Our Deepest Fear

I was watching the movie "Coach Carter" last night.  It's a very good movie about how a coach turns around the lives of young men on a high school basketball team.  There is a scene in the movie that touched me, greatly.   It a recitation of a poem by Marianne Williamson.   Although the movie clip I'm going to share with you deviates slightly from the poem, the meaning is still the same. 

(I actually like the movie version of the poem better).

Our Deepest Fear - Clip from Coach Carter

OUR DEEPEST FEAR  by Marianne Williamson                    

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us.
It is not just in some; it is in everyone.

And, as we let our own light shine, we consciously give
other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.

Dang Scale

I hate that little piece of iron.   One day it's good to me and all is right with the world.  The next day it's mean to me and the world is a cruel place.  

I know I shouldn't place so much importance on the numbers that greet me every morning.  But I do.  I have worked hard to get where I'm at and I swear by all things holy that I will NOT go back to the weight I logged 16 years ago.  Never.  Ever!

So while I battle this middle-aged spread thing that I have going on right now...real or perceived...I try to remember ALL of the nutrition advice I've received throughout the years from nutritionists and trainers. 

Start my day with breakfast which includes a protein, carb and a fruit
Eat fruits before noon (gives body time to process the natural sugars)
Don't eat any carbs after 5pm. (gives body time to process carbs in to sugars)
Focus on protein
Quit drinking pop - even diet (too much sodium)
Drink water and lots of it
To lose 1lb of fat in one week, I need to cut 3,500 calories out of my diet
One lb of muscle burns an extra 50 calories per day - resting.  *Takeaway - Lift weights!*
Stay away from processed  carbs - white sugar, white flour.

Pretty sure there is more but these are the ones that stand out in my head. 

The numbers on the scale don't define who I am...I just know that I feel much MUCH better when I'm seeing lighter numbers on the scale.  Clothes fit better, I'm not as tired and I feel more motivated to make the daily changes I need to make when I see progress.

So, I pack my lunch every day and stay away from fast food.  I treat myself but hit the gym as soon as possible to work off those extra calories.   

I know I'm not alone in my battle.   There is comfort in knowing my misery is shared with others.   So may we support each other in our weight loss vision quest and defeat the scale!

Puppys

I took an ICAP dog out of the facility today and had him with me at my desk.   Sort of.   Elliott is this cute golden lab with a whole lot of attitude and personality.   It was his first time out of the prison other than for visits with the vet.

He is in the training phase and needs to be able to have exposure to all kinds of stimulus.  As soon as he hit the main gate, he had exposure.  Oh my gosh!  It's a wonder that I have an arm left.   I do not know if it was a combination of coming out of the facility, me being female or the fact that I didn't enforce the commands sternly enough.  Whatever it was, Elliott wasn't the stellar dog that I felt he should've been.  

He wouldn't sit or stay when commanded.   I had to repeat a command more than once...and in training, that isn't good.  It means the dog isn't focused on me, the handler.

I've had four dogs out now and I haven't had any problems with any of them until today.   I didn't give him very good marks on his "outing report card."   But I also stated that I felt it was a combination of things that made him hyper.

I'm not easily defeated.  I will take Elliott out again, and I will make sure that he gets a better score.