1.08.2010

Phoenix rising....perfect 10 update, fatmaggedon fabulous....

Okay...
I have to tell you something new you may not know about me.....hmmmmm.....
I love cats.
I have a cat named leo. The thing I love most about him is the way he strives to protect his dignity from all enemies foreign and domestic.
Ruffle his fur...it's a glare and a defensive grooming.
Toss him off the table. He stands for a minute and then struts away like it's his idea.
Don't feed him quickly or properly, he'll bite your toes.
I love leo.

Now, lets get the Perfect 10 out of the way...
Goal 1: Six days of exercise
Nailed it and then some.
exercise is never a problem for me.

Goal 2:
Water 8 cups...
did it but was pushing it. It wasn't as easy as I 'd like it to be.

Goal 3 posting food daily...
every day but one.
My calories were kept below 1500 every day but one as well...
correlation, no...1510 was a day I posted...go figure.

Goal 4
In bed before midnight.
In bed yes, asleep...no.
lol.

Goal 5
situps 200 in under 5 minutes...
progressed over the last 7 days.
I can do 165 in under 5 minutes.
Here's to next week.

Goal 6
Beginning photo
yup...
a few posts down..you'll find it.
I will post again at the end along with ending photo.

Goal 7
New recipe
yup
shrimp/turkey sausage pasta
pretty good, made it up myself.
Also tried fiber one pancakes with blueberry sauce and turkey jimmy dean sausages
pancake good
blueberry sauce okay....but kind of soaked in a bit too much
turkey jimmy dean sausage pattie...out of this world and on my permanent buy list.

Already post start weight....
goal 8: lose 8 lbs...
lost 2 so far, so on track thatta way.

goal 9 one fruit two veggies per day
I missed the fruit one day...but got plenty of veggies.
Don't know why fruit is so hard.
I like it well enough.

oh looked at my goals...and while exercise was indeed one of my goals it seems I got specific.
So, I did indeed do six hours of cardio and three days of arm toning and three days of situps.
So, goal 10 accomplished.
8 out of 10 for the week.
That's a B.
I'll try harder next week.
Tomorrow is my higher calorie day.
I am very excited...lol.
I get 1860 calories tomorrow.
Watch out food.

Now on to Phoenix rising ....
I finally burned the last of my 18's yesterday in broad daylight.
It felt very strange.
I suppose I should have felt some sadness but I didn't...I didn't feel much of anything.
My little one asked me If I was ashamed of getting that fat.
I said No.
She asked me If I was angry or sad.
I said NO.
She asked me what I was feeling.
I said "that part of me is in the past."

I sat out there looking at those clothes that are now ashes and realized that someday, that is all that will be left of me...ashes (If I choose to be cremated)
That and a legacy of whatever Life I left or built.
Burning those clothes felt like a letting go of a me that was never supposed to have been.
That was a me created by years of living in a mindless fashion.
That was a me that had no vision and no hope and no respect for who I had the potential to become.
I won't sit one more minute worrying about the time that is gone.
I won't waste one more emotion on what is in the past.
It's like I burned every regret, every mistake, and every missed opportunity...and out of the ashes I am building a new life.
One I choose.
Every moment is a chance to create yourself anew with your intentions.
And it is a moment to drop the past...just leave it there, where you finally figured it out.
No need to drag it any further.
Set it down and pick up something new.
Something YOU CHOOSE.
Deliberately.
With the knowledge that the choice you make will have consequences.
That you don't need an out or an excuse.
You just need a Chance To Begin Again.

Here's to Rising to New Heights,
Your On Fire Phoenix,
Chris

23 comments:

Melissa said...

I bet that was a great feeling watching those babies burn.
Maybe you can add fruit in yogurt to get that in? or clementines, which are on my to buy list for groceries tomorrow. :)

Tony said...

Nice work on the goals. Seriously. I kind of half-assed most of mine lol. Yes, losing weight is kind of like rising from the dead, isn't it
?

bbubblyb said...

I never look at my past as a time not meant to be I always look back and think that's how I became the me I am today. Sure a bunch of it was crappy but I think it also helped teach me so many good things. It also makes me grateful for what I have now. Cool though that you burned the clothes and felt such release from doing that. Here's to rising to new heights.

Linda Pressman said...

Awesome, Chris. Sounds like something we do on the Jewish New Year, called the Tashlich ceremony, where the prior year is cast off into a body of water by throwing bread in. Same idea, a new life is rising, the old is cast away.

You know you've changed inside when you could never do that to yourself again, then you really are a different person, inside and out.

Lorie said...

Great goals! I like it! I just scrolled down and checked out the pictures....WOW!! You look great!! You have a come a long way. Congrats and keep it up!!

Lorie :)

Brenda said...

I see it kind of like God's forgiveness toward us. We ask, He forgives and helps us to not live in our past because He's definitely not right?

Anonymous said...

Chris, thanks for sharing this today! I love your attitude about not wasting any more emotions on the past that you are leaving behind. It's part of what's brought you here today, but that doesn't mean you can't look back and wish you'd made better choices. However, wasting a wish on what can never be doesn't make sense when you ARE making better (the best) choices for yourself now.

Joania said...

Great job girl!! Nice work on the situps!! Re the fruit...I always try to have fruit as my morn snack in between breakfast and lunch...Great work

Retta said...

Wow, Chris. The letting go part... yeah.

I was working on tomorrows post today cuz I have to scan in a bunch of old photos. I have been seriously thinking about your comment on my blog the other day...letting go of the image of the old me, and embracing the new me.

I realized that when I looked at old photos, I would look to see the weight gains... and skimmed over those few times I was briefly down a bit. So, I am going to use those few "thinner" photos to help me form a new future image.
Thank you for that, Chris. It's very meaningful to me.
Loretta
=^..^=

Annalisa@Gracie'sGarden said...

Kudos to you for ACTUALLY BURNING YOUR OLD "BIG" CLOTHES!!! You are amazing, and I am so jealous! I remember clearly the day I got rid of all my baggy clothes, and it was weird, not planned, it just happened. I realised in a moment "Why am I keeping these? "In case I get fat again"?!?!! SERIOUSLY?!?! WT..." I knew immediately they had to go. I gave mine to charity, which I is, of course, a good thing, but to actually BURN THEM! What a feeling that would have been.

Congrats on the new you - and your water, and sit ups, and exercise, and eating, and - CONGRATS! You are kicking serious booty! Keep it up :)

MrsFatass said...

Wow. I just love you. I do. And not just because you're a fellow Michigander either.

I love your Leo story.

I love (and am a bit jealous of) how solid you are with your exercising.

I love the thought of you burning the clothes. What a great visual.
(And, I love to mix the Fiber One pancake mix with rolled oats, and then throw in applesauce or mashed banana or whatever, cinammon, and vanilla. Those suckers don't even need syrup.)

South Beach Steve said...

Great week Chris! I still haven't gotten rid of my "fat clothes". I don't know why - they are just sitting in my closet. Sounds like I have a project to do. :-)

deisegal said...

I've been getting rid of a lot of clothes lately too - mainly to clear my wardrobe of a lot of clutter but also because it would make putting on weight very awkward. Nothing worse than that "bursting out of your clothes" as you're trying to go about your daily business...well I'm sure there are worse things but you know what I mean.

I definitely favour the fruit side of the fruit and veg thing but I think it's mainly the SUGAR..gaah..quiet Sugar Monster quiet!!

Beth said...

Hi Chris, can't find an email for you so will reply briefly here regarding your comments on my yesterday's post.

I think there is a lot of truth to your comments -- not sure if they apply to me as far as not feeling safe. In fact -- I have often felt a false sense of safety because my subconscious tells me no one would want to attack ME!

Carlos said...

love this post!

Boozy Tooth said...

About the water thing? I'm feeling ya.

Love it in the summer, lothe it in the winter. So I cheat. My secret weapon? Crystal Light.

Anne said...

How many sit ups? You're my hero!

Amazon Runner said...

What an awesome week! AIn't no stopping you! Thanks for the fantabulous posts! You have a way with words!

Anonymous said...

Great work on the goals!

Christine Jeske said...

Wow . . . the last part of this post was B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L. I want to be a phoenix. I need to pull down all my old jeans and have me a bonfire (all the way up to 24, there might even be a 26 leftover from my last pregnancy in there . . . ) You inspire me, Chris. Thanks so much for being on this journey with me. ♥

Hila said...

8/10 is really good :)

If you want some recipes to try I have a food blog you can look at :)

http://addtotaste.blogspot.com

Hanlie said...

I love this post! Well done on a good week, but once again, your insight and your writing just blow me away. I left you an award!

karen@fitnessjourney said...

I tend to read fast and miss things, but I'm wondering if you do much lower body work. I noticed the arm toning and sit-ups, but no specifics on the lower body. When I work with my trainer, he has me combine lower body and upper body exercises to speed things up. (i.e. a squat combined with a bicep curl.) I like anything that can kill two birds with one stone.