SICKY FRIDAY...

I am not sure if sicky is a word but it is now... 

I have been down since Wednesday with some evil tummy bug deal.  I have lost 4.6kg (x 2.2 if you use pounds) in two days.

I am not feeling great at all and this is probably to much information but NOTHING is staying in...

Lets hope that by the time Monday rolls around I will be feeling much much better and have something better to blog about!!

DAY TWO...

I have gotten through the first day of my lifestyle change successfully and am proud because the water does not go down without a fight...

Here is a little motivation...

A NEW DAY, A NEW WEEK AND ALMOST A NEW MONTH...

Today 2013 is 28 days old and to say it has already been a rough year for me would be an understatement!

But today is a new day, the beginning of a new week and heaven helps us almost the beginning of a new month so it is time to start making some changes around here.

A friend of mine runs a Soqi franchise and did a free analysis for me. Turns out there is very little right inside my body.  My organs are toxic and there is a tremendous amount of strain on my heart.  It is amazing what the analysis can pick up just from pressing on pressure points in the body ….. hands and feet.  It was no surprise to my friend that my body was a hot mess.  It seems that trauma and a lack of sleep have a very profound effect on the body.  Now I know that is nothing new but I think seeing the scary red lines (which should be green) gave me a bit of reality check.

I NEED must change my lifestyle.  That’s not news is it??  This blog started off being a diary about my struggles with my weight and I have time and time again embarked on action plan to lose weight, get healthy and start living my best life.

Losing my dad has taught me many thing but one of the things that has become abundantly clear is no matter how much time you have it will never be enough to live the life you truly want.  So I need more time, more time translates me changing my current lifestyle.

From today three lifestyle changes are happening:

Drinking 2l of water per day……I may hate the taste but it is important

Eating healthy meals and snacks…..all main meals and snacks will be of the healthy variety

Exercise and more specifically walking…I joined a programme called Walk for Life a couple of months ago and it is time to go back

But, hold on what is going to keep me motivated this time when I have tried so many times in the past?

SMALLER goals.  I tend to want to tackle every gram of fat and every unfit muscle of my body at the same time and set unrealistic goals for myself.  This has led to many tears (the ugly cry has been known to show up on these occasions) and plenty of frustration.

This time I am going to baby step my way through it for real…..really, seriously!!!

My first goal is to keep up the three lifestyle changes above for the next 6 weeks because the reward will be my trip with Megan to Egypt.

I want to climb this…….

It is Mount Sinai. I want to stand at the top of this mountain which is where Moses received the 10 commandments and I want to see the sun rise over the peaks and I want to have ENJOYED the climb!! 

ALL 3 750 steps to the summit!!!

I want to summit Mt Sinai and watch the sun rise over those
majestic mountains without huffing and puffing for breath!

To achieve this I am going to have to be in much better shape than I am now and the only way to achieve that is by sticking to these three lifestyle changes for the six weeks I have left leading up to the trip!

So wish me well and pray for me!!

Here we go!

DAY THREE MOTIVATION...

Today is day three of my new healthy lifestyle and it is going to be a challenge as I have a lot of meetings which is messing with my eating routine and water drinking (yuck).  Plus my car has gone in for a service and may not be ready in time for me to make it to exercise and the cherry on the low GI cake.....it's raining so I am feeling all lazy.

I went on Pintrest (cause that's what you do when you need a kick in the butt) and found some motivational and inspirational messages for myself. 

Thought I would share them with you all too...

This is a big motivator for me right now...

Can I please have her body!!

This is a big motivator as my friends as such beautiful women inside and out!!

CHOOSEDAY...

Have you ever tried to mend a vase or something similarly precious that had fallen and shattered on the floor? Hundreds of bits and pieces form an almost impossible puzzle and it is only through hours of painstaking patience and determination that you can almost mend the vase. But once it has been repaired, it is never the same as it was before. Water leaks through the cracks, edges are rough and uneven. This is because you are trying to restore the broken item to its original state which is impossible.

There is however some good news. With just a little bit of imagination and inspiration you can do so much more! Each little piece, when examined alone is seen for its own unique beauty. Together these little pieces can be used to create a new work of art. It would be different from the first but still a work of art. I’ve seen such beautiful and creative art works where bits of glass were used to make mosaics, collages, mirrors, picture frames, and so much more. There is no telling when looking at these pieces what their original purpose had been? Would I have been that impressed with the glass chip when it was still part of a vase? Yet I marvel at its beauty as it hangs in its new form in a gallery.

This year has been tough. I have never worked so hard in all my life and on top of my dad being as sick as he has I have been trying to come to terms with my chronic asthma and all the other life changing adversities… However, what I think has left me shattered and broken is my asthma it has had an enormous impact on my life and it continues to do so in the most limiting way. One by one I have held the broken pieces up to the light, trying to figure out where they belonged. Turning them every which way, but ultimately I struggled to fit them back into their original places to restore the person I once had been. Every now and then I spot a glint of sunlight reflecting off a sharp shard and I’d throw it away. Then at times, I’d find a piece that was different and I’d realize that this little piece was exquisite. After years of futile effort, I’ve come to the realization that the person I once had been can never be restored to her original state……I am always going to have asthma and it is always going to limit my life. But God has blessed me with a unique opportunity to take all these lovely little pieces of my broken life and to build someone new. Little bits and pieces of me, that were invisible in the past, are now given a chance to shine.

I have shared my need to restore my MUCHNESS with you and this seems to be a more intense process than I first envisioned. And turning over a new leaf is never easy especially when it comes to the whole eating healthily, drinking water and exercising thing. I started this blog over a year ago because I had made a decision to start living my best life well then Jenny passed, I got sick and one excuse on top of another become my daily mantra for not taking control of my life. I keep on saying I am going to stop allowing circumstance and others to steal my joy, I talk about taking back control over my life and I often mention how I am going to make peace with my asthma and deal with consequences of having a chronic disease.

But I lie, I stretch the truth, I fake……I do everything but accept that I need to pick up the pieces and make the changes. BUT that has changed!! It is painful to have your life shattered and it may seem impossible to pick up those pieces. Sometimes we don’t even know where to start. Any form of repair and reconstruction is a long process. But it is also an opportunity to re-invent yourself to become the person you would like to be. It is a unique opportunity to look closely at the beautiful bits of you. To hold them up to the light and appreciate the way they shine.

So I am CHOOSING to pick up the pieces and design a new Lisa.  Yes she will have asthma, yes she will have a demanding job and yes she will still have to be there for her family. BUT I CHOOSE to be fit, healthy and strong in order to do so. I CHOOSE to start eating healthy, I CHOOSE to drink water (which I really really really really really don’t like the taste of) and I CHOOSE to exercise. As of last week I am on a water drinking schedule which one of my team forces makes me stick to.  As of yesterday I am eating more healthy meals…low GI and low fat.  And as of last night I am exercising.  GO ME!!!

I CHOOSE to make these changes so that I can move on from my shattered life, I CHOOSE to stop wasting time trying to rebuild the past, I CHOOSE to appreciate the gift of building a new future…..one fit for a wall in the Louvre . I CHOOSE to hand over all the pieces of my broken life to God and I CHOOSE to let Him mend it.

God can help me (and you) turn the little bits and pieces into a wonderful work of art…….we just have to CHOOSE to let Him!!!