A Rockin' Bod in 2006

My goal is to be muscular, fit and flexible at my ideal weight of 115 pounds by February 15, 2006. I achieve this goal in a healthy way; eating soulfully, for both nutrition and pleasure. I eat foods I love and indulge in treats such as massages and hours of tanning to 106.7 LITE FM on my roof, as opposed to Coldstone Creamery crackwhore antics. I exercise at least three times a week by doing activities that make me happy, such as boxing in Central Park, dancing to 80's music and watching cheesy R. Kelly videos on VH1 while burning lots of cals on the eliptical. This goal is aligned with many of my core values. I help people create positive, dynamic change in their lives, and by changing myself in a postive way I am empowering others by being the model. Other values this goal is aligned with are experiencing optimum health, joy, laughter and pleasure, staying focused on my goals, living a life of adventure and fun, taking responsibility for my actions and creating a balanced life.
I am going to post a photo at every ten pound loss. The one here is after my first ten pound loss. Please send positive messages of inspiration and focus...
Here's to all of us having rockin' bods in 2006 and loving ourselves every single day. - Brette

A Long-Awaited Trip to Egypt

Having grown up as a child in a Foreign Service family, I was lucky enough to live in many wonderful places around the world. As my own children grew up, I hoped to be able to share some of those wonderful memories with them as well. One of the places that I particularly wanted to take them was to Egypt where I had lived for four years in the early 60’s in Cairo. We never seemed to be able to find the right time and then, after 9/11, it began to seem impossible. My husband and I kept putting off a trip to the Middle East as we waited for the political climate to improve. In the fall of 2003, I finally decided that we could end up waiting forever for things to change and we made plans to go over the Christmas vacation, come what may. I managed to corral all three children (no easy feat!) as well as my husband and we set out for a magical two weeks. The Egyptians couldn’t have been more welcoming and it was enormously gratifying to me for my family to begin to understand my love for that part of the world. Don’t put it off! - Ellen

Beyond our comfort zones

A few years ago, I initiated a personal policy to challenge myself to do one thing a year that really scares me. My ‘scary thing’ for 2005 was to complete a 7 day field course at Boulder Outdoor Survival School (BOSS). I had heard about the program from a friend I admired and it took me two years to muster up the courage to go for it. BOSS prides itself on teaching their students how to live in the wilderness with limited supplies in a simulated survival experience. Basically, we hiked in the desert for a week without the basic camping comforts of sleeping bags, backpacks, stoves, eating utensils, or tents/tarps. So, I had to learn to whittle my own spoon out of wood, make fire with a spindle and bow (which, of course, I carved myself), and create a backpack out of a wool blanket and parachute cord. It was, without question, one of the hardest weeks of my life, both physically and mentally. The point of my policy is not to torture myself (although I did swear to never do survival school again:), but to push myself beyond my comfort zone. And when I actually do the ‘scary thing’ I thought I couldn’t do…I feel pretty darn good about myself! What I did to get this goal done: allowed myself to dream of doing something wild, set aside sacred time and funds for my ‘scary thing’ policy, but the most important part was just showing up and hanging in there. -Sasha

Mother-Daughter Weekend Ritual

"Several years ago, I got the idea of going away with my daughter once a year for just a Mother-Daughter weekend where we would do anything she wanted to do. So I set aside a weekend, asked my daughter where she most wanted to go, and we booked a bed and breakfast. All weekend we basked in our aloneness and bonded in new and wonderful ways. Now it's a ritual that we wouldn't miss for the world and we're already planning our 2006 getaway. The picture attached is of us draped in white sheets prior to getting a massage and mineral bath in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia during our second getaway. The most important steps in achieving this goal were telling people we were doing it, having a visual reference of where we wanted to go by going through travel sites and maps together, setting aside the time and making it sacred, doing it together, and making sure nothing interfered with our planning."

Turning the impossible into a dream come true

My goal was to take my son on a wonderful vacation out of the country. I was in the middle of a financial crisis and was successfully crawling out little by little through strict budgeting. I decided, however, that I really wanted to take my son somewhere special on vacation. I mentioned it to my mother and began to sharpen my pencil to find out how I could save the money to go ... in the meantime my mother mentioned my goal to a mutual friend who I had not been in touch with for awhile -- coincidentally she had found a great deal for herself and her kids to go to Cancun. I was able to take advantage of her great pricing and we shared some expenses -- we went to Cancun and in the process rekindled an old friendship. To see the excitement on my son's face as he's being kissed by dolphins is priceless.

Master Swimmer

"I was a swimmer when I was younger, but I developed an eating disorder at the age of 14 that ruined all of my competitive dreams. As I got older and swimming techniques became more refined, I wondered what it would be like to become a Masters swimmer and compete again, but I was still scared. One day, a friend told me she'd become a Masters swimmer and that she was swimming close to her high school times. She looked at least ten years younger than her age, was brimming with vitality, and I was intrigued. So when I heard a Masters program was starting near me, I told the coach I was interested in trying one day a week, but I pulled myself out of the water after the first practice and said, "I'm in." I set a goal of competing again, and did, winning my events at my first meet. The picture here is of me with some of my teammates (I'm on the left) at the University of Maryland on June 19th, 2005. Now I have a goal of competing and placing at Masters Nationals next year at Stanford University! The most important steps in achieving this goal were knowing people who had achieved what I wanted, finding a program that fit my needs, putting a picture in my goals scrapbook about this goal, reading as much as I could about Masters swimmers, and doing it in a supportive community."

Spending my 40th birthday in Paris with a man I love

After being single for several years (after a bad break up) I decided I was ready to be in a relationship with a special person. I discussed it with my Coach and we decided to get really out there and set a goal to be in Paris with a special man on my 40th birthday. We wrote down the goal -- I worked hard on my "perfect man for me" list of attributes and I started making myself more available to do things with friends, etc. Within 8 months, I met the perfect man for me -- at a restaurant while I was dining out with girlfriends! Another girlfriend of mine mentioned that she was going to Paris on business and was bringing her boyfriend and asked if we wanted to go along. The trip was scheduled for October - one week before my 40th birthday. Needless to say we went and it was wonderful!

Caroline's Black Belt Story

When my daughter started Hapkido at the age of five, someone suggested to me that she'd be more likely to stick with the sport if a parent did it with her. So I watched her classes, talked to other adults who were black belts, and asked the instructors if I could do the program in a "mommy" way -- over a number of years to accommodate my young children. I wrote down my goal of being a black belt, told everyone I wanted to become a black belt, and envisioned myself onstage receiving my black belt from our Grand Master. Five years later, after many bumps, bruises and mental challenges -- I became a black belt! The most important steps for me in achieving this goal were having other adult black belts as role models, breaking it down into many reasonable steps, telling people about my goal and doing it with someone I love -- my daughter, who is also a black belt now!"

Brian made the All Star team with Mom's support!

Getting my son involved with sports:

I was a single Mom with an uninvolved ex-husband for 8 years. I always wanted my son Brian to participate in sports, but having a full time job, I was never able to commit to taking him to all of the games and practices. When I met my now husband, I told him about my goal and he offered to help however possible. My son now plays basketball and baseball -- he just completed his 3rd season of baseball and not only did well and enjoyed it, but he made the All Star team!

Samantha's story

"I wanted to swim faster in my favorite event -- the 50 meter breaststroke -- so I set a goal of going under an All-Star time that is set by our local swim league. I told my coach, my family and my friends about my goal, and my parents said that I could earn an iPod if I achieved this ambitious goal. I listened carefully to my coach when she suggested how to swim this race faster, I practiced the tips a lot, and I visualized myself winning races and doing this time. I even had a dream that I was swimming and I turned into a pink iPod and the girls next to me turned into ugly iPods. Last week I went under the time goal I set for myself (I dropped five seconds) and I got my iPod the next day! The most important steps in achieving this goal were having a specific time goal, having an incentive that was something I really wanted, telling all my friends and teammates about my goal, and believing that I could actually do it."