Small steps

Yesterday was my first weigh-in after 1 week of following this new path.  5 pounds down!  I sort of feel like I'm on "the Biggest Loser."  5 pounds is a great start and I am very happy with it, but, I think there was a part of me hoping that number would be bigger.  Don't get me wrong - I'm very excited about knocking off 5 in one week.  I'm just more motivated to work harder to get that number larger on the next weigh-in.

As the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said “a journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.”

I suppose that means a journey of losing sixty pounds must begin with losing 5.  I'm good with that. :)

Are you on your own path to a new you (whether that means weight loss, general wellness, a new attitude toward Life, a creative journey, or a path of self-discovery)?  What keeps you motivated?  When you meet a potential obstacle - how do you get over it (or under it, or around it, or heck - even through it)?

Until next time, I'll keep taking my small steps .....

It's a new day, it's a new dawn, it's a new life ... and I'm feelin' good

Well actually I'm feelin' sore.  And a little cranky.  But it's expected for there to be some discomfort when you drastically change your lifestyle.  Right?  RIGHT??  And what better way to work through that "pain" than to write about.  So, of course I'm going to follow in the footsteps of my friends (and my trainer) and finally start my own blog.

I have my mother to thank for putting me on this path.  I think it's pretty telling when your own mother approaches you with information about a personal trainer she's heard about.  It's even more telling when she says that she will commit to helping you (me) financially.  My mom has watched me struggle since I returned home to Texas.  First was the struggle with "I miss New York, I want to go back" issue.  Second was the struggle with missing my close circle of friends - close in proximity as well as close in heart - with whom I could hang out at a moment's notice.  The last struggle, I think, has been brought on by the first two.  My weight. 

Which brings me to here and now.  The struggle is no longer an internal one.  It's there for everyone to see - especially my mom.   Since moving home at the end of 2004 I have gained 60+ pounds.  I went from walking everywhere, eating wonderful food (maybe not always "healthy", but always fresh), and having a decent social life to driving 2 miles to go to work, grabbing fast food at lunch because it was convenient, and having no social life.  I've grown bored.  And it shows. (Is this what they call navel-gazing? I mean my navel is farther out these days which makes it easier, but not all that pleasant, to gaze upon.)

I started reading "Eat, Pray, Love" about a week ago (I know, I know - half the female population is reading it too or seeing the movie).  I'm not going to post my thoughts on the book or movie here.  What I am going to say is that while her struggles were different than my own, I can identify with Elizabeth Gilbert.  I feel like I lost my appetite for life.  I've been following a rut, once in a while bumping along the side, but never quite able to break out of it.  That is until my mom approached me about this trainer.  I truly believe that all things happen for a reason.  This happened at a time when I needed it most - not only physically, but mentally and emotionally as well.  From the first time I met Slyck, I felt I had not only met an instant new friend, but an amazing person.  I'm excited about this whole change in lifestyle and some of that is because of my guide on this path, but it's also because it's a new challenge, a new route, a whole new way of approaching everything in my life.  Her focus on being aware of what you eat is creeping into other areas - and it's only been 3 days!

So, today is my second workout with Slyck.  My third day of being on a new food plan (not a diet!).  And my first day of blogging.



(man I really hope I get better at this whole blogging thing.....)

Two paths diverged in a wood ...

 How many blogs do you think started out with that very quote?  I think I'm the kind of person who takes the path less traveled, but I'd probably at some point decide that I need to go back to where I started and take the more worn path as well - just to compare. There is just so much in this world to experience and see!  I don't want to miss any of it.

Welcome to my wanderings.  :)

A few years ago I head a commercial on the radio for Country Time Lemonade.  I didn't actually catch the full commercial, but a part of it just jumped out at me ... "daydreams and detours."  I thought to myself that these 3 words summed up "me" pretty well.  My mom says that I am a free spirit ... a soul for adventure.  Some people may say I'm flighty.  I'm sure there's some truth in all of that.  So that's where this blog title came from.  Those words have been tossed around in my head as a title for a e-zine, then for a travel blog, then for a website, then for ...  you get the idea.  For now, they have settled here as the title of a blog - a collection of random musings, personal introspection, sharing of struggles, and the occasional deep thought.

I welcome you to join me on this walk through my life.  Sometimes it'll be an all-out sprint, sometimes a leisurely stroll. We may follow the well-worn path ... or we may detour off down some meandering, overgrown trail.  Whatever we do it's going to be an interesting journey.