And Then There Were 10

A few busy weeks of site upgrades and writing, and then the Health 2.0 conference, and then a week of vacation, and then the scale read 135 this morning. What?!? I fall out of my routine for a few weeks and I gained 10 pounds? Egad. For the record, I really do love being in my 40s. Best decade, thus far. I do long, however, for the days in my 30s when a few weeks of gluttony didn't show up as digits on a scale.

My 5'6" body likes weighing 125. I like it when my body weighs 122 because that gives it a little room to fluctuate with the daily water gain and loss. And, since I'm in full disclosure here, my ego secretly really likes when my body is 118 though that is the point when family and friends exclaim I'm too skinny. Bah, "I'm in great shape!" is my typical reply. At this moment? I'm mushy. Ugh.

Why am I telling all of you all of this? Well, I started a company to help people get healthy, to lose weight, to exercise every day and to eat well. And, I have fallen victim to the very same thing that plagues the very people that come to Cybercise for help and hope. Our schedules get full, deadlines loom and "we" are the last thing we take care of. I preach the opposite on a regular basis and it seems I'm not immune from needing my own lecture. Irony!

Trust me, it requires a bit of courage to post my weight for all the world to read. I recognize this post will live in the websphere forever and the day I weighed 135 will go down in recorded history. Sure, it would be easier for me to keep this to myself and secretly do what I know needs to be done and drop the pounds and nobody would be any wiser. And, with every challenge comes opportunity.

If you're reading this and you are well north of 135 and you're thinking to yourself, "She is complaining because she weighs 135? You've got to be kidding me! I'd kill to have her problems." Perhaps some of you are also shouting expletives at the screen. Okay, so I hear you.... but go with me on this. There was a point, no matter how much you currently weigh, that the weight gain started out with 10 pounds. Then 10 became 15, and 15 became 20, and the next thing you knew you were so far above your ideal weight you forgot where you started. If you had a good way to stop the initial trend before it crept over 10 pounds, things would be different today.

So, no matter what you weigh right now and no matter how many pounds you need to lose, I'd like you to focus on 10 pounds. I have a theory that if we concentrate on 10 pounds at a time the path to long term, sustainable wellness is much easier. We have to learn to take care of ourselves first, no matter what.

I, for better or worse, am going to write about my journey to lose 10 pounds. Let's face it, I have what I need to make this happen. I have Cybercise (including a sneak preview of the new exercise videos we're due to release soon), I am a certified personal trainer, a graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and a certified Health Coach. With all of that, you'd think I wouldn't have gained the 10 pounds in the first place. Alas, apparently I am human. Pesky truths. My hope is that by sharing my journey, we'll learn ways to make Cybercise even better to support you on your journey. I'd love for you to join me and I'd love feedback and ideas.

My approach? I'm going to start with a Move.Eat.Be. plan for the week. A weekly plan is best done on Sunday evening and something I did not do last night (I was tired - probably because my body is carrying around an extra 10 pounds - and still no excuse. Shame on me!). You're welcome to stay tuned here for my plan and my progress for all the world to read. As for those 10 pounds, they're out of here! Get ready body, here comes determination!