I Relay for Mom

Can I share my story?

I Relay for Mom.

Two years ago, just about this same time of year, my mother, Beverly Thomas, began having physical complications, so much so she went to the doctor. Then began a short series of test that came to a startling conclusion: Cancer.
We've never dealt with cancer in our family, but now it was staring us in the face. Dad on the road as a truck driver, and mom finding anyway she could to keep her heart encouraged, and her spirits lifted.
As our family walked through this process, I discovered that the one who kept us from being anxious or frightened through the summer leading up to her surgery WAS MOM.
As she endured additional tests, doctors appointments, and the 5 month journey to her surgery date, I never saw her cry, get angry, nothing! Just strength, courage, love for her family, and determination that her life would go on.

And it has.

This year is her 2 year "birthday" for being cancer free. We were on of the blessed families.

But that is not everyone's story.
This year, I am helping save lives from cancer by taking part in the American Cancer Society Relay For Life®, and I’m hoping you will support my efforts with a donation.

The American Cancer Society Relay For Life® is a life-changing event that gives people in communities across the globe a chance to celebrate the lives of people who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and fight back against the disease. Relay For Life® raises much-needed funds and awareness to help the American Cancer Society save lives from cancer.

Please support me in my efforts by visiting my personal web page to make a secure, tax-deductible online donation:
http://main.acsevents.org/goto/4MaMa
or
www.facebook.com/detroitwellnesscoach, and click on the page badge on the left (scroll down).



Thanks to your support, the American Cancer Society can:

• Help people stay well by helping them to take steps to prevent cancer or detect it early, when it’s most treatable.
• Help people get well by being in their corner around the clock to guide them through every step of their cancer experience
• Find cures by funding groundbreaking research that helps us understand cancer’s causes, determine how best to prevent it, and discover new ways to cure it
• Fight back by working with lawmakers to pass laws to defeat cancer and rally communities worldwide to join the fight

Each of us has our own reasons for caring about the fight against cancer … whatever your reasons, I hope you’ll choose to make a difference by making a donation online to support my efforts. I’m so grateful to have people like you in my life who want to see an end to cancer in our lifetime. Together we can save lives.

Thank you and I will keep you updated on my progress.

Happy Memorial Day!! Kiss Your Veteran!

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY! 
KISS YOUR VETERAN! 

Here's a couple tips for keeping your cool during this "high eating" holiday!

• 1. Prepare - when shopping, add more items to the cart that are low calorie, high nutrient, like more veggies, green leafies, fruits, etc.
• 2. Get creative - a great griller could be fruit, veggies, and lean meats on a kabob stick. Get fancy with the spices if you want, and enjoy!
• 3. Share your game plan - guaranteed you will be with family members that are battling weight, or have health concerns. BE WILLING TO BE RESPECTFULLY INTRUSIVE. Invite them to eat healthier this weekend, instead of the typical gorging that can ensue. Don't have this holiday be the last for any of your family. We're not promised tomorrow.
  

• 4. Eat throughout the day - most of the time, there is no morning eating (sleeping in for the holiday) and then eating for hours, and no portion control. Start your day out (even if you sleep in) with a HEALTHY BREAKFAST! Protein, complex carbs, and lots of water. If you started on an Herbalife Nutrition Program, click here for GREAT recipes to play with this weekend: http://products.herbalife.com/subcat_shakes#. Then, keep up the eating every couple of hours, so by the time the MAIN MEAL rolls around, you're not STARK-RAVING hungry, and blowing out your calories. Put your entrees on the salad plate, and your salad on the dinner plate. If after the main meal you're still hungry, put in more water, more complex carbs, etc. RULE OF THUMB: If you cannot work out after eating, you've eaten too much, AND the wrong things. 

HAVE A SAFE & HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY, AND MAY GOD BLESS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND ALL WHO SERVE HERE, AND AROUND THE WORLD.

"If You Fail to Plan...."

Success is not an accident.

I can remember for years that as I moved from one project to the next in life, whether job opportunities, financial decisions, or my health, all required some form of planning AND execution. Many of the conversations I am having with clients recently sounds strangely familiar. There is no game plan.

You have heard the saying "Success is a Planned Event"? SO SO SO TRUE! 

Here are some ideas for planning for your health success:

1. Don't do it alone! You already got yourself here, which for many people, "here" = unhealthy, 20-30lbs over their optimal weight, winded at the top of the stairs, and to top it off, horrible eating habits. 

2. Get A Running Buddy - maybe not for running literally, but for encouragement and support. Most likely you have an environment of unhealthy people around you. Step into a new environment that requires a higher expectation when it comes to eating, physical activity, etc. Yes, that could be why you join a gym, a weight loss challenge, or a coaching group. New concepts to you? Email me, and I'll explain how they work.

2. Create Planning Time: put a date in your calendar where weekly you assess what is coming up, so as not to be caught off guard. Most of your appointments didn't "appear" on your calendar. You deliberately put them there. What most often gets left out is the "meal planning, cutting veggies, making shakes, freezing foods" time. If you haven't got your health, then you're not going into your life with your best foot forward.

3. Hire a Planner: PICK ME!! Personal Wellness Coaches are like your financial planner: our only focus is your health, when you have a million other things you have made a higher priority. My first priority is your health, your weight, and your goal of creating a healthy, active lifestyle. Interested in a coaching session? Call me (313-418-9790).

And finally,

4. TELL PEOPLE - most successful people will tell you that why they accomplished their great feats was due to rehearsing to themselves and everyone around them, the goal they would soon achieve. SO, GET THE WORD OUT!!

"If you fail to plan, you plan to fail!"

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Questions & Answers

I thought I would let you in on an email conversation I had with a client. She asked a great question I think applies to all working class. Enjoy!
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Coach CC:

Do you have some suggestions for us to help support our weight loss even when we are at an all day event for three days? And how can we handle the stress of all the preparations for this upcoming event?

Okay, here are a couple of recommendations for the All Day Event:
PREPARE PREPARE PREPARE!!

• Make your shakes, enough in the morning for 2 meals, and take the 2nd to have at lunch.
• Get some chewing gum, so when you have the snacking urge, you have something to occupy your mouth.
• Keep trail mix or protein bars close at hand, so when the chewing gum doesn't do it, and you really ARE hungry, you can manage.
• Lots of water (or ice, to minimize bathroom runs...:o)
• Be regimented about your dinner. Keep it fiber-full, light (to keep from getting lethargic!) and nutritious!

As for handling the stress of preparation:

1. Remember - ITS NOT THE END OF THE WORLD, AND IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG IT USUALLY WORKS ITSELF OUT. You've got to keep everything in perspective. Life will always appear as if it is the most important thing, and needs your IMMEDIATE attention! You are one person, and cannot do all the work yourself, although you are given LOTS to do.
2. If possible, play music that keeps you up beat, and keeps you from taking yourself TOO seriously!! DANCE OFTEN TO THE MUSIC
3. Create a saying that reminds you of your goal, and what you are committed to in your work performance, and in your health. I.E. " I am fantastic at what I do, and so many people wouldn't be coming to me if that WASN'T THE TRUTH! I will deliver excellent work, without stressing out, and compromising my own health. When I am healthy and complete, my work is healthy & complete". Something like that :)
4. Actual food consumption: TAKE EXTRA CARE TO PREPARE. When you see train wrecks coming, you BRACE FOR IMPACT!! Remember, even when life is not hectic (which is when?...:) it can take work to make sure to stay on task. You will need that much more intentionality to stay on task when the heat gets turned up!

Thanks for asking such GREAT questions! So many deal with this, so you are not alone!

:)

Harness the Power Within

As promised, I introduce my first Guest Blogger, Charlene Levine! Founder and CEO of Future Visions Fulfilled, LLC, Charlene is a great friend and mentor of mine. Enjoy!

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Do you feel that you have reached a plateau in certain areas of your life? Or have you been working at producing a result in your life that continues to elude you?

Personal power is very important to discuss when it comes to creating any result in life. Whether that result is extraordinary health, an amazing primary relationship, or a business that makes a difference for the world. Or what about making money, while making a difference? AND NOT HAVE IT TAKE FOREVER!

What is personal power you may ask? Personal Power is defined as that force within yourself that has you move toward fulfilling on your dreams and goals. Often what is missing in accomplishing your goals and dreams WITH VELOCITY is getting that YOU always have 100% of your personal power. The delay comes from us spending most of our time misdirecting our personal power. So that make begs the question, how do you properly direct you personal power to produce optimal results in the areas of life that are important?

To answer that, we look at the causes of misdirected personal power. These causes are called "Inappropriate Automatic Reactions" to circumstances. Some examples of “inappropriate automatic reactions” to circumstances are:

• uncontrolled outbursts both physical or verbal
• uncontrolled withdrawal
• being confused

How these delay our results is our inability to interrupt these reactions. People get stuck in these reactions for days, months or even years. Answer these questions to see if you may currently be trapped in prolonged "Inappropriate Automatic Reactions":

• Have you been disconnected with or held a grudge toward someone you care about for a long time?
• Have you been working on losing weight and getting in shape for a long time with no apparent result?
• Have you had an inability to grow your income?

Being trapped in this place makes it very difficult to think or create beyond the current circumstance, therefore hindering you from moving towards your Future Vision: that is, the unprecedented result you achieve in your future, that you LOVE.

"Okay, great. So, now what?!"

At Future Visions Fulfilled, LLC., in our seminars we use what is called "Guided Relaxation for New Awareness" as an excellerated learning and change strategy. Developed by me and my husband, Dr. Bob Levine, we use this to help people remove the roadblocks that are keeping them from rapidly fulfilling on their dreams & desires.

But seeing is believing.

To experience this first hand, we invite you to attend one of our weekly Tele-Seminars. Here we explain how people mis-direct their personal power through “inappropriate automatic reactivity”, and we give you the opportunity to interrupt your own automatic reactivity right on the phone call. To join us this week, go to our website at www.futurevisionsfulfilled.com, and click on "Free Tele-Seminars" to select a time that works for you.

Unasked Questions

This blog space has had an appropriate moment of silence.

As I write this, I am flying to Baltimore, Maryland accompanying my mother who is burying her 44 year old son. My brother, Roy Brock Griffin died unexpectedly of a heart attack on the early morning of his birthday, March 18, 2010. Having had a quintuple bypass surgery at the age of 38, Roy had to manage his health in a way that supported the his heart.

As I grieve the loss of my brother, I wonder if he really managed his health as he should have. But did I ask? I had a final chance last summer to see him, and we hung out at the restaurant where he was a manager: Carlos O’Charlie’s. We had lunch, but I didn’t pay attention to what he ate. Now, I have no regrets, but this does have me pose the question: are WE supporting those around us in having healthy lifestyles?

We’re supporting them, one way or another: either we are giving them permission to eat unhealthy by eating the same thing, or we say nothing, in the name of not being intrusive, or not wanting to be a bother. Or most of the time, we don’t want to be held accountable ourselves. As I work with more of my community in getting on track with their wellbeing, they share with me their family history.

Stroke.

Cancer.

Diabetes.

Heart Disease.

Most everyone has one if not multiple members of their family that has been touched by one or two of these lifestyle diseases. Yet at dinner, no one says “Uncle Joe, how about a smaller plate. We want you around longer!” or “No McDonald’s today son. Daddy’s cholesterol is normal, and I want to keep it there!” These unspoken decisions are not being made, and after the fact is too late to be asking the question.

I personally have been touched by all of the above listed lifestyle deaths. And what I am proud to say is that for most of them, changes in diet and lifestyle were made.

That last one, though…. I wish I had asked more questions.
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"That Pig Ain't Gonna Fly!"

THANK YOU to all my fans! I've just launched this blog, and you all are already following me, giving me such encouraging feedback, and showing such an outpouring of love! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

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As you well know, the 2010 Winter Olympic Games just recently completed in Vancouver, Canada. I did not watch them this year, but heard stories of USA Team athletes here and there. Most of their stories are ones of either triumph over obstacles or of dreams fulfilled. Many of their stories are the same: hours of time over years of practice to perform for a few moments of glory.

I remember being so inspired after the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. My sister and I sat in awe for two weeks watching the Olympics and decided we had "caught" our Olympic dream after seeing the Track & Field disciplines. We were going to be Olympic runners: "Athens, 2004 Baby!"

However, there was one IMPORTANT difference between us and those athletes: they were fulfilling on their dreams, while were we trying on someone else's. This was evident by how long our "dream catching" lasted, and the results proved to be quite humorous. We gave up on our Olympic Dreams of glory after we discovered that the mailbox two blocks away was still TOO FAR TO RUN! I still laugh when I think about us so excited...then so disappointed that it wasn't going to be easy (we were puffing by the end of block 1) and that we weren't really that well suited for it (at the time, at least).

I share this story because I am realizing that we can't expect others' dreams to come to us. We were created with our own dreams, talents, goals, etc. While reading K. Blanchard's book "The Secret: What Great Leaders Know & Do", I read this fabulous quote: "No matter how long the runway, that pig ain't gonna fly!" AMEN!

The moral of the story: leverage your OWN strengths. Use YOUR talents. Follow YOUR dream.

I often ask my clients "what have you tried in the past (products/programs) to help you lose the weight?" The lists most often look the same: Weight Watchers (God Bless'um), Slimfast, diet pills, etc. What you never hear is: "Well, I'm great at (fill in the blank), so I created a game plan that maximized my talents and fulfilled my dream of health and vitality." And the ones who DO say that...well...they're fulfilling their dreams...

...and so should we. Just a thought.

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What a fitting segway into my next posting. I have invited my dear friend and Beneath the Surface follower, Charlene Levine, founder of Future Visions Fulfilled to share with us. I attended Charlene’s seminar, Harnessing Your Personal Power, and launched my life in a way I never thought possible, including creating "Beneath the Surface"! Stay Tuned!

Introducing: Beneath the Surface

Weight. Food.

What just popped into your head? Lose weight, gain weight, I have a weight problem, I eat a lot, that person weighs too much, my mother always says "lose weight". We could go on, right?

Wellness.

Now what popped up? Doctors? Chiropractor? Massage Therapist. More thoughts flood your mind, right?

Where did those thoughts originate from? Why do they come up for you when you see those words? One of the answers for most people may be society's standards for appearance and what is presentable. It may even be what our mother and father ingrained in us as children; or what some inconsiderate kid said to us when we were most vulnerable. So, if we don't measure up, naturally there must be "something wrong". That moves us to the next obvious step to "fix the problem": lose weight. Where most people start is THE GYM! Yes, they must have the answers! They have equipment, personal trainers, juice bars, group classes, etc. Of course! Right? Or a pill! Yes a pill that sucks all the fat out of my body! That will do it! I'm home free! Right? Or Acupuncture! Does acupuncture help you lose weight? (not sure... we'll check!) All these solutions from outside sources make promises to produce results FOR you: sculpt this, hard abs that. NOW!

I propose that they're all missing something: You...

When people take on weight loss, sure they need to manage their calories, increase their activity and their metabolism. However, secretly we just want someone or something to "do it TO" us. I did. I had 4 personal trainers work with me in 3 years. I got results. But what do you think happened when they stopped "doing it to me"? That's right, I was headed back to where I started. Have you experienced that? As a Personal Wellness Coach, something I most often hear is, "It worked until I stopped. Then I didn't know what to do next."

There are a couple dictionary definitions of missing/miss: 1. to notice the absence or loss of; 2. the failure to perceive or understand. When I propose that there is something "missing" in people's quest to weight loss and healthy living, I'm am referring to the latter. They -we, society - fail to perceive that what really needs to be addressed is what is happening behind the scenes. Let's make this personal. For instance, when you look in the mirror every day, what do you say to yourself, about yourself? What are your thoughts EVERY TIME you eat something (unhealthy or otherwise)? What relationships are you avoiding because they remind you that "there's a problem here!"? How do you effectively go about goal setting for your weight loss in the context of what you want, not where you're running from?

Introducing Beneath the Surface. In this blog we'll share stories; some mine, some others at their consent, maybe even yours! We will pose questions, propose inquiries and dialog about what is happening beneath the surface. Under the surface is where compromising thoughts and dis-empowering conversations go undetected, and where it all starts and dictates tangible results. What you won't find here is a "how-to" that exempts you from doing dirty work for the results. What we have here is a place to start a different conversation about where you are going with your health, what you want for your future, and what steps to take. You are also welcome to use this as a place to keep you in focus of where you're going. Share with us what you want to accomplish. Let us support, encourage, and coach you into a future of health and vitality that inspires you, and others! And we will always bring you back to YOU: the source of the results you've been looking for all along.

I invite you to imagine your normal thought life dictating the results you always wanted. Imagine life with your dreams of healthy living fully realized. Imagine the words "food, weight, and wellness" automatically invoking empowering, inspiring, self-loving thoughts. Like the future you see?

Join us for a new conversation for real results.
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