What's on My Mind

Your Blood Pressure Don’t Care About Your Great Abs

11/29/2018

Go get your physical when you turn 50 they told me. It will be different than any other physical you’ve had. It is like the 100,000-mile service on your car.

I promised I would and I did; however, I was not prepared for what I would learn. I would need a whole different battery of testing, a shingles vaccination, and a mammogram and learned my blood pressure was elevated. [WHAT the F***? I have a six-pack! How is this even possible?! ]

Luckily, all my blood tests came back in the normal range, but my blood pressure on my appointment day and beyond remained elevated. The doctor says, “I would tell you to lose weight, but you have no weight to lose. I’d tell you to exercise, but you are in excellent shape and already exercise.” The plight of getting healthy, the plight of bringing my weight down, the plight of exercising regularly would leave me very few options, but to take medication to lower blood pressure. I was blindsided. I was in denial. I don’t do medicine. I take NOTHING. I eat and exercise to “heal” my body. This is not the "Welcome to 50" I had hoped for. [“I feel fine. What if I don’t take the medicine?”] “Because of your age and family history, you are at a higher risk for heart attack and/or stroke.” says my doctor. [Are you kidding me? Yesterday, I did 100 burpees and 100 kettlebell swings. This IS what I WAS trying to AVOID.]

Should be no surprise… Hypertension is rampant in my family on both my mother and father’s side of the family. Heart attacks and strokes have been frequent visitors and have stolen family members. When I found myself 200+ pounds, breathless and with knee problems, I knew I was putting myself at greater risk for the same to happen to me so I got healthy in an attempt to run as fast as I could away from my shoddy genetics. Apparently, that’s not possible. Losing weight, lifting some weights and winning some awards at bodybuilding shows do NOT change my genetics, but it makes me think: What would my situation be today IF I had not lost my weight? What would my situation be if I didn’t exercise? What would my situation be if I didn’t eat healthy? The answer is simple. WORSE. I don’t want worse. I want better for the same reason I started exercising and got on this course to get healthy -- so I have been taking my BP medicine – for longevity and more days with MY SON.

Today, I feel fortunate that with half of smallest dose of BP medicine, I am able to normalize my blood pressure and reduce my risks. If I were overweight, not exercising AND diagnosed with high BP at this juncture in my life, I’d be on medication, introducing a new exercise program AND changing my diet under doctor’s orders. I am THANKFUL I changed my lifestyle, maintained my weight and crave to exercise daily or “my plight” would be a lot more work. Cheers to 50 – things could be worse.

My point: Proactive health care is important
Just because you are thin doesn’t mean you are healthy
You cannot outrun your genetics
Exercise is not a luxury is a necessity

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Don't Blame the Holidays

11/17/2016

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Did you know the average weight gain between Halloween and New Year’s Day is 10lbs? Did you know commitment to exercise plummets during this same time-frame? Does that sound familiar? This is a recipe for disaster.

Here comes the “real talk” -- if you really think about it, it is only 3 days (Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years). If you totally pigged out for these three days (and continued to exercise), it is very unlikely you’d see the needle go up on your scale. Right?!

And, here’s the kicker…. what you are consuming is readily available throughout the year. The sugar cookies, pie, ham, turkey, cake, stuffing don’t come out of hiding just for the holiday season. They are all readily available 365 days a year. Right? So why make a decision to overload in them now. Why now? Really, why now? The honest answer is we are conditioned to do this, but it is not a requirement. Don’t go into the holidays in a self-sabotaging mode. Don’t! Be mindful about what you put in your body and why. Here are a few tips:

Set out to enjoy the holiDAY - 3 days.
Amp up your exercise.
Don’t go to a party on empty. Eat healthy food BEFORE you go.
Repeat after me, “This is not a feeding frenzy.”
Chose to “stroll” [not roll] into the New Year feeling great.

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32 Years and counting...

11/9/2016

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November 2016 - Death and illness is the evolution of life and in it can lead to the embers of a small gift of closure and a bridge to what comes next in life – closing of one chapter and the opening of another. 1984, 9th grade, sixteen years old, an early dismissal from school to go see my ailing father in the hospital, as it may be one of my last. It was. My siblings went to the hospital I did not. I stayed with my aunt at her nearby home. The story ends with a loud cry I overhead from my aunt when she learned he [my father] had passed away. He passed away TODAY - 9 November 1984. The day my life changed forever. I was fatherless. That surreal feeling of "what the heck!" happened? I'm a kid. This is too heavy, too big for ME. I felt numb and empty.

Not every step that led to that horrible day was bad, but I sure didn't know it until many, MANY years later. The illness that led to my father's passing prevented him from working which gave him more time with ME. The commitment he once gave to building a business and being a sole provider for his family of six was forced to be redirected to his children – building traditions and holiday memories. He cared for us, he saw off to school, he tended to homework, taught us how to take care of the household from cooking to farming and greeted us home daily – all while tending to his illness. He's sole mission in life was to PREPARE us, like a mini-military brigade or prep school, to be protectors, good citizens, and responsible adults, be honest, work hard, believe in something. Mediocrity was not acceptable and nothing with him ever went unnoticed -- we had to deliver at 100% ALWAYS. Anything else was unacceptable in his eyes. He was always present and watching. My point? I hated it then, but today I am thankful for his attentiveness and charter to make me better.

My advice is to cherish the time you have as a parent with your child(ren) and conversely the time you have with your parents. I have been on both spectrums. If you are a truly PRESENT parent, no matter when (how) you pass your children WILL remember, CHERISH you and you will be a guiding light in their lives.

Today, I don't measure my success by things; I measure it by my attentiveness in my own son’s life. My life’s desire is to PREPARE him for life, love him, influence him, equip him to make good decisions in his life whether I am here or not. That's my charter. Being a cancer survivor, it is an important charter.

The gift my father’s illness gave to me was more uninterrupted time with him. Time together was commonplace, but solo time alone was not in a big family. Four children, one-by-one, spent a day out of school with him… Each having real heartbreaking conversations that each other did not know about until long after his passing. These last conversations would him pouring the last bit of himself into us. I believe he passed away knowing his work was done.

Life prepares you for life. Be present. Thank you, Gene Fletcher, Dad for being a great Father and role model. Our time together was far too short, but you made the best of the time you had with me.

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Face Fear & DreamBig

6/30/2015

2 Comments

The keys to my future.

June 2015 - So hard for to me to wrap my mind around the space I'm in this moment in my own life -- new fitness studio owner. Why? I would have never imagined [old] myself here in a million years. So, how did I get here? Simple. I stepped outside my comfort zone and followed my fulfilled heart. The fulfillment did not come from my personal goals and achievements from 2010 forward relating to my transformation and improving fitness level -- taking me down 10 sizes, finally getting to the 5 years cancer-free mark, becoming a bodybuilding competitor, landing magazine features, running 3 half marathons and maintaining my weight loss.

My new HOME. :-) 110% FIT.

Fulfillment came from helping others -- EACH of YOU -- my clients, my audience, my fans, my cheerleaders, my motivators. You kept asking of me and I kept giving more and with each little bit of encouragement I offered I felt more whole. This felt natural to me.

I wanted to help people, but I didn't know I would make a career of it. Then one day while visiting my sister, she said, "You have a voice, you have the passion, people are lined up waiting, they need you and you have not fully accepted the challenge. All you have to do is accept the path God has laid out for you." Her words haunted me for days. I knew what she said to be true. Finally, I put fear and uncertainty aside and put the wheels in motion to not only be a beacon of hope, but a vessel for change for others -- I changed careers.

My new career grew and it needed a home where I could deliver in a setting that really fit me and how I wanted to deliver for my clients and 110% FIT was born. I wanted to create a small intimate place that felt like it had the gusto of a big box gym and more. The "more" part is the culture I wanted 110% FIT to have. I wanted to create a culture of belonging, a culture for change, a culture of accepting responsibility for one's outcome, a culture where clients feel they can do any darn thing they set their minds to and a culture of enrichment. These are the very tenants that fed my own personal transformation.

I am an aging woman whom has had plenty of struggles that could be viewed as setbacks, but I continued for forge forward. I get it and I operate from a different vantage point than other fitness professionals. Today, I am happy I faced my fear of uncertainty. 110 FIT is thriving and I have the privilege to change lives. This is not work for me. It is my passion.

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Let Yourself Evolve

2/27/2015

Do this for YOU because YOU want it.

mySteelcut Oats

mySmoothie

Turkey Burgers and Stuffed Peppers with Turkey

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