Getting Fit and Staying There...

"Those who think they have not time for bodily exercise will 

sooner or later have to find time for illness."  ~Edward Stanley

I have worked out, on and off, for my entire life. As a kid, I took tons of dance, ice skating, and swimming lessons. In high school, I swam varsity. During college, I took advantage of my PE electives to learn how to fence and a few other things. Once done with college, I joined a gym. In my late 20's and through my 30's, I did Jazzercise. In my 40's, I was back in the gym, but fell off because I was "too busy." In my 50's, I started out sluggish, but then started doing more and felt good. Then I got injured. For almost 6 years, I suffered from plantar fasciitis, and then from achilles tendinitis. I did everything I was told to do to help cure it. I lost weight, I worked with a physical therapist, I rested, I stretched, I rolled a tennis ball, I did everything short of cortisone injections (and I was considering those). Nothing helped.

What ended up healing everything and helping was not giving up. I got moving and I kept moving. I stayed alert to my body signals of "ok, you're done." but I didn't give up and I didn't stop. I modified. I modified more. I didn't do some moves and substituted other moves, but I kept moving. I believe this has made all of the difference. Today I have a rare ache in the ankle, and stretching usually takes care of it right away. I will admit, I'm mighty cautious about what I do! If a move hurts, I find an alternative. I don't "push through" as I would have earlier in life.

I think we need to find ways to keep moving, no matter what age we are. It's too easy to let our sedentary lifestyles take over, and too easy to convince ourselves that we "don't have time" to workout, around commuting, work, family, and other obligations. It's a big lie, and it needs to stop! Moving your body is so so important. There is something in our bodies called "synovial fluid." Not to get super scientific, but synovial fluid makes the joints slide and move easily. It's like oil in a car engine, and it's super important. I think it's gotten all to easy to say that it hurts to exercise, and it's become an easy way out. I also believe that there is something for everyone. Everyone can find some way to move their body and preserve their mobility.

I believe that there's more to the whole moving thing than just doing something. Three things leap to mind in regard to exercise for me: find something you enjoy,find a way of eating that can be a lifestyle rather than a bandaid, and support your body with superfoods and great supplements.

Do something you enjoy
For me, I have always loved dancing. I do not like to run. Ever. It's no secret that I'm a Beachbody coach and that I love the Beachbody on Demand program. I think I've mentioned it enough so everyone knows. My favorite workouts are Cize, 21 Day Fix, Shift Shop, Country Heat, Rockin' Body, Focus T25, and Turbo Jam. Crazy, right? These are all high intensity programs, BUT, by listening to my body and modifying what I need to, I am able to successfully do them, and have fun, while taking care of myself.

Eating is a lifestyle not a bandaid
I'm allergic to the word diet. You say diet, I shut down. Having said that, making a lifestyle change is a positive, meaning that you are making a choice to make a new, healthier habit that will sustain your body and enable you to grow and do more. (Should that say shrink and do more? LOL) Anyhow, I don't approach my food as a problem to be solved, or as something I'm going to do for a little while and then stop doing. This is my life. I only have ONE body. I have to decide to make better choices, and stick to them. I am not perfect, but every day I start the day with an agreement with myself that I will feed my body nutritious, healthy food that will help me go through my day successfully and healthily. I view my food as fuel. Instead of focusing on what I can't have, I focus on all of the amazing things I CAN have! Instead of a sweet breakfast treat in the morning, I might have a small bowl of grapes or a banana. I know that both are good for me and provide solid nutrition.

On the same topic, I try not to leave meals to chance. Here are a few of my tips on that.
If we eat out, I try to look at the menu ahead of time and figure out a few choices. I used to pick one thing and then, once I got to the place, look at the menu and get all out of sorts because I didn't really *want* that one thing. However, now I pick a couple of options, and then make my final choice once I'm live and in person. See the difference? Instead of buttonholing myself into a very tight corner, I give myself some space and room to make a final choice, so it doesn't feel uncomfortable or forced.

During the week, I take my lunch to work. Every. single. day. I used to take it 4 days a week and eat out on the 5th day, but I decided, one week that I'd rather just bring my lunch every day. I enjoy my lunches. They are delicious and healthy! I meal prep on Sunday, making 5 lunches, in containers that I can grab in the morning and take with me. It takes away yet another danger zone, and it's a simple and happy habit.

Support your body with Superfoods and great nutrition
For breakfast, I almost always have my Shakeology superfood dense nutrient-packed shake, with a banana, ice, almond milk and whatever else I toss in, like spinach. I get an extra serving of veggies in before 8 am! That's on top of the fact that the Shakeology is so chockful of healthy superfoods. I love it!!

I also shop for the best produce I can afford. I try to buy organic, but don't always, because sometimes it's just not feasible. On Sunday, when I make my lunches, I will often cook extra vegetables so that there are no excuses during the week for not having them. This has helped me stay on track more than once, but that's a post for another day!

For now, keep going. If you aren't working out, please start. If you need help or guidance with workouts, I'm here to help and happy to assist. I'm down over 33 lbs and over 25 inches so far this year, with no end in sight! I'm getting stronger and more fit every day. I have a lifetime of athletics behind me and a world of experience with food that I'm willing to share!

I'm starting to tag my workouts #fitnfabover55 on Facebook, join me, ok?

-- Have a wonderful day!

New Venture, Explained

I know that my blog talks a lot about DDPYoga and my journey. I know there are probably a lot of readers who are totally confused at my abrupt change. Let me try to explain a bit, if I can.
First of all, DDPYoga literally saved my life. When I joined the DDPYoga lifestyle, I weighed over 300 lbs. I could not tie my shoes, I got tired after walking less than 100 yards, my feet constantly hurt from plantar fasciitis, and I figured I was "too old" to do anything about my weight, and felt like I couldn't, because of the pain. Fast forward 2 1/2 years, and I attended the DDPYoga Retreat in Cancun, Mexico! I did all but 1 workout. I loved every minute of it. I got feedback from Dallas on my form, and set a personal goal with him at the going away party, (which everyone does!), to lose 30 lbs. in 6 months. He told me it was a pretty aggressive goal but I said yes.  I went home, with newfound energy and commitment, and lost 20 lbs of the 30. Then I was stuck. I was stuck because of something that I choose not to share publicly, but something that I  DID share with my accountability partners, and did my best to work through. Having said that, I lost those 10, about a week before the 6 month mark and proudly emailed Dallas and shared.
 I figured I would continue on and continue to lose, but life and the universe had different plans. My personal life continued to flouder and it floundered in ways that made it really hard to hit my mat, really hard to even find a place to workout with the quiet that I personally need to do DDPYoga. I stopped working out. During this time frame, I also was reminded by a  specialist that not giving my left achilles, which was inflamed, time to heal, meant it would always be an issue. So I rested it. And I ate. 2016 is a banner year in my life, and will never be forgotten. There was good, there was bad, there was "wait, are you kidding me, this isn't my life." But it happened, and it is what it is. It's over.
Fast forward to January of 2017. Every year, I pick a word to live by. I set an intention of living by that word and what it means. This year, I picked PEACE. I wanted to reclaim the peace that I had built in my life, and I meant business. On January 3rd, I joined Weight Watchers. I was so close to 300 at this point that it scared me. I was, however, done playing around, and intent on losing the 30 lbs I had lost with the goal with Dallas, and more. This was it. I decided to do WW and remain gluten and dairy free, as that's how I feel healthiest. At first, I didn't add any exercise in. I just didn't really have time. Our granddaughter lives with us part of the time and is much more fun than Dallas and DDPYoga. :)  I went to the gym sporadically and rode the bike. I even dropped the too-far-from-home-gym and joined 24 hour fitness around the corner from home and biked. A lot. I did that for several months. I lost about 18-20 lbs. Slowly.
In mid-June, a friend posted on Facebook that she was looking for people who wanted to participate in a test exercise group. I answered immediately. "Sure, why not." She folded me into a group of women, who, come to find out, would be active participants in me reclaiming my life even further and realizing how many lies I had told myself about my age and abilities. This was a Beachbody group. I didn't know it at the time, but many of the ladies in the group are my age. Experienced in life, and all with "stories", all different, but all important in who each of us is.
I started to lose inches and pounds. I started working out at home, but I changed it up. I do as many of my workouts as I can in the backyard on the patio. Once the weather cools, I'll move inside, as I do when it's over 90, but for most of the summer, I've worked out on the patio. It's been amazing. Lots of light, sun, soft breezes, and, lately, dragonflies that come back again and again to accompany me on my journey.
It's now the end of August. I'm now down a total of 28 lbs and at least 11.5 inches. I'm due to measure this weekend so I'll have to update once I do that, but suffice it to say, I've had to donate clothes, buy clothes, and tighten my belt a bunch since starting Beachbody.
So what does this have to do with DDPYoga? I'm still a member of the community, and occasionally, I hit my mat and do a workout. I have the app and once in a blue moon I use it. For daily use, I've found that right now, at the health level I'm at, I push myself too hard in DDPYoga for what my body can tolerate, so I've backed off some and am building tone and muscle with Beachbody workouts, but I have NO intention of giving up DDPYoga. None. I just want to build some core strength, ankle strength, and shoulder strength to make my DDPYoga journey more fun and comfortable. For right now? I'm loving Beachbody on Demand as well! I'm a coach, and willing to share if you are interested in what I'm doing, just send me a message and we can chat!
I think that we all have our own fitness journeys. I also firmly believe that fitness journeys are multi-faceted. There is room for so much variety. Biking, hiking, lifting weights, DDPyoga, Pilates, whatever you choose. The most important thing is to keep moving. Don't stop. Keep fighting. Age IS just a number, but if you stop moving, it will be harder and harder to GET moving again. Never give up.
One last thing. You definitely want to keep an eye out here on my blog, because I'm working on a Soul Restoration retreat that will incorporate a few workouts as "tension relievers"!!! It's going to be a blast!!! (there might even be the opportunity to work with an Energy Coach!)
- Have a beautiful day!

Do You Really Understand What Modifying Means in a Workout?

Seriously. What do you think when someone says "Oh I did that workout and I modified it!" Do you think "Wimp! Why modify? Just push through?" or do you think "Wow, smart, know your limits." I will openly admit that ever since I can remember, I've done my best not to modify. I went at my workouts like I go at everything in life, with everything I have, and I expect Virgo perfectionism. I'm dead serious!!
So, 4 years ago, when I started DDPYoga, I didn't really understand that any form of yoga is a "practice". I approached it as if it was something to conquer. Beat each move into submission and move on to the next one. I watched others do this, why not me? Well, I hurt myself pretty good a couple of times. Once was a shoulder that healed up pretty quick, but the other was Achilles tendinitis caused by me pressing down way too hard for my body's limits, in down dog. It was a painful lesson and took forever to recover from!! Even now, I have days where the KT tape comes out and the ankle gets taped before I workout!
These Beachbody workouts that I'm doing? They are no joke. Man, these are HARDCORE, results oriented, kick your a$$ workouts! I'm LOVING them, but I will admit, they are not simple. But you know what? They are only as difficult as *I* make them! I go into a workout with the agreement with myself that I will try everything, and then modify. There are times that I modify the modifiers. There are also times when I do not do what's being done, I do my own thing. I wear a heart rate monitor too! (and I listen to it!!)
I guess I just want to see people be successful and enjoy their workouts. Workouts are so much more fun when you are successful, and you stay motivated when you are successful much more easily than you do if you don't enjoy what you're doing!!
I'm starting a challenge group on Monday (8/28). If you want to know more about it, or want to join us, please, just drop me a message and I'll get back to you and help you get started. It's going to be fun! How can it not be fun to lose weight, inches, and meet new people? (It's online, you can do the workouts whenever you want, streamed from Beachbody! and yes, you do need to buy a subscription to Beachbody to participate!)
Please remember, above all else, in whatever you do, there is NO shame in modifying. No shame at all. We aren't all 20-something, and eventually, with PRACTICE (see what I did there?) you will reach a point where you can suddenly unmodify that move that you were having to modify!
I look forward to hearing from you!
- Have a beautiful day!

Day 12 of 2015, Checkin' in...

Today is the 12th day of a brand new year. I'm happy to say that so far this year, I have worked out 9 of the 11 days! (Not counting today, because it's early in the day yet and I haven't hit my mat or met my step goals.)

My eating is back under control after the holidays and I'm walking as much as possible every day.  I gained about 5 pounds between Thanksgiving and January 1. I'm fine with that. I lived my life, I visited family I don't see very often, and I attended several holiday parties. I can own those 5 pounds, and they won't stay, because I'm already working on them!

As many know, back in early November, I sprained my wrist. It was a bad sprain. I am not really sure how I did it, all I know is that the minute I tried to put ANY weight on my left wrist, I was in a lot of pain. The kind of pain you don't ignore. The chiropractor adjusted and adjusted and adjusted, but it just wasn't responding. Finally, in mid-December, I bought myself an incredibrace, and honestly? Within 5 days, my wrist started responding. During that time, I took some vacation from work, so I wasn't typing as much, and I also did a bit of travel, taking a short break from doing DDP Yoga (about 4 days.) In the time before and since the 4 days off, however, I've been focused in on modifying whatever I needed to and getting my workouts in. Here's where I'm at, right now. (I use a program called Everymove.org which tracks active days. Active days are any day where you get more than 45 minutes of physical activity.) Out of the last 30 days, spanning from 12/11 to 1/11, I clocked 21/30 as "active days." I will take it!

Working with my accountability partner, Mark Furniss, I have started using the schedule in the DDP yoga manual, again, as of January 4, the official end of vacation. Last week, I followed the Advance schedule, week 5, with the exception on Diamond Cutter, which got left out on purpose. I realized that if I made the week start on Sunday instead of Monday, I could have Friday and Saturday off. This works MUCH better for me as Friday night is date night in our home, and I LOVE a long workout on a Sunday morning! So, I purposefully skipped Diamond Cutter on Friday, and started out the week with a Sunday morning Diamond Cutter! It was an awesome first Diamond Cutter in 2015, and a first DC since October. There were modifications and adjustments, but who cares, I still burned over 400 calories and I had fun doing it! That's what matters.

This week will be:
Sunday: Diamond Cutter
Monday: Fat Burner/Red Hot Core
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: Below the Belt
Thursday: Stand Up, Red Hot Core
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Rest

On the weight loss front, as I admitted at the beginning, I'm up about 5 pounds, but I'm not sweating it. My clothing is still getting looser and looser, and I'm clearly losing and seeing more muscle definition everywhere!

I am so very happy right now. So happy with my loss, my progress, my workouts. Just happy. And incredibly grateful for so much. It's a wonderful way to start the new year, feeling happy and grateful. I hope you are enjoying your journey as much as I'm enjoying mine, or at least are finding the good things, to offset some of the bad. :) Let's work to make 2015 a year of awesome and amazing.

DDP Yoga Review from the Trenches

After over a year of posts about DDP Yoga, and all of my experiences, I decided it was time to write an honest-to- goodness review of the program, because I realized I haven’t actually put it all together that way before!

If you are new to my blog or haven’t heard about DDP Yoga before, this is for you! DDP Yoga is a program designed by WCW 3 time World Champion wrestler, Diamond Dallas Page. (Yes, DDP is Diamond Dallas Page, not Diet Doctor Pepper as a few of my friends thought at first!) It’s a zero impact series of workouts based on traditional yoga moves that are amped up and shaken up to make them more intense and use more muscles. The program originally started out as a rehabilitation for DDP as he got injured in wrestling but then evolved into a crazy cool workout that can literally be done by anyone. The most famous and poignant example of what you can do with DDP Yoga (as well as being living proof of the fact that the program is phenomenal) is Arthur Boorman. Take a look at this video. Arthur’s Transformation. When I saw Arthur’s video, I had heard about DDP Yoga from a friend who pretty much pushed and dared me to try it. I was sedentary at the time, and had pretty much given up ever getting back in shape. I watched the video and thought “what if”…  Then I went to the website and tried the free workouts (I’ll tell you more later), and the “what if” voice got louder! I could do some of it. Not all of it, but some of it, which made me realize the rest would come. I bought it and have never looked back!

It sounds too good to be true, right? That’s what I thought! Honestly? Like any other program, DDP Yoga is what you make of it. If you put in the work, you will lose weight, gain an incredible amount of strength, flexibility and muscle tone. I’m literally awestruck by how well I’ve done on the program. When I started, I decided to keep a log of my workouts. The first week, I did 52 minutes total. I lost weight. Then, as I learned the moves, my body became more flexible, and I got into a routine, following the beginner schedule in the book, I ramped up. By the end of the first month, I had lost 7 pounds and 7.5 inches. I was stunned. Happily stunned, but stunned nonetheless. My weight loss slowed, as I replaced fat with muscle, but my body continued (and still continues!) to morph and change. My waist has slimmed and overall I am longer and leaner than I have been since my swimming days! That’s all the great stuff, right, now you want the dirt. I know you do. It’s really hard for me to find anything negative about this program. I guess working out alone can be a negative because you don’t get the feedback you would get in a class with a live instructor, but even that, at this point, isn’t really an issue, as DDP has added certification for instructors, so there are numerous instructors offering online classes that you can join. Some are free, for those who are working on their certifications, while others, who are already certified, charge. Another negative is that it’s still delivered on DVD, because it means I have to bring my laptop when I travel. That is also being addressed, because there will be a DDP Yoga app later in the year.

I’m sure your next thought is, can I really do this. You CAN! Honest. Really. ANYONE can do this program. If you listen to DDP, he tells you to modify and adapt the program to what you can do. Remember what I said earlier. In the first week I did 52 minutes. That’s not in one workout, that’s total for the week! I modified like you would not believe! I had to, I couldn’t DO much of what was being done. I wasn’t strong enough. As I’ve progressed, in each workout, there have been moves that I couldn’t do yet, and there are still moves I have to modify, even in some of the easier workouts, but it’s all good. I’m moving, I am activating muscles, and healing my body. After watching Arthur’s video and seeing people who have debilitating injuries, I have to say I’m not sure there isn’t anyone who wouldn’t benefit from DDP Yoga. I will say this, if you are looking for a calm, peaceful, quiet, spiritual workout, with serene music and water rushing gently down a stream in the back ground, this is NOT the workout for you! This is intense, high energy, supercharged hard work with great results if you put in the work!

Are you convinced? What more can I tell you? I bet you want to know more about my loss, right? I’ve been doing this for 13 ½ months, and I’m down 42 pounds and almost 40 inches. Has it been steady loss? Not really, but it has always been moving in the right direction, so it’s all good! You get what you put into this program, like any other program, and I’ve had a couple of injuries that slowed me down.

DDP himself has helped me on my journey. I had a 4 month plateau. He reviewed my food logs, had me on DDPYoga radio, and he and Stacey Morris (an amazingly successful DDP Yoga participant with a loss of over 180 lbs!) guided me in changing my food some and encouraged me to take a hard look at what I was eating and how. Their guidance resulted in a 3.8 pound loss in 3 weeks. I’m forever grateful for their support. It wasn’t the easiest part of my journey, but it was amazing that people who barely know me reached out in such a wonderful show of support.

On top of everything else, there is a HUGE community family of supportive DDP Yoga warriors who are always willing to accept newcomers and help them on their journey! There is a great community on www.teamddpyoga.com and various Facebook groups that also are willing to help folks. If you, like me, are tired of squeezing into airplane and movie theatre seats, huffing and puffing to cross a room, struggling to find clothes that fit, and not having general mobility and quality of life, it’s time to Own Your Life and join the DDP Yoga Revolution!

Make sure you come back often and check on my progress, because I usually do an update around the 22^nd of the month! This month’s should be epic. I can hardly wait!

Plant-Based Eating, the First 14 Days and How it Fits with my DDP Yoga Journey

For the past two years, I have been slowly modifying my eating habits to be even more healthy than they had been. Previously, I had still eaten some processed foods, and some artificial sweeteners, but I reached a point where I decided I was going to make some serious changes. I had gone to a new doctor, and to be honest, his approach was very subtle and worked much better than being told “Just go to Weight Watchers.” He sat with me and asked me if I would go home and watch 2 movies. He said he just wanted me to watch, I didn’t need to check back with him or anything but please just watch. I went home with a card, with the movies “Forks Over Knives” and “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead” written on it.

 I watched the movies. In fact, I watched both of them twice. While what I saw was thought-provoking, I just couldn’t even imagine eating either way. However, I DID make some good choices that day and decided to make some small changes, a little bit at a time.

Fast forward a year to 2013. In the middle of 2013, I started doing DDP Yoga. I also decided that I was going to start to eat clean again. I had slipped since I met that Doctor in 2012, and my weight had gone up again. As I started working on the DDP Yoga, I realized I was craving fresh foods, lots of veggies have been a part of my life for about 14 years, but now I wanted even more of them. A piece of fruit here and there, and I felt great. As the months went by, I started to want less protein.

In late May, I shared  that I had shaken up my eating plan. I started to eat brown rice and veggies for breakfast, then protein and a huge salad for lunch, followed by protein and a ton of veggies for dinner. This was a comfortable way to eat, but I noticed, again, that I wanted less and less of the animal protein. I was having more and more veggie burgers for dinner-- or a simple green juice drink for dinner. Things were changing.

  Sometime near the end of June, a fellow DDP Yoga person, Slim Gillian, posted on his blog that he was doing a 40 Day Plant based Challenge. This sparked my interest and curiosity. I started to research a bit and realized I was a turkey burger and maybe an ounce of goat cheese a day short of being plant-based.

In the meantime, I had an Achilles tendinitis flareup, and went back to that doctor from 2 years ago. I told him I was about 75% plant based, and he did new bloodwork, mumbling something about a baseline.  I think he knew from talking that I was almost ready.

For the past two years, Mondays have been “Meatless Mondays.” Therefore, when June 30^th rolled around and was a Monday, it was an easy leap. It is now July 13^th, making it 14 days since I started this journey. I’m doing great! I’m finding it fairly easy to eat enough, in fact, I’m having to be careful not to overeat, still. I’m not eating processed foods, unless you count the occasional Kind bar! My breakfast is still a big bowl of brown rice with steamed veggies, most days, other days it might be a plant based protein shake made with almond milk or a big glass of my favorite “green juice”, a copy of Jamba Juice’s Tropical Greens drink, which contains kale, pineapple, and apple juice.  Lunch is a huge salad, as always, with a sweet potato, quinoa, black bean burger or a portabella mushroom cap with some hummus on it. Yum! For dinner, I’ve been having lots of grilled veggies and the occasional veggie burger. On the weekends, if my husband and I have a large-ish lunch, which we do sometimes, I might have a green juice for dinner.

How do I feel? I’m starting to notice little changes. My skin feels softer, I’m sleeping more soundly, and I have SO much energy! It’s crazy. I thought I’d be dragging around, but I’m not! When I do my DDP Yoga workouts, I’m finding that my heart rate is a bit lower than it’s been, which is awesome! I’ll be excited to see what the next set of bloodwork looks like, I expect it will be even better.  Oh yea, and I lost 2 pounds in the past 2 weeks. Bang!

I am still taking the same Raw vitamin (Nature’s Way, Alive! 50+ for Women) I’ve taken for the past 2 years. I haven’t dropped that, because I figure it’s not hurting me. Other than that, I’ve been clean of everything including aspirin, Tylenol, Advil, etc. for so long I don’t know how my body would react if I took them!

So that’s where I am! I’ve started a Facebook group for my fellow DDP Yoga folks who are eating plant based. Feel free to come join us!
Until next time!

DDP Yoga - ONE year!!!

It's hard to believe that it's really been a year since I started this amazing journey. I was looking at photos last night, as I took my one year update photos and realizing how much I have changed. My shape is completely different, and my posture is even better.

The year started with awesome new friends made in the Team DDP Yoga chatroom. People like Marv, Heidi Sue, John NS, Mark Furniss, and George Fenmore (I know there are lots more, please don't get upset if I didn't single you out!). It was crazy at first. I had so much support, and so little confidence in what I could do. I remember at my 30 day mark, I took new photos, shared them, and John started pointing out all the little changes when I said there weren't any. That really kicked it off for me, recognizing those changes and starting to accept that this was really happening!

Fast forward to November. I hurt my shoulder. It wasn't earth shattering, but it slowed me down. A lot. Then, I let myself be convinced I was still doing the same level I had been, through the holidays and into January. By now, Mark Furniss was my accountability partner (still is!), and he realized I was lagging and started to push me to get it in gear. And I did!! I had gained about 5 pounds but maintained most of my inch loss. It was time to get serious.

March, April and May are a blur of me moving, doing the work, and eating clean. It paid off, I took off the 5 I had put back on, plus another 2. Having said that, in early June, my feet started to bother me even more than they had previously. It started in May, actually, but I thought I had it under control. Clearly not. I finally went to the doctor last week, and have achilles tendinitis in my left foot.

When I saw the doctor, he looked at me and told me I was thinner. I told him what I was doing and explained how it worked to him. He was so impressed with my loss, muscle tone, and the fact that I kind of went into catcher like it was nothing (I was showing him how my knees were kind of squeaking and complaining, LOL, he wasn't the only one who was surprised because I just dropped a catcher right there!) , that he ended up going to the DDP Yoga site himself, and asked me to write it down for him. He also told me that although I don't think my loss is amazing, he's very happy with it and can't wait to see how I look with all of it gone and that even if it takes 6 years, he's happy. I left feeling great! Strong, supported, and in charge, baby!

My visit to the physical therapist the next day wasn't quite so stellar. He looked at me and saw a chubby girl and decided I needed to cross train -- he wanted me ass on a stationery bike to "get some cardio". Whatever. He wasn't listening to me, but I DID get the exercises I need to strengthen my achilles and get this painful thing gone. (By the way, my average heart rate during a DDP Yoga session is about 128 and I can sustain that for about 35 minutes now before it starts going too high!)

So, let's get serious for a second. Let's talk about this year. First, here are the official stats:

(If you can't read it, that's 36.5 inches and 29.2 pounds, gone forever!)

Was it easy? No.

Would I do it again? Hell yes, and I'd do it better!

Have I learned anything? I have learned that I can do really hard things, and I have learned that if today's workout isn't the best, that's okay, because tomorrow's will be better. Every work out seems to bring a nugget of happy ability that wasn't at the last one, even the not great ones! This progression kind of tells the whole story I think!

How do I eat now compared to a year ago? Well, this is one of the most interesting parts of my whole story. Two years ago, my doctor had me watch Forks Over Knives and Fat, Sick and Nearly Dying. He told me he thought I would really benefit from what these movies had to offer. Now, understand, this was a new doctor who did not know me at all. I watched the movies, I dabbled with what I saw in both movies, even bought a juicer. They were very compelling. Over this past two years since that appointment, I had dropped much of what I started, but in mid May, Mark and I talked about my food, and he gave me some new ideas (that seemed a little whacky at the time), mostly for breakfast. Then I convinced my husband that we needed to tighten things down a bit and we have. I have eaten clean for about 3 years, but here's the thing, you can eat clean and gain weight if you don't monitor your portions and if you don't watch things fairly closely. So, in mid May I started tracking my food on myfitnesspal (I'm 1RadChick there if you want to friend me). After a few days, Mark told me I needed to eat more. So I upped my intake, adding more veggies and a protein shake once in a while. It helped. It helped to the point of that's when I lost the most recent 3 lbs! Yes. We are onto something. At this point, I'm about 75% plant based, 25% protein. My protein comes from buffalo (bison) , Grass fed beef, organic chicken, fish, shrimp, and turkey. That's about it, and we get most of it at Costco, which is awesome! I eat between 1500 and 1900 calories a day and I do have a protein shake (plant based, I use Raw Protein from Garden of life, mixed with almond milk), if I need extra protein when it comes time to workout. Funny thing, Mark told me that I needed more protein for muscle recovery because I was always complaining about sore muscles, and he was right. Once I upped the protein, my workouts got stronger and I had less muscle soreness.  This week, I'm upping my water. I drink "enough" but I need to drink more. I know I do, so it's time to make that happen!

Do I take any supplements? I take a Raw multivitamin from Nature's Way called Alive! I also take CLA PM from GNC every night, and I am currently taking Turmeric as a science experiment. Lastly I take something called WobenzymN, which is to support my joints. I will follow up on how that goes.

Do I have any advice for folks just starting out? Take it slow. You didn't get overweight fast, you won't lose fast, and you need to respect your body. Listen to your body. If you are doing a workout and something hurts, don't just keep going, stop, evaluate, modify. DDP stresses this throughout every single workout, listen to him! Also, if something feels sore, ice is your friend. If you are a DDP fan, you've heard that his fellow wrestlers joke that he would fill the bathtub with ice after matches. I doubt it is far off. I'm at a point where I am icing my ankles and my knees to keep things happy. Not because I'm injured but because I don't want to be. Also, don't be in a rush to get to the difficult workouts. Take. your. time! Learn the moves, learn the poses, get familiar with how your body feels in the poses. Don't fret about how fast DDP is going, pause the video or skip the move. There is more than enough cardio in every workout! Oh and find an accountability partner or 5. Mark Furniss is my main accountability partner, but I also have other folks who keep an eye on me and provide feedback and support.

So that's how my year has been! A whirlwind of energy and movement, with lots of veggies and good stuff to eat thrown in! Stick with me, I think this next year is going to be even MORE incredible, because now I know what I'm doing and what I have to do to get where I want to go!

If you are reading this and want to know more about DDP Yoga, please DO click on the link at the right, watch Arthur Boorman's incredible story, and if you decide to buy, use that link because it provides me a tiny bit of money and I'm saving to go to the DDP Yoga retreat next year!

DDPYoga Update - Ramped up and Amped up!

This DDP Yoga thing, I'm telling you, there's nothing like it! Last week was a realy incredible week for me. As I've mentioned, I've gone a bit more slowly since November, when the holidays and commitments hit, and I hurt my shoulder. My foot has been acting up too, so I have been kind of a gimp but trying to keep up at least a bit.
Last week, everything got shifted. I might have mentioned that my accountability partner signed up to certify as a DDP Yoga instructor. Naturally, being the supportive accountability partner that I am, I offered to be his guinea pig for training. On Monday evening, we had our first Skype training session. It was amazing! My heart rate didn't behave, which was humorous. Working with Mark on Skype versus chatting on Facebook is a bit different, and apparently, I care about how my workout is looking more than I should. (It scares me to think what would happen if I ever worked out with DDP! LOL) So, he went over things, I safety zoned (a LOT), he checked out how I was doing some moves, made some adjustments, it was a great session.
On Tuesday, I was sore. I decided to take a rest day.
Wednesday, we worked out again. Again with more adjustments, more discussion on things, a LOT of safety zones (me not him). I burned 500 calories, he burned 400, it was a great session again!
Thursday I did Fat Burner. I needed to work the kinks out from the hard work of the previous two workouts plus I was curious to see how I did on my own. (and I was trying to figure out what was wrong with my heart rate monitor (its fine, it's Mark).
Friday I did Fat Burner again, because I knew I was getting a massage on Saturday and wanted to get one more workout in beforehand.
Saturday when I got the massage, the first thing Troy (masseuse) said was, "hmmm, your arms and upper back look different, good, but different, you did something different." YES! The changes Mark suggested are already starting to come through and my arms and shoulders feel different.  I left psyched and feeling great.
Sunday I did Diamond Cutter. It was awesome. Sure, there are a TON of modifications I have to make but frankly, who cares. Some of those moves are really hard, dang it. (I fell over in chicken wing. lol literally, onto my forehead, in slow motion, even. it was fun!)
If your accountability partner is long distance and suggests working out together on Skype, Go for it! Do it! You'll be glad you did. If you don't have an accountability partner, GET one! Everyone should have a go-to person to get guidance from. I was really shocked that my down dogs weren't quite right! Who knew? I am grateful that I have an accountability partner, and hope I'm able to pay it forward at some point by being as good an accountability partner for someone else.
Coming next week, I think I'll update photos. Been a while. :)
Make it a great week!

DDP Yoga and Accountability

I've been doing DDP Yoga since June of 2013. For the first couple of months, I relied on support strictly from the www.Teamddpyoga.com chatroom, which is amazing, by the way, and a MUST visit often if you are doing the program. But, although I was committed, I was on my own, a little fish in a huge ocean of workouts and movements that were unfamiliar.

At some point in August, Mark Furniss reached out to me and said "I think you need an accountability partner, don't you?" I kind of hesitated, because, to be honest, Mark is usually in "beast mode" with his workouts, and he has had incredible progress. But, because I knew he was right, I said yes. I am here to tell you, it was a great decision.
Why do you need an accountability partner and what do they "do"?  Anyone who has ever done a home based program, be it a way of eating or an exercise program knows that, after a while, it's like being in a plastic bubble or a vacuum. Sure, you go through the moves, but there's no one to turn to when you falter on a move, need advice on form, need a bit of encouragement, or need a kick in the ass. (Yes, there, I said it, and we both know it's true!) Now, don't get me wrong, an accountability partner can't *make* you do your workout, but, they can encourage you and remind you that you always feel better after your workout, making it something you then WANT to do rather than something you think you NEED to do. Needing to do something isn't fun. Wanting to do it is fun. Right? (you know I'm right, just admit it.) Mark has told me so many times, "Darlin' if that workout isn't fun why are you doing it?" At first, I was kind of put off by that, thinking it wasn't the most supportive of comments, but as time has passed, I've realized he's right. There's something about DDP Yoga that is FUN. For me, it's trying to get my body to do things that it says "Um, no, I don't think so." to. It's about learning to control my breathing and watching the muscles transform and become strong. This morning I did Red Hot Core. It's about 12 minutes of agony ab work. Twelve minutes is short, right? Yea. Right. Well, this morning about minutes in, Dallas was talking about putting your hands by your sides, and instead I put my hands on my abs. I don't know why, I just did. I did a crunch with them there and I literally stopped in my tracks. I wish you could feel the rock hard abs I have going on underneath the layer of fat that is slowly melting away. Wow! I was floored and thrilled. I can't wait to tell Mark later. :) (and anyone else on the planet who will sit still long enough to listen!)

There are other kinds of accountability as well. The Team DDP Yoga site is a great example. You can go there and post in a forum and get almost instantaneous help, OR, you can visit the chat room and meet other people just like you and get great support and help. I am a regular, so you might see me there! I have some friends in there who help keep me accountable as well. For instance, there is one fellow yogi, John NS, who has nicknamed me "Futz." He calls me that because he has come to know that if he sees me at a particular time of day, in the chat room, chances are I'm avoiding my workout by finding something else to do. He regularly calls me on it, asking how my workout is going and then kicking me out of the room if I say "Uh, not done yet." It's awesome and much appreciated.

On the flip side, the rewards of being someone's accountability partner are plentiful. Mark has days where he's hell bent on doing every single DDP Yoga workout, and other days where he pushes too hard and suddenly all goes flat. When that happens, I remind him that he finished the workout, it's past, and there's another one tomorrow. Being supportive feels good. It feels like I'm giving back. It's a good feeling.

I think accountability is critical on a program like DDP Yoga, because it's way too easy to let it become a chore, and it's way to easy to find something else to do. So, if you are doing DDP Yoga and you don't have an accountability partner, find one! Go to the Team DDP Yoga site and post in the forums or visit the chat room and ask. Someone is bound to be in the same boat as you, whether they know it or not!

Own your life and make it a great day!

DDP Yoga and Traveling, No excuses!

I'm currently on a 4 day trip to Carmel. It's a scrapbooking retreat at a beautiful hotel in a beautiful town. I drove down yesterday, in a grand adventure, that's a whole other story! :)

As you know I do DDP Yoga, and have since June of 2013. I'm pretty religious about it, but one would think that, since I'm on retreat, I would not have brought my yoga mat, right? Wrong. I brought it, and I brought my laptop, and have my workouts. I've already hit my mat this morning, as I did WakeUp as soon as I woke up. I'm about to go and do a quick Energy before I go to join my group, and later today I'll do something else, I think.

I find that it's pretty easy to bring the mat, and keep consistent, and I find that the benefits are awesome. Staying flexible and limber even by doing a small workout like Energy or Fat Burner on a trip like this keeps me in the game and going strong. I love this program, it really has changed my life. If you're curious about it, click on the link to the right, and check it out. :)

I'll be back later. I'll try to take a few photos around here, it's a gorgeous day, no fog, blue sky and sunshine. And my room has this HUGE open area where I've set up my mat. Wooot!

-Life is good. Own It.

ddp yoga and motivation

In June of 2013, I started doing DDP Yoga. That was 8 months ago. Eight long months. In that time, I've trained hard and worked hard to teach my body new things, ways of moving it has never done and I've aligned my thinking to match up. DDP has a video that he encourages new folks to watch. You can find it here: Living Life at 90%. The password is ddp (all lower case).

I'm writing this blog post because I am listening to people around me make excuses. I'm listening to people say things like "well, I can't do that by myself, I need someone to push me" or "I don't know how you find time to do this." These kinds of comments have really gotten me thinking. I started by watching Living Life at 90% again, and then I talked to a few friends who, like me, are committed to this program. You know what came out? I don't FIND time to work out, I MAKE time to work out. Do I like working out alone? Yes, I kind of do. Know why? I am completely focused on me and my workout. I'm not having to stop and wait for someone to catch up, I'm not fighting to keep up with some 20 year old instructor who has no idea what it's like to be making a 53 year old body pretend to be Gumby. Instead, I'm able to pause the DVD, catch my breath, get a drink of water, mop the gallon of sweat off my mat, and restart.

Am I perfect at making time? Am I perfect at working out alone? Heck no. But, I am owning my life and I am proving to myself just how far I can go and how much I can do. With every workout I do, it's one step toward being healthier and happier. I've reduced by 28 pounds and 37 inches. That's a whole lot! Sometimes I catch myself comparing myself to some of my friends who are doing this program, and losing a ton of weight. I look at them and think I haven't lost much, but go ahead and lift 28 pounds and let me know how heavy it is, because for me? 28 pounds is very heavy. Look at a yardstick, look at that 36 inches. I've lost one of those!

So what am I saying, exactly? I am saying that motivation comes from within. You can't expect a video to motivated you to the point where it makes you check in and do your program.  It's not fair to expect a teacher to do that either, right? When you sign up for a class, like an aerobics class, the teacher doesn't call you and make sure you are coming. You paid your money, it's your job to make sure you spend wisely and actually show up. I think it's the same with this program-- you have to show up.

You have to motivate yourself to do the work. We all know that there's no such thing as a free lunch. There's no such thing as a program that will do the work for you. You have to commit and you have to show up and do the work. Is it easy? Nope. Is it impossible? Nope. Is it fun? Heck yea! As DDP says constantly during the workouts, "there's always someplace to go". This means that no matter how long you've done DDP Yoga, there is always a way to modify a position or move to make it more challenging.

After 8 months, there are still things I can't do yet. (Notice the yet, I'm not saying I'll never do them, I'm just saying that, right now, these things are not easy for me, and I am still learning.) Also, there are days when my heart rate just doesn't behave. Days when I have no balance. Days when I don't want to work out. But you know what? My accountability partner, Mark Furniss has taught me that on the days that I don't want to work out, those are the most important days, because, typically, those are the days when you have the best workout.

So, in closing, I want to challenge you. If you are one of those people who purchased DDP Yoga and you haven't even opened it yet, or if you are one of those people who did one or two workouts and thought "holy cow, this is hard, this guy is crazy." Get those DVDs out and commit to do a month's worth. A solid 30 days. Then tell me how you feel. I can just about guarantee that you will have lost inches, pounds, and gained confidence and strength. I find that with each workout I do, I gain a bit of flexibility or refine a movement a bit more. Really, it happens that fast. If it can happen that fast for me, it can for you too. What do you say? Leave me a comment and let me know when you're starting, ok?  You can do this. OWN YOUR LIFE!

right now. right here. present.

It's been a really long time since I blogged. I have been busy. Right. I have made *choices* that did not involve blogging. Let's be honest. Well, it's time to put blogging back into the equation. SO much is going on. SO very much. And I think it deserves the attention of my blog.

For the past few years, I've been "wallowing". I have had some issues with plantar fasciitis and I decided to let it control my life. I essentially gave up on exercising, because it was too hard.

In June of this year, through a dear friend, I found a program called DDP Yoga. It is a form of "power yoga" incorporating isometrics, yoga, and other moves designed to strengthen and improve your health. It is actually more of a physical rehabilitation program than an exercise program. I tried it on a dare, thinking "what if" it worked. I figured I had nothing to lose.

I was wrong.

I've been actively doing this program since June 22, 2013. I am currently down 35 inches and 28 pounds. It's crazy how strong I am now, and how good my balance is. Best of all, my heels are healing! Yes! Really. Here's a photo of me, taking about 3 weeks ago, which shows how much my flexibility has increased.


It's hard to share photos like this. Really. But you know what? If ONE person reads this blog and decides to change their life, then I'm happy.

Want to know more? Go to DDP Yoga and you can watch an amazing video about a man named Arthur Boorman who has done incredibly crazy amazing wonderful things in his life with DDP Yoga. You can also sign up at Team DDP Yoga and even read my story on the site here.

Life changing struff right there. Really and truly. Join me. Own your life.

I"ll be back soon. Promise.