I am going to start this all off with stating that I live in Cleveland, Ohio. One of the top cities for obesity in the country. This is not an exaggeration. This has been documented. I actually think a few years ago we broke the top 5. That. Is. Sad. Point blank. There is nothing else to say about it other than that is sad.
Yet, as I drive around the city what do I see? Advertisement for new breakfast sandwiches toting that they are THE BEST WAY to start your morning. And what is it? Blueberry waffle breakfast sandwiches. Seriously?? THIS is the best way to start your morning? Let's analyze please. 550 calories....easily almost HALF your caloric content for the day. 350 calories from FAT! 38 grams of FAT which is 58% of the AVERAGE DAILY ALLOWANCE!!! COME ONE AMERICA! WAKE UP!!
The other commercial ad that makes me want to scream is the one for IHOP stating that their FUNNEL CAKES ARE BACK FOR A GREAT MEAL! REALLY????? REALLY???? A FUNNEL CAKE for a freakin' meal? This is a TREAT at a carnival I thought....something to be had like once a year because it is dough FRIED IN GREASE! And now it is a GREAT MEAL???
Is it ANY wonder why the USA as a country is gaining so much weight? You can't turn on the television, radio, open a newspaper or EVEN DRIVE DOWN THE STREET without being bombarded with bad food choices!! As I sit here and write this I have watched a commercial for Burger King, McDonalds, Golden Corral, and Reese's Cups. And that was just TWO commercial breaks.
What is it going to take to get a change in the nation? There has to be a way to get a grass root notion going to get change. I know in Cleveland it will be hard going but I am willing to help with getting it started.
I am tired of being the one that has to always be special ordering things because there are like TWO restaurants in the area that actually have great options on their menu (one restaurant is AWESOME and almost anything is orderable!). All because I don't want to put crap into my body. I want whole food. Things I can pronounce because they are organic and in their original form. Is this really all that wrong? I know that the culture of the city doesn't fund it right now but it CAN be changed. WE CAN DO IT. But it takes a commitment. It takes a BIG commitment.
It saddens me to see all the obese children out there as I drive down the streets. It saddens me that it costs TWICE as much to eat healthy as it does to eat like crap. It saddens me that people can't see how their eating is killing them and their family.
I am tired of being sad. What about you?
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
A need for balance
This past week has really been a rough one for me on many fronts. My schedule was incredibly hectic and full. I feel completely drained and on empty and there is another week looming ahead of me.
I have always been that person. You know the one. She has fifteen balls in the air, and it looks like all is going well, then a ball drops. And then another. And in most cases, I don't get to pick which ball drops first. This time I made a choice. Maybe it is one that everyone doesn't agree with but a hard decision had to be made and for once I made it. Let me explain more by starting with naming my balls in the air (in no particular order).
Ball #1 Relationship
Ball #2 Leisure (Darts, Golf)
Ball #3 Work
Ball #4 My dogs and their training/flyball practices
Ball #5 My school to become a dog trainer
Ball #6 My Spark Family (The Spies)
Now these may not seem like time consuming things on the outside however the casual observer doesn't know how much time that each of those balls may consume. Ball #1 and #3 are obvious and most can relate to the amount of time needed to be put into both of those...at least if you want to do it correctly.
Ball #2 is tied into Ball #1. These are activities that we do together. I have taken time away from darts and it does show in my rankings nationally and how I place in tournaments. It is something that he does not completely understand because of my natural talent for it and I could excel at it, however, it is no longer my passion. We do spend at least one weekend a month in another city/state competing at tournaments not to mention the weekend tournaments that are local. It is what I do now to spend time with my fiance. Golf, I enjoy. It is definitely something we do together and I want to get better at and down the line it is our plans in the retiring years...so I am not giving that up. Plus it keeps me active.
Ball #4 are my dogs and their training. I have 3 dogs and they each have their own issues. Two are rescues and have fear aggression issues. I am currently doing intensive training with my newest addition (black dog Hydro) and it requires ALOT of patience and time. It takes me 20 minutes to walk 5 houses. That is NOT an exaggeration. My yellow dog Cali does training one night a week for Rally and the has flyball practice on another week. Starting this month one or two weekends there are flyball tournaments. Towards the end of summer I will probably be entering her in Rally competitions. This also means training with her on days she is not at class.
Ball #5 is going to school to become a dog trainer. This is 4 semesters of work which entails 20 hours of in class study (2 weekends both days) and 120 hours of observation for the first semester then an exam at the end of the semester. I currently have 75 hours logged and about 2 weeks left to go. The biggest issue is that only time that is not spent working with your dog counts and it has to be at an event that one of the instructors are at. This means that for the past two weeks it has been basically work all day, come home, eat, go to Fortunate Fido get home around 10 pm.
Ball #6 The Spark Family. I am a co-captain of the Silver Spies. Part of my duty is to make the challenges for Thursdays and to ensure that LCW Tuesday runs well. I have been sending the challenges out to all the participating captains and then tallying the results and posting them on the pages (yes, I know I am behind on that right now....working on it after the blog) I also do an Informational Corner each week to help guide the team on this journey. It also means being there for everyone on the thread in ways of support and encouragement and cheering and boosting morale and spirit. At times it can get to be much but I do love it. I have not logged on and read but time really has been of the essence in my life right now. It is not because I don't love and care about all of you, but because if I don't take care of myself I can't take care of you.
Ball #7....yes, it wasn't even in the air much these days so I didn't list it out. Exhaustion. Is it a reason or an excuse? I don't even know anymore. I have been losing weight consistently without it and I don't want to even think about it at the moment but I do know that alot of it is because I have been moving non-stop so my BMR is higher than what is calculated and I have been keeping my calories in range. But I do know that there will come a day that I have to stop this crazy juggling act and things will even out. At that point I will have to put this ball back in the air.
So I had SIX balls in the air and I dropped ball number 6. I had to step away from my Spark Family. I will say I am sorry if I was needed and wasn't there, but I cannot apologize for doing it. I currently still have FIVE balls in the air. I have to figure out some balance or I am going to go insane. I am sitting here typing this with two ice packs on my back and neck because of all the stress I am dealing with and I know that I have to figure this out. I was hoping that by writing this something would click in my head. Alas, no click occurred. Maybe after I let it ruminate it will start to make sense.
All I know is I have to figure this out in case we decide to raise children. I will need to have this balance before then because I don't know if I will be able to be healthy if I don't have good habits already in place.
If you are still here, thank you for reading!
I have always been that person. You know the one. She has fifteen balls in the air, and it looks like all is going well, then a ball drops. And then another. And in most cases, I don't get to pick which ball drops first. This time I made a choice. Maybe it is one that everyone doesn't agree with but a hard decision had to be made and for once I made it. Let me explain more by starting with naming my balls in the air (in no particular order).
Ball #1 Relationship
Ball #2 Leisure (Darts, Golf)
Ball #3 Work
Ball #4 My dogs and their training/flyball practices
Ball #5 My school to become a dog trainer
Ball #6 My Spark Family (The Spies)
Now these may not seem like time consuming things on the outside however the casual observer doesn't know how much time that each of those balls may consume. Ball #1 and #3 are obvious and most can relate to the amount of time needed to be put into both of those...at least if you want to do it correctly.
Ball #2 is tied into Ball #1. These are activities that we do together. I have taken time away from darts and it does show in my rankings nationally and how I place in tournaments. It is something that he does not completely understand because of my natural talent for it and I could excel at it, however, it is no longer my passion. We do spend at least one weekend a month in another city/state competing at tournaments not to mention the weekend tournaments that are local. It is what I do now to spend time with my fiance. Golf, I enjoy. It is definitely something we do together and I want to get better at and down the line it is our plans in the retiring years...so I am not giving that up. Plus it keeps me active.
Ball #4 are my dogs and their training. I have 3 dogs and they each have their own issues. Two are rescues and have fear aggression issues. I am currently doing intensive training with my newest addition (black dog Hydro) and it requires ALOT of patience and time. It takes me 20 minutes to walk 5 houses. That is NOT an exaggeration. My yellow dog Cali does training one night a week for Rally and the has flyball practice on another week. Starting this month one or two weekends there are flyball tournaments. Towards the end of summer I will probably be entering her in Rally competitions. This also means training with her on days she is not at class.
Ball #5 is going to school to become a dog trainer. This is 4 semesters of work which entails 20 hours of in class study (2 weekends both days) and 120 hours of observation for the first semester then an exam at the end of the semester. I currently have 75 hours logged and about 2 weeks left to go. The biggest issue is that only time that is not spent working with your dog counts and it has to be at an event that one of the instructors are at. This means that for the past two weeks it has been basically work all day, come home, eat, go to Fortunate Fido get home around 10 pm.
Ball #6 The Spark Family. I am a co-captain of the Silver Spies. Part of my duty is to make the challenges for Thursdays and to ensure that LCW Tuesday runs well. I have been sending the challenges out to all the participating captains and then tallying the results and posting them on the pages (yes, I know I am behind on that right now....working on it after the blog) I also do an Informational Corner each week to help guide the team on this journey. It also means being there for everyone on the thread in ways of support and encouragement and cheering and boosting morale and spirit. At times it can get to be much but I do love it. I have not logged on and read but time really has been of the essence in my life right now. It is not because I don't love and care about all of you, but because if I don't take care of myself I can't take care of you.
Ball #7....yes, it wasn't even in the air much these days so I didn't list it out. Exhaustion. Is it a reason or an excuse? I don't even know anymore. I have been losing weight consistently without it and I don't want to even think about it at the moment but I do know that alot of it is because I have been moving non-stop so my BMR is higher than what is calculated and I have been keeping my calories in range. But I do know that there will come a day that I have to stop this crazy juggling act and things will even out. At that point I will have to put this ball back in the air.
So I had SIX balls in the air and I dropped ball number 6. I had to step away from my Spark Family. I will say I am sorry if I was needed and wasn't there, but I cannot apologize for doing it. I currently still have FIVE balls in the air. I have to figure out some balance or I am going to go insane. I am sitting here typing this with two ice packs on my back and neck because of all the stress I am dealing with and I know that I have to figure this out. I was hoping that by writing this something would click in my head. Alas, no click occurred. Maybe after I let it ruminate it will start to make sense.
All I know is I have to figure this out in case we decide to raise children. I will need to have this balance before then because I don't know if I will be able to be healthy if I don't have good habits already in place.
If you are still here, thank you for reading!
Monday, March 21, 2011
The Fortunate Fido Academy-Positively Positive Experience!!
It has been awhile since I have blogged but I have been pretty busy with life. These past two weekends I have been at school. Doggy school that is!!! I am learning the ins and outs of becoming a well balanced dog trainer. I figure I love dogs so much and I spend a lot of my time trying to figure my own brood out that I should learn more about helping others!!
So I talked with Ginger, the owner and trainer at Fortunate Fido where I have done all the training with my pups, about where she would recommend me going to school to do what she does. And lo and behold she and a couple of her colleagues had been discussing putting together an academy to teach students all about being a completely positive trainer!!! Talk about timing!!!!
I am one of 5 students enrolled in the inaugural class of the Fortunate Fido Academy and I will definitely say that I have been impressed with the vast knowledge of my instructors. I am through with the "classwork" for the first semester and now onto the observation hours. We have to accrue 120 hours of pure observation of dog behaviors in classes, seminars, or competitions. Coming from a medical background I personally can attest that a person can learn so much more by being out in the field of work rather applying the knowledge than just sitting in a room being told about the happenings you will encounter.
I am also a HUGE advocate of positive training. I, myself, could never imagine doing anything that would hurt my dog, neither physically nor emotionally. It just amazes me that there are still so many trainers out there that employ these tactics and what is even more amazing is that they still have clients!!! I mean if there was a way to train your dog to be a happier, healthier, better dog AND you don't have to hurt them and cause fear in them why in the world would you choose to do so?? It just saddens me that there are companies out there like Sit Means Sit that HIDE the fact that they use shock collars from the public when they demonstrate how "well behaved" their dogs are....well yes they are well behaved....if not they are going to get shocked!! What kind of life is that?? I am pretty sure I can have at least two of my dogs sit for at least a minute (ok that MIGHT be stretching it for Cali...but she is a Lab puppy!!) and she actually looks HAPPY doing it not frightened!!
Whew!! Ok, off of my soapbox I step....though I am not going to stray TOO far from it!!! I have a feeling I am going to be becoming more and more of a loud mouth, er, voice against these places in years to come.
So the plan now is to continue observing (I have 22 out of the 120 hours) and start my reading list....that is if the books ever arrive (come ON, Amazon!!!). I will keep you all updated!!!
Loves, hugs, and big slobbery puppy kisses!!!
Rhonda
So I talked with Ginger, the owner and trainer at Fortunate Fido where I have done all the training with my pups, about where she would recommend me going to school to do what she does. And lo and behold she and a couple of her colleagues had been discussing putting together an academy to teach students all about being a completely positive trainer!!! Talk about timing!!!!
I am one of 5 students enrolled in the inaugural class of the Fortunate Fido Academy and I will definitely say that I have been impressed with the vast knowledge of my instructors. I am through with the "classwork" for the first semester and now onto the observation hours. We have to accrue 120 hours of pure observation of dog behaviors in classes, seminars, or competitions. Coming from a medical background I personally can attest that a person can learn so much more by being out in the field of work rather applying the knowledge than just sitting in a room being told about the happenings you will encounter.
I am also a HUGE advocate of positive training. I, myself, could never imagine doing anything that would hurt my dog, neither physically nor emotionally. It just amazes me that there are still so many trainers out there that employ these tactics and what is even more amazing is that they still have clients!!! I mean if there was a way to train your dog to be a happier, healthier, better dog AND you don't have to hurt them and cause fear in them why in the world would you choose to do so?? It just saddens me that there are companies out there like Sit Means Sit that HIDE the fact that they use shock collars from the public when they demonstrate how "well behaved" their dogs are....well yes they are well behaved....if not they are going to get shocked!! What kind of life is that?? I am pretty sure I can have at least two of my dogs sit for at least a minute (ok that MIGHT be stretching it for Cali...but she is a Lab puppy!!) and she actually looks HAPPY doing it not frightened!!
Whew!! Ok, off of my soapbox I step....though I am not going to stray TOO far from it!!! I have a feeling I am going to be becoming more and more of a loud mouth, er, voice against these places in years to come.
So the plan now is to continue observing (I have 22 out of the 120 hours) and start my reading list....that is if the books ever arrive (come ON, Amazon!!!). I will keep you all updated!!!
Loves, hugs, and big slobbery puppy kisses!!!
Rhonda
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Debt, Pups, and Weight
I finally broke down and did what I didn't want to do. But I just couldn't see another way around it. I dug the hole and now I need to get out of it. But I need to learn how to STAY out of it or else I am going to keep doing this. What is she talking about? Debt. I was debt free (sans mortgage, car and student loan) for a year. Then I let it all creep back in.
Started with spending my "savings" on a down payment on a car and vacation. Then it was little expenses here and there. Then letting my Overdraft Protection to get drained. To the point that I started using my credit card again. I had a plan that I was going to use it JUST for the tuition for me to go to school to become a dog trainer. Well, in the meantime, I have used it for so many other things, that I don't have room for the tuition. So add the tuition on as debt I wasn't counting on now.
So I am taking a loan out against my 403b. It is the only loan that I can get at the moment because of the housing market. I at one time would have had enough for a home equity loan however the stricter guidelines and the way the houses are being appraised it just wasn't in the cards. I hate doing this because of the way it will effect my retirement funds. The only solace that I am trying to take is that come January my boyfriend should be able to contribute significantly more towards the household bills therefore hopefully I will be able to pay off the loan quicker (no penalty for pre-payment).
All of this monetary stress has really been playing havoc on me. I have been feeling it in the way I have been approaching things and felt that I needed to get it out of the way before I started my classes for dog training. I truly believe that it has been part of my apathy towards my weight journey. My lack of drive and focus. I don't want that to filter into my studies. Dogs and training is my future and I want to put my all into that and not have worries over my head.
This won't fix things though. Right now the loan will be band-aid on a gaping wound if I don't learn how to put in sutures. I need to have a plan in place to attack the real problems and that is frivolous spending. I have to stop that and learn to tell my boyfriend no to things. I have to stop spending so much on food, especially on restaurant food when I have perfectly good food at home. That all starts with planning. I need to get order in my life. Right now, though I have lulled myself into thinking that there is, there is very little order in my life. I may go from one thing to another, but that doesn't make it orderly.
I also have to stop the Advocare process, at least for the time being. I LOVE the product. And I do feel that it gives me incredible amounts of energy but I just can't afford it. Hopefully down the line I will find that I can swing it, but in the meantime I am just going to use up what I have and not stress about becoming an Advisor. I will probably continue to order the Spark Drink and maybe the MNS E packs. We will see.
I also have to get back on track with my workouts. I was doing really well there for about a month and feeling great about myself. That is what I have to get back to. I have ChaLEAN to do, as well as creating the TNTs for my SparkPeople friends. Also, I need to get back to my C25K program. I was going onto week 4 but I am going to re-do week 3 again before proceeding. I also want to go back to the Yoga Space once I find some extra cash to spend on me. Maybe that will be one of my goal rewards.
My boyfriend is starting Weight Watchers on Monday so I am hoping to be able to create dinners for us that can be made ahead of time, or at least prepped ahead of time that he can throw together for us on the days he works from home. I also have some frozen burritos that I had put together that are about 300 calories a piece that I need to start taking with me to work for lunch. I just keep coming up with excuses not to.
So that is where my head has been. Hoping to come out of it soon.
Hugs and loves,
Rhonda
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Endorphins
I don't think I have any. In fact I am pretty darn sure I don't. Why? you might ask. Well because I HATE exercise!! Not that I don't want to do it but once it is done I feel better for doing it. Nope. Still hate it. Even afterwards.
I read blogs about how great people feel after they work out or run or what not. I have tried numerous types of exercises and have yet to find one I enjoy. And none of them give me that "high" feeling that people describe. I keep searching for it. I keep trying to find it. I keep telling myself that when I get to the next week of the C25K the endorphins will come. I keep telling myself that if I do the next ChaLEAN workout the "high" will be there. But it isn't. How am I supposed to get addicted to this stuff if I truly do not enjoy it???
Exercise is WORK to me. And who likes to work?? I do it because I have to...not because it is something I know is going to make me feel better about myself afterwards for doing.
I read blogs about how great people feel after they work out or run or what not. I have tried numerous types of exercises and have yet to find one I enjoy. And none of them give me that "high" feeling that people describe. I keep searching for it. I keep trying to find it. I keep telling myself that when I get to the next week of the C25K the endorphins will come. I keep telling myself that if I do the next ChaLEAN workout the "high" will be there. But it isn't. How am I supposed to get addicted to this stuff if I truly do not enjoy it???
Exercise is WORK to me. And who likes to work?? I do it because I have to...not because it is something I know is going to make me feel better about myself afterwards for doing.
I haven't been diligent about using my Advocare products and that has had to do with my frame of mind. I really need to get my head around things. Get my life on track. But doing that means I have to have a sit down talk with my man and I have been putting that off.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Yoga: Meditation & Relaxation
First off, I am old. Second off, I don't care. Why might you ask? Because one of the best Friday nights I have spent in a while just happened at my first ever yoga class. Well it was more of a one on one session, but still. It was all about learning to meditate and relax. On how to reconnect with yourself. In a way for me it would be connecting, since reconnecting would imply being connected at one point in time...since I do not remember a time that I was (probably when I was young, if ever) I should say connect.
If you have not taken a relaxation/meditation class and have ever thought about it, I would encourage it. We live in such a hectic world and most have such busy schedules that it really has come to the point that we have to schedule it in. Silly if you really stop and think about it.
After this week, I needed to take some time to reflect on things. To center myself. To become in tune to the inner flow of my body. Next week there will be tests done and maybe a confirmation on a diagnosis, and only then can I determine a plan of action. Right now, I gave the possibility of the diagnosis enough of a hold on me to ruin one day. And that was one day too many. So until a final diagnosis is achieved I am going to work on getting my health on the right path to handle whatever is thrown at me...both physically, emotionally, and physically.
I was not on track yesterday with my Advocare products. I drank the Spark and took the first strip but the rest went to the wayside with the call from the doctor. I made healthy choices with food and even said no to the cookie I wanted. Today I was on better track with Advocare, getting all of the strips, catalyst, and thermo-plus in...but I left my lunch bag at home...so my food options weren't as good because despite the fact that I work for a world leading hospital, the food options stink. I did ok with my choice but I did end up eating the cookie. Not going to beat myself up for it because I honestly wanted it today. It wasn't about eating emotions. I dealt with them yesterday and today I just wanted the cookie. So I ate it. And it was good. No guilt afterwards because it was a choice that I made after weighing out the options.
Tomorrow I am getting my hair done with a friend at a new place. I can't wait. Its been awhile since I have hung out with her and look forward to catching up a bit. If I get up on time I plan on doing Week 3 Day 3 of C25K and then go to Blended Style Yoga at the same place. But I am not going to put pressure on myself to go if I am not awake.
I am who I am.
Over and out,
Rhonda
If you have not taken a relaxation/meditation class and have ever thought about it, I would encourage it. We live in such a hectic world and most have such busy schedules that it really has come to the point that we have to schedule it in. Silly if you really stop and think about it.
After this week, I needed to take some time to reflect on things. To center myself. To become in tune to the inner flow of my body. Next week there will be tests done and maybe a confirmation on a diagnosis, and only then can I determine a plan of action. Right now, I gave the possibility of the diagnosis enough of a hold on me to ruin one day. And that was one day too many. So until a final diagnosis is achieved I am going to work on getting my health on the right path to handle whatever is thrown at me...both physically, emotionally, and physically.
I was not on track yesterday with my Advocare products. I drank the Spark and took the first strip but the rest went to the wayside with the call from the doctor. I made healthy choices with food and even said no to the cookie I wanted. Today I was on better track with Advocare, getting all of the strips, catalyst, and thermo-plus in...but I left my lunch bag at home...so my food options weren't as good because despite the fact that I work for a world leading hospital, the food options stink. I did ok with my choice but I did end up eating the cookie. Not going to beat myself up for it because I honestly wanted it today. It wasn't about eating emotions. I dealt with them yesterday and today I just wanted the cookie. So I ate it. And it was good. No guilt afterwards because it was a choice that I made after weighing out the options.
Tomorrow I am getting my hair done with a friend at a new place. I can't wait. Its been awhile since I have hung out with her and look forward to catching up a bit. If I get up on time I plan on doing Week 3 Day 3 of C25K and then go to Blended Style Yoga at the same place. But I am not going to put pressure on myself to go if I am not awake.
I am who I am.
Over and out,
Rhonda
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Just another snowy day.....
I woke up this morning with the right side of my face swollen and in pain. I had worn the night guard last night and it miraculously stayed in but I guess was not much help. I am not giving up on it yet though, as it is just the first night of wear and it was flared up. I decided to stay home because opening my mouth was painful and the "storm of the century" was coming....LOL.
I didn't actually wake though until 11:30 due to the meds I took last night for sleep and pain. I still drank my Spark drink and took my MNS E packs along with the Catalyst and ThermoPlus. Drank my morning MRS and rested some. I did attempt W3D2 of C25K but running was NOT a good thing to do. So I walked for 45 minutes.
I have decided that I should post my weights and measurements thus far on here too, not just on Sparkpeople....
Height: 5'4.5"
Week #1 January 5th,
Chest: 37
Waist: 35
Hip: 42.5
Thigh: 24.5
Arm: 14
STARTINT WEIGHT January 5: 183.8
Week 1 Jan 12: 182.4 (-1.4!!)
Week.2 Jan 19: 183.2 (+0.8)
Week 3 Jan 26: 181.2 (-2.0!!)
I didn't actually wake though until 11:30 due to the meds I took last night for sleep and pain. I still drank my Spark drink and took my MNS E packs along with the Catalyst and ThermoPlus. Drank my morning MRS and rested some. I did attempt W3D2 of C25K but running was NOT a good thing to do. So I walked for 45 minutes.
I have decided that I should post my weights and measurements thus far on here too, not just on Sparkpeople....
Height: 5'4.5"
Week #1 January 5th,
Chest: 37
Waist: 35
Hip: 42.5
Thigh: 24.5
Arm: 14
STARTINT WEIGHT January 5: 183.8
Week 1 Jan 12: 182.4 (-1.4!!)
Week.2 Jan 19: 183.2 (+0.8)
Week 3 Jan 26: 181.2 (-2.0!!)
Over and out,
Rhonda
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