Sometimes it takes a lot of faith to press this little "enter" key—but I did it.

"Out of Obesity" manuscript is off to the editor for the final editing phase. It has been a long time coming, but it won't be long now before it becomes a book and I become (dare I say) an author. 

Stay tuned, things are happening fast! 

Meet Fred. Fred is a 33.8 oz bottle of natural spring water. Fred and I have been hanging out for a while now. I like Fred because his packaging has a great hand-friendly shape. 

Until now, Fred and I have been hanging out with another one of our friends, Lipton to Go Tea packets sweetened with Splenda. I have decided to give up Lipton Tea packets in an effort to completely cut out artificial sweetener from my diet. (I think the Splenda may be adding to MY shape.) 

So in order for us both to sport our best shape possible, Fred and I will be saying farewell to Lipton tea packets as I wean myself off Splenda and onto more pure water.  In the meantime, to help us console our taste buds, Fred is going to be hanging out in the freezer a little more often and we are going to re-acquaint ourselves with some of our old friends—lemon and lime.  I'll let you know how its going!

"Your emotions are

your body’s response

to your thoughts.” 

 “What you tell yourself

affects your emotional state.”

Carolyn Costin

The next principle in Pilates is the internal connection or "centering".

The group of muscles in the center of the body—(encompassing the abdomen, lower and upper back, hips, buttocks, and inner thighs) is known as the "powerhouse". All movement in Pilates should begin from the powerhouse and flow outward into our limbs. It's those deep interior muscle groups that need work—the ones that take intentional and specific moves to make them stronger—in turn making us stronger.

Just like in Pilates, my success after weight-loss surgery came from making connections on the inside, which in turn produced results on the outside—inward changes lead to outward success. 

Finding success was more than just losing weight and gaining a new body, it was about changing my mind to align up with the "new me" on the outside. One of the inward changes I had to work on was connecting with my new body image. It took a lot of soul searching to discover that what I was believing was holding me back. Even after losing more than 160 pounds—I was still believing that I was that 300 pound girl I had left behind. I had to connect with my inner beliefs that were telling me otherwise. I was believing a lie—a belief that I would never return to a "normal" sized body again. But that belief was not true. I did change. 

Finding success for me was about finding truth—and being centered on truth is the "powerhouse" that brought me ultimate success, outwardly and inwardly. Centered on truth, brought with it strength on the inside and in turn keeps me strong on the outside.

Yes, you can. You have many more miles to go!

After weight-loss surgery, I found I had to work on mindset changes—and one of them included dealing with my "all-or-nothing" mentality.

We have all experienced it. It's called "yo-yo" dieting. We starve ourselves in order to lose weight. Then we feel deprived and we "go off our diet". We eat dessert or French fries. Then we feel guilty and announce defeat. We miss a day or two of exercise, we feel like a failure, we give up, and we throw in the towel.

Let's face it, we're not perfect. There will always be times when we give in to tempation.

There are somethings I can't change, but I can change myself. After surgery, I found it best to re-focus. A little flexibility keeps thing running smoothly. Things that bend, don't break as easily!

I began to establish a flexible plan, which included a concentrating on a healthy diet and activity throughout my week, with an occasional treat and an occassional rest from time to time. 

Ideally, I'd like to schedule two Pilates classes each week. But as we all know, life is not ideal. So sometimes I can only commit to one. But on rare occasions, I may get in three. If I happen to miss a week from time to time, I don't stress over it, I just keep going. When I feel I need a change from the routine, I schedule a gyrotonic class instead.

I must also commit to walking or other calorie-burning activities during the week. Recently, I have gotten a little slack, but I'm not throwing in the towel. I realize my need to get back with the program, make a commitment, pick up where I left off, and get back with the plan. Success is about consistency over the long-haul. 

When I take an occasional bite or two of dessert, I plan for it. "When" I eat dessert, and "how much" (or "how little") I eat is intentional. Therefore it's a scheduled part of my plan—no guilt, no worries, no feeling deprived, no giving up.   

Jillian Michaels says it this way, “Part of abandoning the all-or-nothing mentality is allowing yourself room for setbacks. We are bound to have lapses on the road to health and wellness, but it is critical that we learn how to handle small failures positively so that we can minimize their long-term destructive effects. One setback is one setback—it is not the end of the world, nor is it the end of your journey toward a better you.

Let's "let go" of the all-or-nothing mindset and get back to balance. Let's make a workable and flexible plan, and focus on long-term success—not on short-term mishaps. Yes, we can. We have many more miles to go!