My 3 R's for Healthy Living, in my 64th Year of Life,
Pledge to Myself and the Man I Love.
Research, Responsibility & Respect.

Maintain my RESEARCH so I have the knowledge of calories, amount and type of fat, refined sugars, chemical additives & portion control in what I am eating.
Know I can still be active despite most injuries or illness and the right form of exercise is good therapy and protective of lifestyle disease. Get and follow, expert advice to maintain and build on our aim to be "Strong Seniors".

I take RESPONSIBILITY for having the right attitude, commitment and RESPONSIBILITY for what goes in our mouths and for ensuring I form healthy habits, get 7 hours sleep each night and do three strength training sessions, three cardio work out sessions and one flexibility training session each week, including stretches in these work outs.  I will ensure I break my sedentary creative work with at least three active sessions each day. I accept the RESPONSIBILITY   of helping Reg stay interested in life so he does not want to sleep too much and enjoys staying active and alert. I understand that being RESPONSIBLE for our health has nothing to do with being motivated, having everything in life ideal or perfect, I Need to maintain a RESPONSIBILITY to care for ourselves, at all times, not just when it is easy or convenient to do so.

& finally I will  RESPECT myself so I can be the best I can be.
I see RESPECT as covering the physical-exercise/nutrition and my emotional/creative needs. Out of respect for my creative needs I am setting a minimum creativity target to achieve 6 days a week.  My creativity can be in any form I choose, eg; painting, gardening, cooking, home decor, sewing, and currently with a commitment to write novels I have set an initial 1,500 creative word count target per day.
I pledge to show the person I love and care for, more  RESPECT. I understand my taking the carer role places him at an emotional disadvantage, I know how I would hate to not feel my ideas are respected, I need to show more respect to others.

I pledge that I will Research for the knowledge, help and strength I need to do these things, take responsibility to follow through and show respect to myself and my man, by doing what I have pledged to do, in this wonderful,  64th year of my life.

Kathy Shell

Happy 42nd wedding anniversary darling :-). Reg went fishing, early today but only fed the fish bait, he got a few nibbles.  The fishing rod I bought him a week ago today, for his wedding aniversary present from me, has been a fantastic success.

There were personalized baseball bats in the store where I bought Reg his fishing rod one week ago and this got me thinking about all those personalized engraved trophies that have been through our home and how successfully we managed to downsize even these personal, mementos, so we could lead a freer lifestyle of travel with fewer posessions. 

My downsizing journey was not only of my excess body weight, it also involved the sale of a gallery, a home, and the sale, giveaway and donation to charity a lifetime of hording of mementos. It was one huge elephant size job; I took on ` 'one bite at a time'.

We had many personalized engraved sporting trophies and gradually we parted firstly with Reg’s football trophies as our daughters as children wanted them and got them to play with.  Then the bowling trophies went as we moved to another home and last of all the golf trophies we gave to other golfers and I ‘awarded’, my own art trophies to my art students when I left my last home.

So no sporting or creative trophies, to show for our life, but wonderful opportunities, for living today.

Oh Reg is getting his fishing trophies, lol, he has caught 10 whiting in one week and we have had four, fresh caught fish mealsJ. Now that is the gray nomad’s idea of a trophy.



 

"And so our mothers and grandmothers have, more often than not anonymously, handed on the creative spark, the seed of the flower they themselves never hoped to see -- or like a sealed letter they could not plainly read." -Alice Walker.

I have become sentimental today. Warning, do not read on if you’re not prepared for a tearjerker, because I am crying, but they are happy tears of emotion, it’s not sadness I feel.

I know the Mother’s Day  Classic, is to raise funds, for breast cancer research and it is usual to dedicate your run to someone you know who has had breast cancer, but I am dedicating my private run, on Mother’s Day, to my mum who died at age 62, in 1972, following a ten year battle, with heart disease and emphysema.

So while running around the oval during two separate 500 meter runs yesterday I was thinking , ‘I hope you can see this mum and be happy’, and I was also thinking, ‘I wish mum had good guidance and been able to start a health recovery program before it was too late for her, she died far too young’.

When I was at my rock bottom, three and a bit years ago I did the only thing I had the control to do.  I decided I would lose weight and knowing every attempt I had made before from trying the best diet pill through to weight watchers had only resulted in some initial weight loss then months even years of plateau weight stall. So I made the best decision of my life, not to diet at all.   I have always eaten healthy, occasionally, I indulged in non-nutritious food and often I ate more food than my body was burning for fuel.  Arguments about poor metabolism and 'oh I can’t help it its in my genes' or my 'Syndrome X or whatever' are just excuses I told myself, I was frankly eating too much too often and not exercising enough. 
I changed my lifestyle to being consistent in self care.

I did not begin with running, a hundred meter walk had me puffing and in pain, I just made a start. That's all we have to do, 'take on to day', at the best we can do. We can 'do today'.

Today, three years and three months later, I just ran 4 kilometres in 32 minutes maintaining a consistent 8 kilometres an hour and I dedicate my run and my newfound, fitness to you, mum, with all my love. I see you now, much as you looked when you left me, only it’s the healthy happier version. Every time I look in a mirror now, I see you smiling back at me. Yes, we had a troubled relationship, there were times I hated you and in all honesty, I was a monster of a defiant child. 

I have learned that mums are not perfect and we all do the best we can with the skills and the circumstances we find ourselves in, even I made mistakes as a mum but I know I did the best I could and this helps me to understand that you also did the best you were capable of. You always told me that your idea of heaven or hell was that you thought that souls might be aware of what people thought about them after they had left their human body form and other than that, you had no idea what there was beyond human life on earth.  I think that was  a very insightful observation and I don’t  know that anyone has a better explanation of heaven and hell than that, so mum, I hope you are in heaven today, feeling joy  and a happiness seeing how fit and happy your youngest daughter is.

“I talk about you with pride these days and I now treasure that my childhood was so unusual, you helped me develop skills I have needed in my life, there is a purpose for everything after all.  I love you mum, Happy Mother’s Day, Mum”

 

Good morning J.

We had a safe and enjoyable drive home from the Grampians yesterday but found all my motivation to exercise, last night,  once I arrived here, had vanished, my head felt like I was still driving so I relaxed with my feet up, watched a little TV and I blogged. I was very grateful for the allowed, on the 12wbt program, on day a week off from planned exercise. Once again due to travel arrangements I made that day the Saturday and had my ‘smash it up’ days during the week.

Yesterday, I did some incidental exercise, walking around in the Grampians Gardens National Park boundary. I packed the caravan in the morning, before the drive to northern Victoria., I also did half an hours walking and carrying the dog, exercise in Bendigo. So I did manage two mini exercise sessions, I have just come to expect a lot more from myself these days and see that , hardly counts, as what I need to do to achieve my goals. ~ I want more; ~ I am prepared to give more.

Today I actually have the pleasurable task of trying to work out what clothes to pack with me for a five-month Australian tour that we will probably leave for in two weeks time. These clothes need to take me downward, through at least one clothing size and travelling in a caravan I do not want to carry excess baggage.  Next year the tor goal will have to be, be in my goal size before I leave and leave the excess clothing at home.

Now how many calories will I burn trying on a wardrobe full of clothing lol ? J? Best get started, after the five weeks away on tour, I have returned home almost a clothing size smaller so already I have some clothes that will need to be set aside to be taken in.  I find doing a wardrobe sort after a bit of weight loss, very therapeutic and motivational.

Here are a few food tips:-

• How To Eat More Vegetables: Some Ideas...
• Incorporating Weight Watchers and Dr. Fuhrman's Eat To Live and Eat For Health
• How To Eat At A Restaurant And Still Lose Weight: The 5 Golden Rules
• How To Prepare Lobster In A Healthy And Delicious Way
• Things To Keep In Your Freezer and Fridge

More, about our wonderful day, yesterday, our hike up to the top of Boronia Peak.

As we walked along the preliminary easy, uphill, walking track that winds around the mountain, in gradual assent, a group of hikers, were returning in high spirits and as the last of the young men passed us, he chirpily said to us, ‘here’s a million dollars for you’, and he gave me the, one million, dollar note. The note came complete with Ned Kelly’s picture on the front and the signature of none other than lol J, Sydney Opera House, on the back. Lol J.  
 

Well Reg and I had fun speculating, what we would spend our million dollars on. Ideas like a motor home, large enough to include an art gallery and studio, a gym, luxury spa bathroom and home theater seating all came to mind, then we discounted all that and decided we were content with what we have .

I asked Reg to open the secret compartment of his wallet, which up until now has been empty.  We put the 1 million dollar note in it and I said,‘now you are wealthy and as long as we have our memories of the Grampians and the wonderful times we have had here, we will, always be wealthy.’

I thought it was a lovely fun thing for a stranger to do, and Reg said ‘ it sure beat the fake $100. notes, that we used to give away’. Lol J 

I have had a few in my life.
Each one beginning, at a low in my life or a point where I felt I was stalling. Lows and stalls are wonderful spring boards to success. Each one kick starting a goal, a strong motivation an action plan that then sparked the daily to do actions that has set me off onto a new positive path that has brought me not only to but beyond the goal I was seeking.

Some of these turning points only seem to be small ones, when I begin them. Some have been start stops, some are start and all go. J. 

My current start in the 12WBT feels so very right , so very perfectly timed for me, here at half way through my own body transformation journey and wanting to work with people who will stimulate me to reach my full physical fitness potential.

I blogged about my turning point from three years ago, in my Life Inspiration blog, 'Bloggers Muse'

I am now ready for the new body transformation in 2010 :-).
Will you be doing a body transformation too?
What was your turning point?

 

Hi I am Kathy, gray-nomad, ` Highways of Australia'. 

I thought I would introduce myself, I travel, with my best friend and husband Reg, spending summer in Victoria, Mid Year, Northern Australia, mid season, in transit.
- I am a carer, writer and artist. my Creative Life Blog, is at http://www.kathy-shell.net
As this is my fitness blog, I wanted to share here that, - I am dong the Michelle Bridges, 12 Week, Body transformation, (2WBT), because I trust Michelle Bridges not to do crank diets.  I am for whole foods and good nutrition, so I believe in her healthy, food, portion controlled, and attitude and as I am in the lower half of my downsizing journey, I know I will benefit by having a trainer, to account to. I know I shaved 200 calories off, my eating today, after reading the Michelle Bridges books last night. I also got up and exercised in the morning instead of sitting around drinking coffee to wake up. I did not want to do this but I want what doing it will give me. This is what I believe joining this program, will do for me, it will, make me go that extra distance.

- I was very ill up until three years ago, in need of a heart lung transplant as the result of a lifetime, of respiratory illness a stroke and a PE.  I never had that operation, refusing it based on my age, I felt the young should be cared for first and I had had a great life. I now do not need such an operation.  I also needed a lot of joint pain relief , my feet had been broken and my right leg crushed, it was hard to walk and very painful. I frequently fell injuring my knees. I was 'a mess.  I wanted to be the one to care for my husband. I made a commitment to become well. I have succeeded. :-) and also kept my man a lot fitter than any predictions. I believe in Positive Mental Attitude, good nutrition and move it or lose it, even in illness, where it is possible and I have seen some amazing recoveries as a result.

I set out to live. I needed to be carer for my husband and I was not going to make the distance if I did not do something about it, so I began a self set, fitness program of exercise. (When I began I had pain just standing on my feet, let alone moving and was out of breath walking 100 yards), when I began my joyful journey back to health, on 28th January, 2017.          

-          As a writer, I have shared aspects of this journey in my blogs. This helped motivate me too, writing about my journey.
Now I need a professional to help take me to the finish line :-) to my goal weigh, and that is why I have joined the 12WBT, to go the extra distance.

-           I have made huge strides in fitness and weight reduction; I still need to go further in weight reduction and must not take my regained health and fitness for granted.

I am dyslectic. Please excuse my typos.

I have osteoporosis so I will not have the waist of a young woman, nor will BMI be right for me, as my spine has shrunk so make allowances, though not excuses.