I had quite an eventful week after chatting with you last.
It started in Tampa, Florida, where I attended a business conference. It’s also where I successfully fit into THE summer business suit. Yes, that very suit. You all know what I’m talking about. Aside from the fact that THE suit I’m referring to has been the catalyst for this entire series of posts (regarding my urgent quest to shed 11 pounds), it’s also a part of your lives too. You either own one, or you have something similar hanging in your closet. It’s that one item that doesn’t look or feel as good as it use to, and yet you continue to store it in your closet. Why? Because of the promise of “some day.”
Some day. We all know that nifty little “catch all” too well, don’t we? How many times do you plan to do something, or simply envision life a certain way in the future, and yet some how, “some day” eludes even the best of planners?
When I put MY summer suit on the first time, “some day” was no longer an option. THE summer suit precipitated a somewhat frenzied, yet long overdue reversion back to healthy eating habits, with the full intention of not only fitting into, but looking HOT in said suit. And guess what? I fit into my suit. It looked great, and I felt great wearing it. The shoes – not so much. But as they say, “Fashion before comfort, baby.”
Welcome to part #263,000,432 of my series on, well, me. And if I’ve actually fooled you into thinking that, my work here is done. HA! You’ve actually entered a place for people to read the stuff of an every-day life enjoyed to the fullest – shaken, not stirred. And with a twist. It’s a place people come to read each week, because they laugh and they identify, and because we are all a little insane at times. But seriously, I am actually in the midst of a self-imposed weight loss challenge. I will fill you in on my progress eventually. So keep reading. It’s very good, I promise (my weight-loss result, of course).
After writing last week’s blog post I hopped a plane in Tampa and headed to Los Angeles, California. I am buying a condo in LA, and over this past weekend I hunted like an Amazon for the best deal, in the best neighborhoods. It was also the day I received a call, with subsequent text messages from a sister I rarely hear from. I was changing planes, and missed the calls and texts, but my heart leaped into my throat when I saw who it was. My worst fears entered my mind. I called my sister immediately to discover that our mom had suffered a stroke.
It turns out that my mom, although 83, is doing okay. She’s a fighter, I tell ya’. But it was a scary and uncertain couple of days, which when pondered, brought to mind all the most important parts of our lives. Forgive me if I wax sentimental here for a bit. I know. For me, this is a stretch. I found myself remembering my mom as my “mommy” who I loved so much as a kid – and of course, I still do today. I really, really loved my mom though. She was my very first best friend. I called her ad nauseam at work every day after school. Sometimes I would hear the receptionist say laughingly, before she actually put the phone on hold, “It’s Lisa again!” But I didn’t care. I needed to tell my mom what I thought about my walk home from school that day, and how funny something struck me on television, or how Billy Norton ate a grasshopper on the play ground, and “ewe” how gross was that, and whether I hated my homework assignment for the day. She always listened and laughed and tried to accommodate my need for her over the phone, no matter how busy she was.
I realize now, without a doubt, that I never lost that best friend status with my mom, and even as she approaches the end of her time here on earth – and no one knows when that will be – she could be with us for many more years to come – I will always revere her and think of her as one of my very best of friends, as well as my mother, my nurturer and my very own special mommy. She has no idea of the grand and beautiful legacy she has built over her lifetime, and I am a proud and very lucky part of that.
My mom was the consummate “hot mom.” We grew up with incredible images of our mom as a youth – photos proudly displayed around our parents’ business and our home by our dad – of her in her late teens and early twenties, when she looked more beautiful than Rita Hayworth. We knew that our mom was glamorous, beautiful, talented and incredibly intelligent. What a role model, eh?
She was (and is) also very funny. While we were growing up, she regularly did things (without meaning to) that cracked each and every one of us kids up. We had so much fun around our house, we were taught that life was to be enjoyed. And my mom is responsible for that. She showed us all how to have fun or to look on the bright side, no matter what the circumstances. She modeled it for us as well.
Thinking about my mom like that truly reminds me of being a kid.
It makes me remember simple things like wanting to learn to jump rope. My mom took me out to buy one, because she understood. I remember working so hard at it so I could jump in with the other girls on the playground at school as they jumped to all the different chants and rhymes, like this one:
Down, down baby, down by the rollercoaster,
Sweet, sweet baby, I’ll never let you go,
Shimmy shimmy cocoa pop, shimmy shimmy rock,
I met a girlfriend, a triscuit, she said a triscuit, a biscuit,
Ice cream, soda pop, vanilla on the top,
Ooh Chelley, walking down the street, ten times a week,
I said it, I meant it, I stole my mamma’s credit,
I’m cool, I’m hot, sock me in the stomach or forget it.
Remember those types of meaningless games we’d play over and over again? Okay, maybe it was (or is) just me. But I have to admit, it was a carefree time, in the biggest, truest sense of the word.
And now, I find myself at a loss for funny words to describe my challenges of weight loss this week. How does one mitigate the seriousness of life, with its very trivialities? I guess that staying fit and lean, for me is not trivial. It’s a matter of life or death, and the ability to enjoy that life that is so precious!
This week for me was all about survival, I suppose. Not in a sad sense, but I just found it challenging to stay awake! I was exhausted the entire trip! But I did have some fun in LA, like seeing The Color Purple (INCREDIBLE), and going to the Clipper’s game (thanks, Bill!).
I suffered the usual missteps, like being served regular coffee instead of decaf (BAD thing to do to me), and feeling so shaky and almost hypoglycemic at an airport that I ate an entire large slice of pizza, only to arrive home and eat a giant cinnamon role at Zele Cafe – not to mention eating the remainder of a Cadbury Dairy Milk bar found in freezer when I returned home! Now that’s WILL POWER my friend!
I can, however, leave you with this: I stuck with it. I could have hung it up, especially after that big pizza, pastry and chocolate day, and allowed myself a few more days lacking self control, but I didn’t. I had to make the conscious choice NOT to. It was also difficult staying on track in strange cities, at hotels and in airports. I did what I had to do. I went to the local grocer and bought organic baby carrots, I brought my favorite bite-sized chocolates with me, and I was a complete nuisance to waiters at restaurants (okay – that last one is always true – but I just love making up my own healthy menu item – without butter or oil, please).
I even blamed my hardcore antics on you guys! It was a real convenience, so thanks! Ha ha. I only used it as a last resort, but I said something like, “Nope. Can’t have it. I’m on this weight loss challenge with my blog, and I have to report my progress every week. Sorry!” I know, it’s bad, but hey, whatever works!
My results for this week:
Start Date: Thursday January 31, 2007
Height: 5′ 5″
Goal: 125 lbs
Beginning weight: 136 lbs
Weight after week 1: 132.5 lbs (02.07.08)
Weight after week 2: 130 lbs (02.14.08)
Weight after week 3: 130 lbs (02.21.08)
Weight after week 4: unknown – no scale! yippee! (02.28.08)
Weight after week 5: 128 lbs (03.06.08)
Net Loss / Gain this week: – 2.0 YEAH BABY!
TOTAL Net Loss: 8 lbs WOO HOO!
It just goes to show that persistence pays off. If you’ve set a goal that seems difficult to achieve, don’t give up. Keep your focus and stay determined. You’ll get there.
So many of you wrote me emails over the last two weeks asking what I am doing to lose the pounds, exactly. Don’t forget that the first week of my diet is posted on my website for all to see. Check it out.
Have you instigated your own “challenge” lately? Are you trying to achieve a goal in an area of your life? Hit reply to post and talk about it! Be comfortable in your own skin, and have a wonderful week!
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Blog content copyright 2008, LISA JEY DAVIS a.k.a. Ms. Cheevious