Lead a Fit and Healthy Life
General Reflections
Photographs can be Hazardous to your Mental Health
Aug 25th
I read this blog post by Roni called Sometimes It’s Just a Bad Picture — and it really could not have come at a better time. July and August I did races and with those races were race photographers who put the photos in a gallery for you to view and if you want, buy. Well seeing myself in the Crossfit Rare race in July almost did me in. It was seriously a super horrible sight to me — the thoughts through my head were – How can I be that large? Look how horrible I look? How come everyone else in the pics look good, don’t I work out just as hard? I have put in the time and commitment – how come it’s not working??? Will I ever not have those love handles??!! AHHHHHHH!
You get the idea — sabotaging thoughts, poisonous thoughts that just cut deep. How come I can’t focus on the amazing things –like I did that incredibly hard race and didn’t come in last? or the 2 year ago Stephanie, would not have even been able to even show up to an event like that? Or — just Wow.
What is it about the way I am wired that I zero in on the negative visual aspect of it all — I know i am not alone either — Is it really true that I don’t see the same thing that everyone else does when they look at me? Seeing that image really got me down — but then I read this blog entry about how sometimes it really is just a bad picture, from a bad angle — you acknowledge it and move on — What great advice, although it’s not so easy to just rewire yourself. It takes time, and constant monitoring of how you talk to yourself and what you say — I am going to start changing my internal voice when it comes to this sort of stuff starting today.
So — here’s to moving on!
Reflections on Letting Yourself Go
Aug 10th
Sometimes when I am driving to work or out doing an errand – I will randomly notice other women that look to be close to may age. Some of them look great – while others, well they don’t look their best. In some cases, it looks like they have given up any sense of self. They don’t put themselves together, take a few minutes each day to tidy themselves up. I am not talking about full on glamour, but more than just wake up and put on the first pair of sweats you find on the floor. It really doesn’t take that much to do. I think the way you look says a lot about the way you feel about yourself in many ways. So when I came across this on Piperline’s Facebook, I loved what it was saying- I used to not put a lot of thought into how I dress – then I found my passion and started to see the results of taking care of myself and part of that is looking my best.
I’m not talking about spending a fortune or having enough shoes to rival Imelda. I am talking about buying a few things that make you feel great, are comfortable and fit well. A great pair of jeans can be found relatively inexpensively and for most of us, nothing is more comfy than that. A great shoe – Target has some great ones to choose from. Just a few things that says to anyone around you – I do give a damn about me.
And if your reason is because you have gained weight or don’t like something about yourself — do something about it. If it bothers you that much, either learn to accept it or change it. To sit there stagnant is not the right thing to do. My heart sinks for some of the ladies I see out there – I am not talking about one certain kind of body type either. Fat, thin, skinny, tall, short – everyone can take a few minutes before they head out and fix themselves. So why not start tomorrow?
Rest and Recovery Reflections
Aug 8th
Sometimes I forget to stop and smell the roses – I am sure we all do. Today – I had some time to quiet my mind from all the stress that has been around me lately. I did stop and think about how lucky I am. In a million years I would never have thought my life would be the way it is — but here I am. I have a great family. a husband who is healthy and who, along with my 2 kids keep me laughing every day. I have some funny kids. In a lot of ways – I am living the dream and have so much to be thankful for.
I have had the pleasure of meeting great people, and having a few of them influence my life, finding perspective and humor in what could possibly be the most challenging thing I have ever had to face, and have found a passion for living. I have to remember these feelings of accomplishment when I begin to be hard on myself instead of being kind. My rest and recovery has not only helped by body recovery, I feel refresh and renewed with a sense of accomplishment and passion.
I mentally had a hard time grasping the idea of resting for 4 days straight – will I lose some headway I made physically, will I ever begin again, will I slip and fall off the wagon, will I let people down? — all thoughts that raced through my head but what I realized was that it has been good. The run I did yesterday felt good. My body wasn’t aching and feeling stretched past its limits. I was energized during the run – granted Kimmy was there for support and company – but I did more mileage than I have done in a very, very long time.
I realized that I do need to rest regularly – it’s tough getting up at 5a 4x a week, heading to a very demanding workout, then taking care of 2 kids and a house for school/cam — and then head to a full day of work where I am challenged in more ways than one — then homeward bound for family ‘work’ and time – it’s a lot of work running a household and all that entails. I can’t go for a year without a break – it’s not good for me mentally or physically. Resting to let your body recover is beneficial and it’s something I am going to do regularly. I am not superwoman afterall.
Here’s to Monday and back at boot camp…
Boot Camp: Inspiring, Supportive and Fun!
Aug 4th
Another Forced Rest day. In some ways I feel more tired now that I am getting more sleep but I am enjoying the lack of rushing around in the AM. Not enjoying it enough to stop so no worries. It’s nice to take a short break – I am hoping it will reinvigorate me both mentally and physically. I already have an exercise ‘date’ with my friend Kimmy on Saturday morning…
My trainer sent out this pic last week – some of the amazing ladies I work out with daily. 
They are the ones that inspire and support me when I need it. How can you not want to get up early in the AM and workout when you know you are going to hang out with some fun, strong and powerful women who inspire you? The answer is – you don’t want to miss it!
Nutrition and Supplements for Weight Loss.
There are no silver bullets when it comes to reversing the trend, but good old fashioned hard work. We didn’t get this way overnight, and we can’t fix our situation overnight either. Weight loss pills, so-called miracle diets, 8-minute daily exercise regimens or machines that promise to do the work for you are simply too good to be true. They just don’t work, period.
People always ask me what I do for a living…
Jul 16th
What does a community manager do? – Blog – The Intersection of Community, Communication and Content.
Here is a good blog entry by another person who does Online Community Management for a living. I am always given a hard time because I am on “Facebook” or about this blog. I do this for a living people. I am lucky that part of my job is actually being on FB and Twitter, and reading articles etc. I feel very fortunate that I am able to do something for a living that I actually like to do in my off time as well.
One of the most frequent questions I get asked by family members and friends is the classic, “What exactly do you do for a living?” Most of my family and friends know that I live in the technology world (my degree is in Management Information Systems and I spent the better part of the first 10 years of my career dealing hand-on with IT systems), but the digital world is huge and covers many different areas, and is actually expanding into new areas each and every day. So I thought virtual online community2it would be good to run through a quick explanation of what keeps me busy.
My current position at Life Time Fitness really involves two components, both which are very closely related, but have two different sets of disciplines and skill-sets. I am Life Time’s Community Manager and Social Business Manager. This post will explain what community management is, and in a later post I will touch on the Social Business piece.
The diverse world of a Community Manager
The job of a community manager is one of the most least-understood positions in business, but it is also one of the fastest growing positions as well. A community manager is in charge of a variety of tasks within an online community, which can either be branded or organic. This involves tasks such as, but not limited too:
* Designing a place for individuals to gather together around a shared interest,
* Develop strategies for growing the community (if that is a desired objective, which sometimes it is not)
* Develop content for members of the community to consume (for a variety of purposes) and engage with
* Moderate content that was developed by members that is not appropriate for the community
* Develop and enforce community policies
* Gather community statistics and develop reports for stakeholders
* Be an advocate for the community and an ombudsman at the same time
community-manager The community at Life Time Fitness that I perform these duties is a member-only community called “myLT”. That part of my job makes up about 50% of my time there. It is fair to say that my job is different every single day of the week. myLT is an expansive community with many different areas of interest for the members of the community to visit and engage with, like Yoga, Cycling, Running, as well as location-specific clubs like Minneapolis and Phoenix. Every month, members of the community write thousands of blog posts and discussion threads asking questions and sharing stories about a wide variety of topics like training for triathlons and losing weight.
Mixing in Community Development
Everyone has different definitions for things they do at work. Community Management is no different. Some Community Managers refer to “community development” as the actual process of developing the platform and membership base of the online community. I actually look at this “development” differently.
The future of business is 100% customer-initiated products and services. Some companies are pulling this off now, but not at a 100% level. Companies use research to determine what their customers will buy, but due to the openness of the web and the power of social channels, we can now tap into the thinking of our customers. I am working on new projects focused on having strong community social groups who can help with developing products and services in a calculated manner. This topic is a whole other blog post that I will write later.
The Softer Side of a Community Manager
Not everyone can be a community manager. I know that sounds cliché, but it is very true. Community Managers often have to take it on the chin. When members speak their mind, they usually do it to the community manager. CM’s need to be consistently respectful, helpful, and “caring” (if you want to phrase it that way). Especially in a branded community, the community manager is responsible for representing a brand and protecting a company’s image online. Walking this line can be a very difficult thing to do. There are days when jumping into the shark tank at the zoon looks like a great idea after a difficult day at work. I love the challenge, personally, and many people have told me I have that unique personality that is needed to be a warm and inviting, but yet stern enough to maintain order.
At the end of the day, I wouldn’t trade my job for anything. Being a community manager is very rewarding because there is no better feeling than connecting people with interests.
Long weekend here I come
Jul 2nd
The weeks seem to be be getting tougher for me as the summer moves by – which is not ideal. I need to figure out a way to recharge my battery – exercising works to a point of course but to completely unplug from our current hectic lives and restore the balance in my head. I need to focus on a strategy targeted towards getting me away from the toxic people I have to interact with daily. When you are forced to be around people who in no measurable way meet your criteria regarding quality and integrity – it tends to wear me down. I am trying all sorts of approaches to make it bearable – but there comes a point when it just isn’t anymore – I think I am teetering at that edge and need to find an escape route. And it is up to me — I am the one who is in charge of where I am and where i want to be. I have to keep reminding myself of that and not let mean people get under my skin. Mean People suck.
What happened to the breeze?
Jun 29th
June 2009
There was a nice breeze when we started the workout today, but for some reason – it quickly disappeared right after the warm up! I wonder why?? Because it’s friggin HOT!
We had a late start today so we only did one round of warm ups but the rest was business as usual – and as usual, I left the workout very sweaty and hot. What else is new?!!
warmup x 1
side shuffle
push-ups
checkpoints
skip jumps
general stretching
core x 2
partner leg raises
sit-ups with your hands crossed and on your shoulders the entire time
ball twists (14lb dynamax ball)
side high five push-ups 25
workout
5 min stations
boxjumps at 2 min mark: run to cone and back resume box jump and at 4 min: run resume box jump
25lb kettlebell swings
heavy jump rope at 2 min mark: 5 inchworms resume heavy rope at 4 min: inchworm resume heavy rope
run half mile/20lb db hang cleans
65lb SDHP at 2 min mark: 10 burpees resume SDHP at 4 min mark: 10 burpees resume SDHP
June 2009
The pictures in this post are from June 27, 2009 – Last year and one full year into my commitment to a healthier and fit life. And this week marks 2 years since I attended my first Plumbline Boot Camp!
June 2010
Look at that picture and for anyone out there that thinks being in shape and transforming your body is easy – that pic says it all. I was working out like crazy for one year – it takes time, patience, and whole body/mind changes to really transform yourself. I feel great and I know I look better than I did last year – hands down.
If I can do it – anyone can – REMEMBER THAT!
Today is a great day
Jun 18th
Today is one of those days that you sit down and shake your head because you can not believe how fast time has flown. My little baby – Baby Nate – is finishing kindergarten. He will be leaving the haven of the AOL Childcare Center private Kindergarten and in the fall will head to public school. Today is his graduation ceremony. I am sure I will shed a tear of two. How did that much time go by? He was just a little baby yesterday right?
And on that note, Hannah will be heading to 3rd grade next year. She doesn’t know this yet but we have been invited to attend an awards ceremony this morning and she
will be getting an award for her leadership during the school year. Her teacher emailed us last week asking us to come, and that she doesn’t know she is getting the award. How great is that?
I am so thankful that both of my kids are doing so well in school! Today is a great day.
Another weekend coming to a close
Jun 13th
I honestly don’t know if it was the run yesterday that brought dehydration upon me or that I am still getting over being sick, but I felt that I could sleep in all day. And I was cranky as all get out.
I managed to gather the kids and head to the community pool for a few hours with just me and the kids. It was good to just sit and relax for a bit. After a few hours – we headed home and out to Reston Town Center for some lunch with my brother. Back home again to start gearing up for the final week of school for the year. Hard to believe that it has come and gone so fast. Hannah is heading into 3rd grade and Nate will be leaving the comfort of private Kindergarten and entering into the new world of Public School.
Time really is precious when you stop and think about it. Make the most of the time you have – treat people kindly and try not to focus on the things you can’t change. It zaps your energy for dealing with those things you can and should change!
Hope you had a great weekend and will continue that same path for the week!
Pic of Scott, Nate and I at RTC
What if I didn’t workout?
Jun 5th
This is me this morning after a 4.5mil run on the W&OD trail. It was hot and humid and great.
I have had a lot on mind lately both personally and professionally that I am finding these runs really help me quiet the thoughts in my head, at least temporarily.
On a different topic – last night I watched the season finale of Housewives of New York. For those that do watch it, I really related to the Bethenny and Jill situation. I have been going through a similar situation in my life, the ending of what used to be a close relationship. It’s amazing how people can change in the course of a few years. I know “change” is not even a word for what I have done – transform is probably a better way to phrase it. Scott tells me relationships have peaks and valleys which I know is true but if you think about where you are in your life – and how many people come and go in your life -some relationships don’t survive the valleys.
I’m not sure where this one will end but it really has crushed me and I am not sure I can get past where we are.. It’s been a rough week – post chemo appt, craziness/stress at work, and personal relationship turmoil all wrapped up into one. Thank God I do work out – I can’t imagine what I would be like if I didn’t.
