Dear Me

Sometimes when I’m giving advice to people I encourage them to write a
letter. The letter is written to someone with the intention of them
ever reading it. This type of letter helps get hard to say things out
on the table. It may sound strange to write a letter then rip it up,
but the idea of getting things off your chest is almost empowering.

Although most of these letters are secret, I am choosing to share one
with you I wrote to myself. It’s raw, real, and has multiple grammar
mistakes but is a pure window into my soul. The worst thing I could do
is close the world off to the victories and letdowns that comes with
changing everything about me.

Dear Serene,

 Remember the day you bought the biggest pair of pants at Sacks to be
funny and when you took them home they fit? Remember the time you laid
in bed frustrated with selfish people who couldn’t control destructive
habits then got slapped in the face because you are one of them? I
would go on and on about the multiple times you realized life needed
to change drastically but most are too painful to discuss. What is
important about each of these memories is that you never forget them.
Although some were hilarious, never forget the shocking truth each of
these memories surface about your struggle with obesity.

This morning when you were looking in the mirror, I saw you checking
yourself out! It was pretty hilarious watching you try to sneak the
always dreaded MySpace mirror shot, but you were on to something! You
are starting to look different, slimmer for sure and no more neck
garble for Celeste to grab. Victory!  You are a woman, not a chicken,
so I’m sure it feels good to be missing your wattle. The rest of the
world is ready for you to get new clothes because the half on/half off
look doesn’t do much for you. We can work on that and maybe stay away
from the fishing pants? Just an idea.

Sadly enough Serene, this battle you are fighting is far from over. I
realize you are tired, and you may think it’s worth giving up now but
it’s not! Your body does not hate you although most days it may feel
like it! Remember you were created differently. When life is dished out, we are never given more than we can handle. Your hip and your faulty DNA are not road blocks. They are part of you! The best part about you is you. Just because the way you look is changing don't let that mess with who you are on the inside. Well except the bad attitude, we can all do without that.

Are you proud of yourself? You should be! Today you lost almost 30 pounds in 30 day, and 30.5 inches. No one did that for you, you did it all. Yes, people came along side of you and sometimes even shoved and pulled you along, but you did it! This is the first time in your entire life where you are putting yourself first. I know it has taken you a while to embrace that but realize the importance of that. People matter a lot, but if you are not all you can be you are robbing everyone of your full potential. You are not your own. 

Love yourself enough to press on. The journey is far from over, but every day is a new day. And one less day till you reach your goal right? When the journey get lonely know the race has been won. Keep the attitude of gratitude. Keep your chin high, your shoes tied, and for the love of mankind take a shower!

One Less Day

Cool Runnings

There are not many movies that stick out to me from my childhood. I wasn’t into the typical fairy tale stories or madly in love with a certain princess. This may or may not surprise you, but I liked movies about sports. Mighty Ducks, Angels in the Outfield, and my very favorite was Cool Runnings!

I am no film critique, but I would argue that Cool Runnings is one of the most inspirational movies ever made. Four very different men join together to form the Jamaican bobsled team. To raise money for such a challenge, they did all types of fundraising. One teammate even sang a song, “Nuff people say, I know you can’t believe, Jamaica we have a bobsled team”. These men not only were challenged because of the lack of snow but were challenged because they only had three months to make it to the Olympics.

Although I’m not racing for a gold medal, I have been having some pretty major doubts about my upcoming races. I run my first 5K on July 30th in Billings, and it will be through mud pits and fire hoses. The next weekend I run my first official race here in Bozeman. I have been doing my best to train by running, but I just don’t seem to feel like I am enough. It is still easy for me to demotivate myself, and I’m starting to feel the pain of trying to run every day. The Jamaican bobsled team needed a country of support and to believe in themselves. I have the country of support; I just need to break the barrier and start to believe in myself.

When the coach of the Jamacian bobsled team was talking to the most important team member about what it means to win an Olympic gold medal he said, “Derice, a gold medal is a wonderful thing. But if you're not enough without it, you'll never be enough with it”. Derice responds, “Hey coach, how will I know if I'm enough?”. That is when the coach says, “When you cross that finish line, you'll know”. I cannot wait to cross that finish line in less than a week and know that all I have been working towards was enough. That I am enough to motivate myself to be the best me I can be.

Feel the rhythm! Feel the rhyme! Get on up, its 5k time!

One Less Day

Workouts with Serene

Serene lets us into her "workout world", which involves everything from spinning, to water, to ropes. Keep it up lady! -Christine

Photos along the way

Wun More Time

For the longest time there were only two things that could get me to run; the cops and any “all you can eat” buffets. And, when I did run, it was more of a waddle than anything. So, running doesn’t really have a place on my most favorite things list. At the beginning of summer, I committed to participating in the Bozeman Classic 5K RUN. As a result, I recently have tried to start running but find myself out on a “wun”. In the dictionary of Serenisms, a “wun” would be described as an activity where I manage to shuffle my feet to look like a slow motion run, followed by walking at equal or greater speed. Training for a 5K sounds a little silly, especially when most people could just wake up and run 3.1 miles. I have been running 3 miles every day, and for some reason, it is not getting any easier! 

 

Well actually, I have only wun three times and will continue to wun every day until August 6th. This week I am running 2 minutes and walking 1 minute, and next week Lana wants me to start doing 5 minute runs with a 1 minute walk. If you see me lying in the middle of the road, please feel free to run me over. I can assume that some of you enjoy the sport called running, so I was wondering if maybe you have any tips for a beginner runner like me?

One Less Day

Resist The Vortex

Warning: This blog may upset a few of you!

This past week was my first week back to Boot Camp since being away for two weeks. I would have to argue that it was two of the most difficult days of my working out history. On Friday of this past week, I started to break down. I had forgotten to eat before working out (which happens far too much), and I started to feel my body shutting down. It was hot, I was tired, and my energy level was running on fumes. Not only was I feeling beat up on the inside, I started to get sucked into the vortex.

Webster defines a Vortex as “a mass of whirling fluid or air”. Let me explain this invisible vortex that exists around the concept of exercise. At the center of the vortex are the individuals that have never come to grips with the reality that the reason for their weight problem is them self. They have spent so long convincing themselves that it is everyone else’s fault, they have started to believe it. For the vortex to start to take shape, there must be other people that
don’t really want to be working out either. It is fascinating how quickly different people get pulled into the invisible life-sucking vortex.

When I become a victim of the vortex, my attitude is flat, and my motivation for a better me is non-existent. Toward the end of my workout on Friday, I realized that I had to physically move away from the whirling air filled with lots of “I can’t”, and “Fat people don’t do that” comments. What a shame it is that even when I am so desperate to lose weight, I allow people with such insecurities to drag me down with them.

Have you ever fallen victim of the vortex? Have you found yourself at the center creating a vortex? Do me a favor; please leave your attitude and pity party in the car. At this stage in my journey, the vortex pull is too strong. Take ownership, and rise up! It's time we start to make the appropriate changes and claim responsibility for our own actions.

One Less Day

Summertime Grubbin'

Summertime. This word is so precious in the vocabulary of a Montana girl. It feels like when it's finally here, I am unsure of what to do. It's like the dream that finally comes true, yet you have no idea how to deal with it. Summertime memories are some of my finest. I love riding my bike, staying up way too late, and swimming. Do you know what the other great part about summer is? Food. After a long hot day, all I think I want is ice cream. Have I have discussed with you my passion for ice cream? On my food diagram it has it's own section of the triangle. In fact, it may even have it's own triangle with mint cookies and cream being the largest section.

In the past two weeks, my ice cream triangle has been starving to death! It's a good thing but very painful. The first week I spent at Young Life camp in the middle of the Oregon desert. Not only is camp the most amazing week of my summer, but it is also full of prime ice cream eating moments. Pool side in 80 degree weather would give anyone the desire for a cool creamy dessert. Less than 48 hours after getting off the bus from camp, I jumped on a plane and was off to the foreign lands of Wisconsin. At the conference center feeding trough or dinning hall...whatever you call it, there were six different tubs of ice cream at both lunch and dinner. Again, as I sat on the dock fishing or after getting off the boat, all I wanted was a bowl of ice cream.

What you should realize with me is that although I left Bozeman for a
two week vacation, I was still running my marathon of weight loss. I recently celebrated two moths of sobriety. I have not had anything

sweet in 60 days, except a small amount on my birthday. I'm pretty
proud of myself. This summer, even when I'm out of town, I am still committed to exercising and eating right.

I am planning on running my first 5k race! The Sweat Pea Run will be
on the first Saturday in August. I would love to have you join me! I
have been trying to run more just so I can prepare for the event, and
I want you to run with me. Please consider joining me in my first race

and hopefully not my last!

Steer clear from the ice cream, and sign up to run with me!

One Less Day