 1500 steps to equal at least my regular daily goal of 7000+ steps.  This had me exercise for my body of today and not for the ideal road conditions of the future or the abandonment of the past.  I didn't grab shoes, or a sweat towel and honestly just stayed in pjs and began to pace my house.  With a steady non-quick pace in twenty minutes I was able to check on my son, switch over laundry from the "sick" incident, straighten a couple of things in the kitchen, and manage to walk my 1500 steps to complete my daily goal.  Yes, I could have easily finished those couple of things in less than two hundred steps and call it a night.  But if I want different results I need to approach things differently so in my mind it was time for a detour. 

It isn't easy to change old patterns of comfort into healthy routines but with a few detours and adjustments along the way; I have the utmost confidence we can all maximize our HealthFULL Journeys.

May your path conditions improve with the help of detours that encourage hope for a better life. 'Til we meet again. . .

 

Winners never quit and quitters never win!

Have you ever heard this expression before?

Winners never quit and quitters never win!

If we apply logical reasoning to this popular saying, one cannot be both a winner and a quitter. If I had to choose a team. I may have to be on the Quitters team. And if I am completely honest, maybe even captain of the Quitters team. However, I am working hard to be on the Winners team, even if it means only as a bench - warmer.

I never mean to quit. But then, it is hard to believe anyone starts a project, works toward a goal, commits themselves fully to an idea in hopes of not finishing. I even try to rationalize my reasons for dropping out, sometimes I even convince myself it is for heroic reasons. That by my stepping down I am allowing others the chance to win, lead, or at least finish. That by fading into the background I am choosing to be noble. Truthfully, it is easier to drop the ball early in the race then to get to crunch time and risk failing. Risk disappointing those who were counting on a flawless performance.

I wring my hand at the thought of disappointing others. There is only one other feeling that I hate to stir up in others even more than disappointment is knowing that I did something to cause someone else to become upset. I like people to feel calm, soothed, and downright comfortable around me. Which is why I believe I choose to avoid personal confrontation like the bubonic plague. Absolutely there are some fights worth fighting! Those fights may include helping others lead improved lives which I have stood toe to toe in some of those battles and happily would do so again. But when it comes to personal goals and battles I usually have chosen to sweep my half-hearted attempts under the rug. If I truly want to attain a firm grasp on living a HealthFULL life by traveling my HealthFULL Journey then I have to start finishing some races (regardless of if I place last or first) and most importantly see my actions completed. Not everything I have to offer will be perfect, but I will see my actions through from beginning to end.

As I close, let me share one of my first goals I plan to accomplish. I am raising five hundred dollars for the March of Dimes. This started as a charity my office chose to support. I felt it would be easier to rally behind by making it personal. I sent out letters and emails announcing my plans to participate in the March for Babies that took place in April 2009. I chose to March in honor of five wonderful women that I am privileged to call friends who were pregnant at that time (months later the world has welcomed four beautiful girls and one handsome boy). I also Marched in memory of a little boy that left us far too soon at the age of fifteen months, but left a profound footprint upon many hearts, especially mine. As the March neared, I was super nervous if I would be able to complete the fully anticipated six miles (they ended up shortening the length to four miles, whew!). I did finish the March for Babies and was pleased that I raised $350 of my anticipated $500. That is seventy percent! I felt pleased at my respectable effort.

Well one hundred days ago my family was greeted with an amazing miracle, my youngest niece. As of October 1st, 2009, she is still a week away from her original due date of October 8th, 2009. That's right! Our family's smallest miracle entered the world according to her schedule. Because of some of the March of Dimes funded research my family is directly benefiting from their passionate research and outreaching efforts. Because of organizations like March of Dimes my precious niece can experience the best of care even while starting off with such a fragile beginning. In honor of her I feel I need to see this goal to the full $500. I would love to be an aunt that can show all my nieces and nephews that we don't have to finish first but we should always complete the race. I am currently 82% of my goal at $410. Perhaps there are nine people who can donate ten dollars to this worthwhile cause and help me both honor one of my "newest" heroes while also motivating me further along my own HealthFULL Journey.

If you would like to help complete the goal of $500 in honor of my family's littlest miracle, please go to www.marchforbabies.org/SuzySullivan . Also if you have any comments, questions, or topic suggestions and would rather not share them publicly you can email me at HealthFULLjourney@gmail.com .

Thank you for meeting me here on my HealthFULL Journey. 'Til we meet again. . .

I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race.

I have kept the faith. -- 2 Timothy 4:7