R-E-S-P-E-C-T

There was a time when I considered my body as my temple, something to honor, cherish and protect, something to feed with only nutritious, healthy foods.

I'm not sure when my temple became the holding place for cheesecake, Twizzlers and enormous amounts of food, but I so wish I had never let this happen. And I'm also sure that this didn't happen overnight, but gradually, over the years.

Two powerful thoughts there:
1. Our bodies should be our temples.
2. It took time to look the way I do now, so to get them back into shape will take time. There is no overnight fix.

Which brings me to Aretha Franklin, who sang one of my favorite songs, Respect. What a powerful word.

If we all respect our bodies, feed them with foods and vitamins that will make them thrive, we will simply feel better, look terrific, and have more energy. We will be able to be true participants in life, not merely bystanders watching everyone else have fun.

I don't have to listen to the song. Aretha spelling out that one word, R-E-S-P-E-C-T, is now ingrained in my mind. I mentally spell it to myself several times each day, and eventually, it will become part of my DNA.

My body. My temple. It's time I protected it more, and showed it some respect.

Jack LaLanne

When I heard the news that Jack LaLanne died this week at age 96, I took a few minutes to offer a prayer for this amazing man. LaLanne was part of my childhood, the TV fitness guru who my mother exercised with daily -- through the TV of course.

I would exercise right along with my mom, and although I found his commands often daunting, this was a special time for mom and me, just the two of us doing something no one else in the family wanted to join. I had her undivided interest -- almost. After all, she did have to pay attention to the screen as well.

Around this time my mother developed a love for Carlton Fredericks and Adelle Davis, pioneers in the field of nutrition, vitmains and minerals. I have no idea if she got tuned in to these two through LaLanne, but I do know that her knowledge learned through these three people sent her on a course of nutritious eating long before most people ever gave diet and nutrition a second thought.

LaLanne's message was simple and concise: Exercise daily, eat nutritiously, loading up on fresh vegetables and fruits and whole grains, and don't be afraid to challenge yourself. And as I am thinking back on those days, his tagline just popped into my head, one I think we would all be wise to remind ourselves daily: "Exercise is king. Nutrition is queen. Put them together and you've got a kingdom!"

And although LaLanne is now gone from this world, he is back in my life. His legend certainly lives on.

Comments

For some reason, the following comment -- all the way from India -- will not show up as a comment. But I wanted to thank the person who wrote this, and tell you how much your sweet comments meant to me. Here is what s/he wrote:

Can I just say, this blog is what got me through the day today. Every time I read it, I just get more and more excited about what's next. Very refreshing blog and very refreshing ideas. I'm glad that I came across this when I did. I love what you've got to say and the way you say it. The information in this blog is really a appreciated. I would really like to say that the knowledge you have about this is quiet impressive. But the main thing here is the way to present the information, and you have done it very nicely. Great work and love to visit on your blog again and again. Keep posting nice information.

How many times can I say thank you! This comment made my day -- actually made my year.

When people ask me why I write I blog, I tell them it's to keep me honest, to keep me on track, and to hopefully make me stick to a diet. I write it for me, but when I get comments, I realize that I am also hitting a nerve with others, that we really are not alone, and that so many of us -- all over the world -- have issues with diet, weight, exercise, self-image, motivation -- I can go on and on.

None of us is in this alone. Some of the most gorgeous people on Earth feel insecure, as evidence by Portia De Rossi's new book, "Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain." I caught her appearance on Oprah, and cried right along with her, as she told her story of anorexia.

And then I thought back to this lovely comment I received -- and so many other comments from so many people over the past 18 months -- and decided that I am one of the luckiest people alive. What I started as a blog just for me, has put me in contact with so many people this past year I never would have met. And may we all win our struggle -- whatever it is.

Another Monday

This is the second Monday in a row that I woke up happy. I made it through another weekend sticking to the Weight Watchers Plan and eating within my PointsPlus.

It's actually becoming a game, and each day when I successfully stay on Plan, I tell myself I am a winner. Positive reinforcement, and it's working.

Each Monday, I take a look at the week ahead, and decide which days I will face the most challenges. This week it's Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, and Sunday breakfast and lunch. Thursday will be a restaurant meal; Friday, our book club -- which includes dinner -- and then this weekend, when we will have a house full of relatives.

Here's my plan:
During the day Thursday through Sunday, I will eat lightly, filling myself with fruits, vegetables and some protein to keep me sated.
Thursday night: I have already looked at the restaurant menu and know what I will be eating. And although I will act as if I am listening to the server relate that night's specials, I really will not be listening. If I stray that night, I know that could open me up for failure the rest of the weekend. The old: "I blew it. Might as well have fun this weekend."

And guess what that could do: Make me gain back all the pounds I lost the last two weeks. SO NO WORTH IT.

Friday night: I will use portion control. I will also avoid any hors d'oeuvres, unless they are veggie sticks. And no wine.

The weekend is really in my control. I can cook Weight Watcher's meals, and again exercise portion control.

It's a plan. But next Monday, if I wake with a smile on my face, it will so be worth the effort.

The fruit thing

I went back to the sleep clinic last week, and of course was told that if I lost weight, my sleep apnea would improve. I explained that I had joined Weight Watchers, and instead of approval, the doctor told me that he disagrees with the new plan because eating as much fruit as you want is not a good thing. He added that a sugar is a sugar is a sugar, and that our body processes sugar the same way.

I couldn't disagree more. I'm not getting into the science thing here, but does he know anything about fiber and how that contributes to how your body processes food? My main disagreement is all about food.

I've admitted that I can -- and often do -- eat uncontrollably. One of my favorite things to binge on is a 16-oz. package of Twizzlers. I just did the PointsPlus conversion, and each Twizzler stick is 1 PP. I eat the whole package, which I am assuming probably has around 20 strips. That's 20 PPs, almost the total number of PPs I am allowed per day.

Is there any way I would sit down and eat 20 bananas? Or 20 apples? How about 20 grapefruits? Not a chance. I would be too full. (Plus, I would be spending hours in the bathroom!)

Some days, those 20 Twizzlers are my appetizer. You don't even want to know what I can eat as my main course and dessert!

I am not trying to be funny here, but if any doctors are reading this post, please consider what you say to patients. When the doctor said that to me, I blew it off because I am determined to make this WW plan work this time. If I was on the fence, it would have sent me to Border's, searching for the latest diet book du jour, which would eventually lead to another failure.

I am not saying that WW is for everyone. But if you follow it, it is a healthy plan that can become a way of life. It fits into my new mantra: Eat right. Exercise daily. Repeat.

Wa-hoo!

I lost 6.4 pounds last week. A record for me. I know this is not something I will duplicate next week at Weight Watchers, but right now, I couldn't be happier.

I am also amazed. Not once last week did I think: "Poor me. I hate dieting."

Instead, I was trying new recipes every night, eating better than I have in a long time, and filling my plate with proteins and veggies -- light on the carbs. When I was hungry, I reached for a piece of fruit and I was satisfied.

And why did I reach for that piece of fruit: Because fruit counts for nothing on the new WW plan. Nadda. Zero.

And the best part of the fruit thing: I was making a choice that thin people make all the time. It was freeing.

I've been doing a lot of thinking this past week about my new-found sense of calm, trying to figure out why this is all happening now. I have many thoughts, but I can sum them all up in one word: normal.

I feel normal. I am comfortable eating this way and I am comfortable exercising the way I do. I like this feeling. And I pray morning and night that it will continue. I don't want to return to my old ways.

Whatever it takes

A simple piece of paper has changed my life.

The sheet of paper is a contract with my friend Ann. We have been walking every Saturday and Sunday for years, and although we have been diligent about making our walks, our schedules have often caused either one of us cancel. And if I wasn’t walking with Ann, chances are I wouldn’t be walking.

Not anymore: We have a year contract that states we will each walk at least five days a week, for at least 30 minutes a day. We are also giving up one treat one day each week -- for Ann, that's chocolate; for me, sugar, both natural and artificial. And every day, we have to check in with each other to say what we did for exercise. It's all about accountability -- both with each other -- but just as important, with ourselves.

We also left space for a reward at year's end: In my case, it will be a trip to Kripalu in Massachusetts, for a weekend of yoga and meditation. Ann loves pins, and she's already begun to shop for the one that will be her reward.

I admit that signing a contract with a friend might seem a bit weird, but both of us, typical Type A personalities and a tad competitive, have both somehow managed to find at least 30 minutes each day to exercise since we signed and dated our contracts.

For me, that means getting up really early in the morning. In the past, I would always set my alarm, but that can be reset in seconds and I was back in dreamland. Not anymore. If I'm not walking with Ann, then it's with Leslie Sansone's Walk Away the Pounds.

And on the days I take a yoga class -- which is now four -- I still manage to fit in a walk, although the yoga would more than cover the 30-minute requirement. Why? I'm beginning to really love the way exercising early in the day makes me feel. I have more energy, I handle stress so much better, and I am sleeping better at night.

Our contract states we have to exercise five days a week, but unless I am sick, I plan on getting in as much exercise as is possible daily. For the first time in years -- maybe even decades -- I can honestly say I am in control. In the past, I would either go on a diet and not exercise, or exercise and then eat more than my fill of food. The past few weeks, the stars have been in perfect alignment for me.

This is working for me. And to really lose weight AND keep it off, you have to find the road that works for you.

In my case, competition really is a good thing.

Excuses, excuses

Has it really been three weeks since I posted? I could blame it on the computer virus that attacked my hard drive and left me without a computer for two weeks. Or that I had gotten out of the habit of posting each day, and did not make the time to post.

But those, like everything, are just excuses. There is no good reason why I have been ignoring my blog. And this morning, while I was doing my three-mile Walk Away the Pounds with Leslie Sansone and her posse, I decided I had to post, because I heard something last night that is too good not to pass on.

But first, I want to share some exciting news: I have actually been a very good diet girl since last I posted. I went back to Weight Watchers, have taken two yoga classes a week at Yoga4Everybody in Fairfield, and start my Saturdays at 7 a.m. at Penfield Beach doing Qi Gong and Tai Chi. And I walk at least 45 minutes a day.

But what I really wanted to share is something my Weight Watchers' leader Karen told us last night. The topic was uncontrollable eating -- when you cannot stuff enough food in your mouth in a certain period of time. Been there, hope to never do that again. But Karen said if you ever feel an attack coming on -- or if you ever find yourself reaching for something better left on the plate -- STOP, DROP and STROLL.

• STOP what you are doing
  
• DROP the food and
  
• STROLL away!!!!!!!!
  

Thank you Karen for your wise words -- and for giving me something short to write about today. Until tomorrow....