I Call It Fitness

So, this blog is supposed to be about fitness, wellness.  I have to take time every now and then to remind myself what that really means.  Now is such a time.

It can be very tempting when seeking physical fitness to stress yourself out, beat yourself up, come down hard when you come up short, make detrimental sacrifices and the like in the name of getting that perfect physique.  I don’t think that’s fitness.  I couldn’t care less what my body looks like if I am not happy, not at peace with myself and those around me and not living life to the fullest.  I have seen success in my journey to the body I want.  I am excited about that.  But I’m paying for it in other ways and its time for that to stop.

I am starting to notice that every time I eat a meal, I feel rushed because there is another appointment coming — something else to do.  Always.  At work, I eat at my desk, shoveling the food in as fast as I can because I have to get back to what I was doing since “there’s so little time in a day”.  I am working full time, in school, building a business and volunteering.  It’s a juggling act at best.  Everything I do in all of those areas centers around helping others to treat themselves well and to live happy healthy lives.  But I am out of balance.  Too much going on at once.

The slowest part of my day is my morning yoga practice and even then, it’s a struggle to just be.  Just. Be. To be present in this one moment with no thought of the next moment or the last one.  To be fully present to right now is a challenge for most of us in this society.  It certainly is for me.

I  am learning that I can’t do it all.  Eureka!  I have to say no to some things, to a lot of things and work on focusing my energy on the tasks that either must get done, or that have the greatest return on my investment in terms of personal fulfillment.  Some folks think of that as selfishness.  I think it’s fitness.

I’m learning how to slow down.  I’m still very, very clumsy with it — but I’m learning.

Hey World, I’m reviving this Blog

I haven’t been back to this blog in forever!!  I’m back now with news about my progress.

When I started this blog, I think I was close to my all time heaviest weight – 220 lbs.  I used to be ashamed of saying that, but it’s so just a number to me these days.  I embrace my body, where I am.  I am doing great things to improve my overall health and the weight issue is working itself out naturally.

I’m down to 190 now.  Sounds like a lot still but, hello!!! That means I’ve lost 30 POUNDS!!! That’s big shit in my book, folks.  I have energy and am loving life.  I’ll come back soon and write more about how I’ve gotten to where I am.

In the mean time.  Eat well, live well, love well, play well.

Laughter and Light,

Lex

Eating on the Road

 

I travel a lot for different meetings and conferences around the country. I can conceivably be away from home 2 weeks out of the month. This presents a number of challenges with respect to my efforts to eat well.

First, if I don’t plan well, my first 2 meals on travel days can be eaten in airports. Usually airports have chain fast food restaurants and chain sit down restaurants that sell quesadillas and hot wings. Breakfast is usually a nightmare. And to be honest, I’d just as soon skip breakfast than to eat a Burger King Crossandwich and be sick all day. I was surprised yesterday to find that I could get unsweetened oatmeal at the Potbelly’s at BWI. When I changed planes at O’Hare, I actually ran into a natural foods kiosk where I was able to grab a pint of blueberries and some trail mix with raw nuts and dried fruit. I was really surprised.