Jack Lalanne

Special remembrance at the passing of Jack Lalanne:

Not sorrow- he was fit and active until 96 years old-
we can only hope for so much.

Just such great memories, for those of us who remember, he was the fitness guru of our times and he did more Jumping Jacks than Jillian!

The very first exercise show I ever saw...although so many only remember his later years selling juicers...either way he represented good health.

My impression of him was one of joy and enthusiasm in being fit and he passed it on to anyone who would listen.

Thank you Jack- for your life of inspiration.

I love the new Special K promotion! What a great question:

What will you gain when you lose?

The initial answer for me is being healthier and more active. But I love the answers Special K puts out
there:

Sass, Moxie ,Shine, drive, oomph, sparkle, confidence, spirit, momentum, resolve, glee, excitement,
pizzazz, guts, zing…

Totally awesome language! It is great to think about all you can gain.

Think about all the words that can inspire when you lose…I remember how hard it was when I was trying to lose weight, no one noticed those first pounds, I had to rely on me to find the incentive to keep on going. Finally after 35 pounds people noticed…how difficult…I wish I had written all the words I could on a large sheet of paper and stuck it in my face. The truth is, it is all up to ourselves to inspire ourselves.

So, my new answer is that I am writing a list of words to inspire me- cause I still need it!

Healthy, awesome, inspiring, svelte, confident , sassy (I love Sassy), & sexty ( a combo of 60 and sexy)

Beach Body

The scene:

I am feeling so good about my weight loss as I relax on the beach front resort of our hotel in Pompano Beach , Florida. As a side story- this was an older resort , fabulous location, Tiki bar, pool, beach, on it’s way out ,soon to be purchased to build mega condos- we were so lucky to find a super deal price and enjoy a fab week)

Wearing my new black tank top and skirted bottom I was feeling great until…

A really beautiful woman and her man strode onto the beach. She laughed and flirted wearing a bikini and a cowboy hat. She and her man who was totally awed by her played and frolicked and laughed in the water.

She was beautiful. Her body was beautiful

Yes, she was fifty pounds overweight but it did not show in her love of life.

She was confidence

She was attitude

She was what I was missing.
She was my cowgirl.

And so , I went shopping and I bought my very first bikini!!!

Yes I wore it in Florida…it felt fabulous…and no, never in New England, but that’s another hurdle.

But my my cowgirl taught me so much. Whenever I am feeling low, I think of her and remember the attitude. What a fabulous way to experience life!  

The road to 60!

At 59 I felt total panic about turning 60 in 3 months

My husband suggested parachuting…yeah this woman is not jumping out of a plane.

My son Tom suggested competing in a triathlon….and so the training began…after 3 weeks I began to think that jumping out of plane would be a whole lot easier. In between work, a travel vacation, and life in general, I began training for a Title 9 tri.
One quarter mile swim, 10 mile bike and 5K run.

I was able to swim during vacation, but for the balance of the training, I worked the rowing machine at the gym.

My son bought me Bike shorts for may birthday and arranged a bike rental so that he and my daughter in law Lorin could ride with me on a training ride.

With four weeks to go after all the help, I ran and rowed and biked …

Welcome!

Hi, my name is Jude.
I started this blog in hopes of starting lots of conversations about health, weight loss and weight gain, self esteem , and the power of sharing.

In 2005, I joined weight Watchers and lost 10 lbs - seven times.

If anyone had told me I would lose 70 lbs I would have laughed in their face. I had only planned on losing 10. It took me 16 months. I also became a weight Watcher Leader, working with a truly dedicated group of women. All leaders must have lost weight thru weight watchers- to live it and share it. I have learned from them but I have learned more thru the inspirational members in my meetings. And we share- I have gained up to 10 lbs and struggled to lose it, weighing in for my group.

Weight watchers is not the only successful diet, but it works for me and it makes sense.

This is not a weightwatchers site- it is just me sharing my feelings and looking forward to hearing from you because sharing feelings is one reason it works.

Finding out I was not alone, that others have had some of the same emotions…

My truth began when I had lost some weight but not a lot. I shared the loss with a thin friend who was visiting my husband and me. She was interested in sharing the info with her sister who had gained weight. In the conversation she asked why I had gained the weight. As I paused to think about a question that had never been asked of me, my husband answered for me, “She always used to eat the leftovers after dinner when she was cleaning the kitchen.” Several things happened at that moment. I was so embarrassed that he had seen me eating the leftovers. I thought I had been so careful. I felt horrible, I wanted to crawl under the covers and cry. But I also recognized wow I did do that and once it was said out loud, I needed to face the truth and stop sneaking food.

So that is one truth- I have many more to share.

I welcome your questions and comments. Feel free to email me.