Wednesday, April 24, 2013

50 lb weight loss-What does it mean?

I talked about losing weight for years. Finally, this Easter I hit the fifty pound mark. I lost fifty lbs in seven months. I did it the old fashioned way: Salads and Exercise. The type of exercise I did was atypical, however. I managed to luck out and end up in Steve Ilg's Prop Yoga class. He works your core and is the best in the business. He is also a five sport champion himself and a yogi, husband and a loving father. I was lucky to meet him and the other students in the class that really contributed to my wanting to do well in class and in life. The other teacher was Marissa Asplund, a phenomenal athlete and cycling legend. Her knowledge and passion is very inspiring. My tips for weight loss are simple: take out sugar, flour and dairy and you will lose weight. However, what is the most important aspect of weight loss is how you feel about yourself. Make the time to honor yourself and you will feel great. I love my thirty minutes in the morning of Yoga with Joy Kilpatricks's CD. I absolutely love it! My kids, my colleagues and my friends unanimously agree, I look and feel better. But the truth is I have always been the same person on the inside. So whether you want to lose twenty or fifty, remember to love the skin your in and be yourself. Do not hide from pictures or outings or sports you want to try. Be gentle on yourself, find a support group, or exercise class and commit. If I did it, you can too!

Good luck!
Jessica

Many a Mile To Freedom

I woke up singing the Steve Winwood classic this morning. Usually I sing all day, even at work, the grocery store, while I am driving, in the shower, through my workouts etc....This is how I am wired. I see that my two daughters also respond to music in this very same way; they will have an outlet to express their creativity through music as well. Music allows me to work out my blues. I can sing Joss Stone who fell in love with a boy. Or Janis Joplin's maybe if I did something wrong I'd be glad to admit it, ooh yah if you'd come home to me..... or maybe I'm with Robert Plant and I'm going to California with an aching in my heart.... Yesterday, I was building a mystery and working so carefully. The day before that was Johnny Lang's version of the blues classic, "Good Morning Little School Girl" and the day before that I was stuck on a Seal song for God's sake, There has been no-one brighter than you, I have been waiting, I have been waiting for you!"

All I know is that I can remember them all! Every lyric, every guitar lick, every string arrangement, every word. It's all stored in my brain.

Here is the song that is with me today: Enjoy!

Many a mile to freedom, many a smile to tell
Ask my bluebird to sing you, from the heart of a wishing well
Call all my reindeer to graze here, call all my grain to grow
Then together we flow like the river
Then together we melt like the snow

Many a thought unanswered, many a tale to tell
Ask my bluebird to sing you, from the heart of a wishing well
If you should ask me to give you the reason for life that we know
Then together we flow like the river
And together we melt like the snow

Many a mile to freedom, many a smile to tell
Ask my bluebird to sing you, from the heart of a wishing well
If you should ask me to give you the reason for life that we know
Then together we flow like the river
Then together we melt like the snow

A few more miles to go
Miles to freedom