Category Archives: giving back

WEIGH IN MONDAY

Happy Monday to all? Today is weigh in Monday and I lost 2 lbs, cue happy dance. That brings me to 182 lbs. I’m down 7.6 lbs. I’m keeping a journal of my meals and calories on the Loseitapp and I’m using Dr Greger’s Daily Dozen App to keep track of my vegan nutrition. I’m doing this six days a week and one day a week I allow a vegan cheat day. On that day I eat whatever vegan foods I like, but I do my best to keep my calories in check.

Losing weight through stress or when you are in a personal crisis is not easy. For me what’s working this second try around is I’m focusing on my nutrition and my fitness. My meal plan six days a week is very clean, with very low salt, no oils and just a bit of raw sugar in my coffee. Using both apps keeps me accountable. My energy is definitely up since I started the Dr Greger Daily Dozen. My one vegan cheat day a week allows me to eat the vegan foods I love. This week I’m choosing that day to be Halloween.

Another bonus is how incredibly inexpensive this way of eating is. Lentils, tofu, split peas, canned beans no salt, fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables, quinoa, Ezekiel bread, oats, flax seeds, no salt peanuts and no salt peanut butter. It’s not always easy to tick off everybox, yesterday I missed cruciferous vegetables; but that’s ok. I strive to each day do better.

I am also working on some new and exciting projects, I also plan to waitress more than usual, and I’m continuing forward with this blog with the intent to post more regularly and I plan more videos in YouTube.

Dr Greger recommends exercise daily and I may start my workouts in the evening on my work days to be able to manage everything I’m working on. I bought an amazing planner from Barnes and Noble to keep everything organized.

It is all about a positive mindset. Stress gets me, and sometimes I feel like I’m drowning in it; than I remember I’m a good swimmer. Right now im treading water through my struggles and my eye is on my health, fitness, strength, flexibility, and longevity. I’m proud to be a plant eater.

Stay tuned for next post when I announce how I’m doing my small part to help others in the community I live in with the wonderful people I work with.

When you find yourself struggling, it helps to help others.

Namaste’

Rose

STARTING OVER

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I Have taken to grinding my teeth, which means I have a lot of stress to deal with. In the last six months I lost my way on this blog and my weight loss journey; my Mother’s passing, a move away from California and a very sick cat left me with thirty extra pounds. I did the unthinkable, I gained half my weight back. This post is not to complain about the changes and stress that I encountered. This post is me facing my weight gain and getting back to blogging and losing weight. I know what to do, it just took me a while to find my way back to me. Half the battle is facing the music head on, admitting it happened and making the necessary changes to get back on track. My name is Rose and I went from 159 lbs in May of 2017 to 189 lbs as of Today November 29th 2017. For the sake of blogging I am going to say I am 190 it is easier to manage the numbers.

Today is my real day one, I am starting over. I am going to lose my first ten pounds of the thirty I gained. I am going to do my food drive when I lose the ten pounds. I am back to committing to a charity and committing to myself and my health. I couldn’t be more motivated. It took me six months to get here but here I am, ready to get to work. Each day I workout and eat healthy I will collect a can to be donated when I lose my first ten pounds.

How am I going to do it? How did you do it? These are questions I am often faced, but I am in unfamiliar territory having had the moment when I slipped up and lost my momentum. I spent six months eating foods on a regular basis that normally I would only eat as a treat. I also ate a lot of carbs. I know my body and what diet works best for my body type. This is not my first rodeo. I am doing what I always did successfully but I am doing a do over.

Exercise, I am doing cardio mostly walking nightly on the treadmill after work with my husband James. We call it date night. We are getting healthy together and getting back eating mostly plant-based and lower carbohydrate and some lean protein for me. I am also doing body weight exercise based workouts from Melissa Bender Fitness and in a few weeks when I feel ready I plan to tackle the machines at the gym. I plan to run three times a week and Yoga and stretching to round it out. I am also working a server job again, which helps because it is an active job and I can bring home healthy salads and fish dishes.

Here it goes, I got on the scale, all the Thanksgiving leftovers are gone. I have my challenges but that is life. Dealing with my weight gain head on with diet and working out will only help me with these challenges. I also plan to post more often, and some posts will just be quick updates with no fancy writing. I plan to plan to be here and be accountable. Less photos for now and more of the struggles we all face. I will save my writing for publications and photos for when I start losing again. For now it is all about the hard work. I have a slow computer and my goal is to be here and get it done and get to work on my fitness. There will be time later when I get a faster pc for more photo uploads when I start losing again. No excuses.

There is no shame in admitting you stumbled, there is no shame in admitting you fell on your face. Can you get up? Stand back up? Fall nine, get up ten. I am getting back up, my self esteem is bruised but soon it will heal.

After all, we are all human. I found out how human I really am. I also remembered feeling strong, fit and healthy feels better than eating pie.

Love and Light,

Namaste’

Rose

WEIGH IN MONDAY

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Happy Monday to all. Today is Weigh in Monday and I decided to skip my weigh in, and weight til next Monday. Notice the spelling of wait? I need to step away from the scale, scale back from the stress of the numbers. I had a really rough week, and there are some extra stresses at the moment in my life, and I am no stranger to chaos, stress and change. How I will handle these changes will be determined in the weeks to come, but today I am breathing and just taking one moment at a time. That is all you can do anyway.

Last week I went to the ER, fell and injured my knee days later, and had a personal crisis put upon my plate. I did not track my food, I really just lost interest in logging, but I caught myself and today I begin anew, and next week I will jump back on the scale with renewed vigor no matter what the outcome is. One of the keys to losing weight is staying consistent even when life throws you lemons. Take those lemons, make lemon bars and share with others. Kindness to others always makes you feel better when you are down.

I also had a lot of positives happen this week too. I got my hair done and I am so happy with it.

My next story I pitched for Mt Lebanon Magazine was accepted. Here is the link to the first essay they published about me and Melissa from Melissa Bender Fitness. (http://lebomag.com/a-newfound-friendship/) I sent off more submissions to other magazines and websites in regards to my writing, my poetry, and my weight loss story. My book Camellia in Snow, here is the link, (https://www.amazon.com/Camellia-Snow-Rose-Bruno-Bailey/dp/1515347141/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8 ) will be at Books Soup and Vroman’s in May.

Every day is an opportunity for success, even if the success is just a tiny glimpse of success that is to come. Keep dreaming no matter what is going on around you.

Now I wait and look for more places to write for and to submit. If I fall and tumble, I will pick myself off, dust my ego and keep moving forward no matter how slow. When I am down I will write, and when I am up I will run. No matter what life throws at me, I will channel it into something positive. I don’t know where I am going, but I know I am a go getter.

Namaste’

Love and Light

Rose

RECOMMITTING TO MY GOALS

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In the New Year I have recommitted to a lot of my goals. I have joined Weight Watchers online and I am now my lowest weight on this blog, 159 lbs. I lost 9 lbs since I began on January 14th. I am proud to be published twice in a international yoga magazine, but there is so much more work for me to do, for this blog and my writing. I have recommitted to all of my goals.

I revised my yoga, running, and my workout schedule. Today is my running and yoga day and the weather is my type of running weather and I could not be happier. I am also revising my fitness bucket list, and I plan to work on my book stuff as well as this blog. It helps when the weather is so warm and inviting. One of the things I am really working on is my blanket drive.

Here is what I wrote about blankets, this is one of the things I am working on. I am trying to collect blankets for the homeless at the Midnight Mission, I slacked off a little but I now have about ten blankets. I plan to deliver blankets and volunteer after I get to 150 lbs. This gives me plenty of time to collect more.

Happiness is a warm blanket.

Charlie Brown

Today I had some extra time to myself when a friend cancelled on our morning coffee. It was extra time to do nothing but to snuggle with my two Siamese cats and a big fluffy blanket. As I lay there completely content to be idle, my mind started to reflect how lucky I am to have such a simple yet happy moment blanketed from all the woes found outside our front door.

A blanket is one of those items you probably never think about, but think how attached you are to it. A blanket comforts your body and your soul. On a hot summer night do you still curl up with your blanket? It is much more than an item that keeps you from getting cold, it is a security blanket. A blanket protects in the wee hours of the night. Even our beloved pets feel safe when there is a cozy blanket to curl up in. A blanket is warmth, and warmth is love.

For the homeless a blanket is all of these things and so much more. A blanket is a safety net from the elements of the street, a barrier against all the dangers that exist when you dwell without four walls to keep you safe. To a homeless person a blanket is shelter, a soothing hug in the middle of the night, a coat to keep you warm. A blanket is a veil of privacy, a sleeping bag, a layer between you and the mean streets. To a homeless person a simple item like a blanket is home.

This brings me to my current Charity Project. I will be doing a blanket drive to collect new blankets for the homeless for The Midnight Mission in Downtown Los Angeles. http://www.midnightmission.org/

I am collecting now through the time I reach 150 lbs. I will be planning to volunteer and deliver the blankets, hopefully with a friend.

As I wrap it up my two Siamese cats Rascal and Spanky are in dreamland curled up with a blanket and probably content to be there all day. Creature comforts are so important for both humans and animals.

Much love and light.

Chasing goals and trying to help others is my aim

Namaste’

Rose

I CHEATED ( this is what happened)

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It is now common knowledge that the average American gains 7 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day.

Marilu Henner

The dreaded scale after the holidays, how many of you faced it today? I did, and I gained five pounds. I knew I put on a few pounds so I felt there was no reason to avoid the scale. Better to know now, as I begin anew in 2017 with my weight loss and fitness goals. One of the reasons I feel this happened because I went so extreme on my diet for five months. than I ate whatever I felt like eating off and on in between Thanksgiving and New Years. I did not plan to eat with abandon, it just happened. I am human.

My plan for my next 10 lb charity is to deliver the blankets I am collecting for the homeless to the Midnight Mission when I lose 10 lbs and finally make it into the 150’s. 159 I am coming for you.

I am here to tell you one or two cheat meals are ok, but every day cheating for a few weeks left me feeling as crappy as the food I ate. I thought maybe I would feel the joy of the holidays if I indulged, I worked every holiday and I was trying to find my joy elsewhere. This year the holidays lacked sparkle for me. I am here to remind you and remind myself that food is not the answer to happiness. A little moderation is better than an all out binge. It left me feeling empty and not healthy. I felt bloated, ill and my stomach and joints felt off kilter. It did not bring me the joy I was seeking, it did the opposite.

Marilu Henner got it right on the nose, but I was lucky I only gained five pounds since Thanksgiving. Now I have to back track a little, but no complaining. I got this. Lesson learned for the future. Back to the 80/20 rule. Eat healthy almost all the time, but leave room for occasional treats, of course within portion control.

Life is not linear; you have ups and downs. It’s how you deal with the troughs that defines you.

Michael Lee-Chin

Back to the drawing board, as I sketch the 2017 I envision. I need to do some grocery shopping and I am reading health magazines for ideas. I am on day three of Melissa Bender Fitness 30 day Challenge. ( I am behind so I am doing one round of day two and one round of day three so I can be in sync with Melissa.I am also going to join her and work on my flexibility. Here is the link. I got 2017 by the collar and I am showing this year whose the boss. Who is with me? Let’s do this.

http://www.benderfitness.com/2017/01/muffin-top-meltdown-body-weight-exercises-to-burn-fat-strengthen-your-core.html

HAPPY NEW YEAR

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The new year stands before us, like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written. We can help write that story by setting goals.

Melody Beattie

Happy New Year. I cannot believe 2017 is upon us. I actually love New Years, because I love the idea of starting over and reinvention. It could be as small as starting fresh on a Monday morning or taking a big leap and committing to your goals as the clock strikes midnight on a brand new year. I am so ready for this year and all of my goals; weight loss and fitness blog goals, personal goals and artistic goals. Let’s do this 2017.

I believe for me 2016 was a transitional year. A lot of good happened but most of the year was spent working on a move from San Francisco back to LA and dealing with the nuances of settling into a new home. I did hit my lowest weight in 2016 since beginning my weight loss/charity project. I am half way to my weight loss goal.

Besides my weight loss one of my proudest accomplishments was being featured in my first print magazine, Asana Journal, International Yoga Magazine. Check it out.

I lost my way a little on my blog, a very busy holiday season at work really wore me out. I also went five months without a cheat day on my diet, and then I did take a little time to enjoy holiday food and celebrate life. I admit it, eating off program left me feeling lethargic and ill. I learned a lot over my diet hiatus, I like eating healthy and exercising and when I eat unhealthy foods I feel unhealthy. I am back to treating my body like a temple. I am following the 80/20 rule. Eat healthy 80% of the time and leave 20% open for occasional treats.

My first commitment of the new year is to get back to posting regularly on this blog, at least every other day if not daily. I am making a resolution to my weight loss and fitness goals. I am currently collecting blankets for The Midnight Mission, and following my original format one charity per each ten pounds. I will deliver the blankets to the Mission as soon as I lose my next ten pounds. That is what I do, I lose weight and I do something for charity. It is a win, win.

Starting on January 2, 2017 I am beginning Melissa Bender 30 day fitness challenge Here is the link to her original 30 day fitness challenge.http://www.benderfitness.com/2014/05/original-30-day-workout-challenge.html

I have many fitness goals, including yoga and running goals. I will revisit my fitness bucket list within the next few weeks. I am motivated and ready to begin anew. Who is with me?

CRISIS CHALLENGES

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It is Thanksgiving week and it never escapes me how lucky I am, despite being in what seems to be a long-term financial crisis. I keep dieting and exercising through my challenges. This week we had yet another disappointment, but I am not going to allow myself to wallow in my woes. I took a moment yesterday, cried in my coffee over conversation with my dear friend Mary. I shared with her some things that concern me about being in a financial crisis as a weight loss blogger. My friend is a fixer type of friend, she is completely giving and the kind of person who tries to come up with solutions to your issues. She is amazing and I am lucky to have her around the corner. I am thankful indeed for all of my friends, family, my husband James and our beloved Siamese cats Rascal and Spanky. I am thankful for life.

I decided to do a quick post and share my thoughts and concerns about being in a financial crisis and how it affects my blog, These thoughts are ridiculous to me when I type them up, but they are my feelings. Being in a financial crisis puts a limit on a lot of spending. If you know me, you know I am more interested in helping others, in reveling in nature than I am about material possessions. With that said, everyone likes nice things, and I am not immune to that fact. If you follow fellow weight loss bloggers and well as fitness bloggers it seems a lot of the things they post I cannot post because of my situation. I feel like I do not measure up. This is not a pity statement, rather a way to get it out and share and to come up with other ways to be a motivational weight loss blogger during my lean time. I love that I said lean, because despite my crisis, I can say I accomplished my lowest weight on my blog. I did it even though there were times I wanted to dive head first in a vat of chocolate cake batter. It has been five months without a cheat day, and I have one more month to go. My workouts are at www.benderfitness.com which are all free. My equipment is weights, a mat and again a pair of worn shoes. Here are my silly concerns and how I am moving past them. I keep moving.

My running shoes have seen their best day. I almost did not go to the last Richard Simmons Slimmons class out of embarrassment. I shared this in a private group, and the beautiful support that came my way through the Slimmons family taught me I am not an embarrassment. Someone even kindly offered to mail me shoes his wife has never worn. That touched me but it was not why I posted it, I just felt the need to vent. I am grateful to him and the whole Slimmons family, and as I type I am sporting my proudly worn Asics and my new Nike’s that were gifted to me. I am proud of all my steps. I am proud where these shoes have been, and where I am going.
Instagram is filled with photos of people posting work out gear. I love nice work out clothes too, so I love liking the photos. I cannot do that now, and that is OK. I will find other ways to share my journey. So I am at my lowest weight on my blog and I am not clothes shopping. It will come soon enough, perhaps when I hit my ultimate weight loss goal. For now I keep keeping on and staring as trees as I run in my worn shoes. This gives me something to work for and something to look forward to. Perhaps a fun photo shoot when I finally reach that elusive weight loss goal of 135 lbs. The new clothes can wait, I am refocusing on the work. It is all about the hard work, the health and the wellness. And of course the connections with people.
Races. I have done a few and I wish to do more. They are not cheap. I hope to run in a race in the new year. In the meantime, I will maybe do a virtual race and ask my followers to run along with me virtually. In 2015 I ran across the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and that was such a high on national 4/20 day. I can find another place to do a run here in LA, some place that really is special. As long as I keep running in my worn shoes I will reach my dream destination. I am a work in progress.
Recipes and Food. Lately I have fallen off the wagon with cooking and shopping for groceries. We are keeping our diet simple, and I eat a lot of my meals at work. I tend to rely on the same fast and healthy options. It does not leave me much time or money to make elaborate recipes and that is OK. We have food, we eat healthy, we are grateful. Tonight I am off and trying a couple of healthier autumn treats. I am going to bake apples and make a baked sweet potato with just a few pecans, marshmallows and banana. I will post these budget friendly recipes. I can do one or two new recipes a week. I love shopping at thrift stores and finding treasures on a dime. This is my vintage Cuisinart food processor that I made black bean brownies with.
My Blanket Drive. I wanted to hold a boot camp to raise blankets for the Midnight Mission in LA for the Homeless. This is my next charity. I ended up sick and I have an injured rotator cuff so this felt like a failure to me. The game may have changed, but the prize is still the same. I am collecting blankets for the homeless and I will continue to do so from now until I deliver them to The Midnight Mission in December. It is getting Cold here in LA and the blankets are needed. Here are my thoughts on blankets for the homeless.http://mychangeforaten.com/1750-2/ I am getting to my goals despite the issues and nuances of life. My best friend Melissa Bender called me Mulan today. I am a warrior fighting my metaphorical huns. Much love and light, I am thankful for you. Happy Thanksgiving to all. Remember to treat your body like a temple but still enjoy life. It is the holiday so it is totally acceptable to indulge and share delicious fare with family and friends. Try to watch your portions and maybe get out for a walk or run. xo

RICHARD SIMMONS SLIMMONS CLOSING

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Good Day Monday. In the spirit of Thanksgiving I feel an over abundance of gratitude. This weekend was a very emotional weekend for me and many others. Richard Simmons Slimmons Studio held it’s last class in Beverly Hills CA. I was lucky enough to be living back in LA to attend the last class. It was such a bitter sweet moment, a reunion and a goodbye; yet for me the connections and friendships will last a lifetime. Richard Simmons himself did not teach the class, and he was missed dearly yet it still was such a beautiful moment, a gathering of people from all ages who are forever connected by Richard Simmons and his message. Love yourself, love others, such a simple yet profound message.

If you have followed my weight loss blog and journey you know in the beginning in 2013 I was in the Richard Simmons’ HairDo video, and soon after I was a regular and a member at Slimmons Studio in Beverly Hills. I met so many wonderful people through my Slimmons experience, and getting to know Richard Simmons was indeed a high point not only in my weight loss blog and journey but in my life. I made life long friends, I became part of a community where everyone is welcome. We are all on the same path, working towards better health and wellness and Richard Simmons, the Slimmons staff and members of Slimmons welcomed me and everyone with open arms. I felt like family.

In 2014 I moved to San Francisco, and it was about the same time Richard Simmons decided to take a break from public life. He stopped teaching classes at his studio. I continued to follow my friends online and I followed his Facebook page from afar. Like the rest of the world I was concerned about him. I am so grateful I was back in LA to be at the last class taught before Slimmons closes its doors for good.

A little back story about my Richard Simmons experience. Way before I ever met him, before my little appearance in his video, and before the classes, I was a dancer who did my Mother’s Sweatin’ to the Oldies tapes with my sister in our living room in Cleveland, Ohio. I can still do all the routines. My favorite tape was Sweatin’ to the Oldies 2, it had the best music. I dreamed of appearing in one of his videos. ( little did I know that one day I would be in one of his videos). Every time I hear the song Heatwave, or Shout I bust into a routine and skip through a grapevine, it doesn’t matter where I am or who I am with.

I am and always will be in awe of Richard Simmons and the whole Slimmons community and I am forever grateful to call myself part of it. Richard Simmons and his community were the beginning and inspiration that got me rolling on this weight loss journey and blog. The video was in July 2013, the exact week I began my weight loss blog. I almost did not go because I was so embarrassed about my weight. Since that moment I am now at 164 lbs. I am 29 lbs away from goal. I have learned many lessons along the way, lessons from Richard Simmons and his community.

I owe so much to Richard Simmons, Slimmons and the friends I met along the way at that little lively Studio in Beverly Hills, CA. Saturday was a moment of memories, of tears, of people gathering around and dancing to the music. The energy could light up all of Los Angeles. Richard Simmons was not teaching, but the wonderful staff (Sherry, Michelle, and Anne) captured that same spark, that feeling that I kept coming back for. I am alive, and I love life. That is the feeling I got from Slimmons classes. It was not about the size of my thighs, or how my body image felt on that particular day. It was this sensation, you know that magical feeling when the hairs on your arm stand on end? That is what it felt like to dance within the hallowed walls of Slimmons.

It was Magical.

I am only half way there but so grateful for the journey. In my head I will always hear Richards words of wisdom:

Drink your water

Move every Day

Watch your portions

Be kind to yourself and to others.

The closing of Slimmons was a reunion, a sad yet joyful reunion. I was just grateful I had the opportunity to be here and share in the moment and memories with the people I now call life long friends. My inspirations, my mentors, my contemporaries, the loves of my life. People of all ages, we are all connected by Richard Simmons.

I walked away with renewed willpower and inspiration. I am looking into becoming a group exercise instructor myself. It is something I have wanted to do for a long time and Marie a member of Slimmons (and an aerobics instructor) inspired me to go for it. I admit the last few weeks my will lass been at a low. I got sick, I have an injured rotator cuff but reuniting with the Slimmons family was just what I needed to keep going. I am sad it is closing but so grateful for the experience.

I will take this renewed inspiration and move forward. I will try harder, work harder, and be kinder to myself as I am out chasing my goals. I will keep in touch with the lovely souls from Slimmons I call friends, and I will attend classes of those who now teach in the style that captured the world by storm. The eye of that storm as retired yet his influence will go on forever.

Next time you take a sip of your water with lemon, remember Richard Simmons is the straw that stirs the drink. Keep Dancing. You are beautiful. We are family.

Much love and Light to all

Let’s Sweat

We love you Richard Simmons

Love, Rose

ADJUST YOUR SAILS

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Tonight the party I was supposed to work cancelled, and I had an impromptu night off. I never got the call and went into work anyway. Life throws surprises all the time. Instead of being upset that I went all the way there, I adjusted my sails and walked home and was happy to have the night off. I ended up making Black Bean Brownies and hanging out with my husband James and our two Siamese cats, precious time with my busy schedule. Life has been hectic these last few months but I am so happy and grateful to be back in Los Angeles. A simple night, tomato soup and my loves made me very happy.

That got me thinking, what is the game changer when it comes to weight loss and fitness success? Why do some people gain the weight back and other people are able to get to their goals and maintain weight loss and fitness? I believe I accidentally figured what it takes, or I figured out what is keeping me on the path to weight loss and fitness success.

I gear my workouts to all the changes that my life brings me. Life is not constant, but I adjust my sails and ride the waves to the destination of my goals. I realized the beginning of a weight loss journey is the easiest, but keeping the momentum going takes work and takes consistency. It take a willingness to adapt to the changes that life brings.

I have been through a lot, a lot I write about and a lot I have kept private. I started this blog and my weight loss/fitness/philanthropic journey in 2013 with the help of a trainer that introduced me to fitness. I was having success with my LA lifestyle and it was amazing having someone tell me I can do it. I was able to help various charities and lose weight in the process. It was smooth sailing for me.

In autumn 2014 my husband James and I moved to The San Francisco Bay area, a move that came on rather suddenly. There was a big fear that I would quit, that I would regress and lose all I was working on. A rational fear that everything I worked hard on would fall apart.

All of a sudden my lifestyle completely changed. I was living in a brand new city, working a lot more than I did in LA, and I no longer had a trainer pushing me. I had to adjust to my new life. It took a few months but I did find my footing in the bay area,I did some charities and met some amazing friends. I ran in a 5K with my boss and made my best time in a race. I adjusted my journey to my new reality. I did not give up, I just worked with my new lifestyle. I started Melissa Bender Fitness workouts and I realized I can do this. I believed and stayed consistent in my endeavors, despite the challenges of a brand new life. There were a lot more temptations in San Francisco, a city known for food but throughout the challenges I continued on and I am grateful for my experience there.

We recently decided to move back to Los Angeles, and again my whole lifestyle went through another transition, another new job with different hours. Yet last week I hit my lowest weight since I began my journey. What is it that has kept me going?

I didn’t quit, I am persistent and consistent. I have adjusted my workouts, my running, my diet to fit my new lifestyle. I find myself being too tired in the morning to work out since I am working later at night than I am used to, so I do my workouts after work. Who said workouts cannot be done at 11 pm? Are there rules to working out? If so I am breaking them and making my own rules and it is working for me. I started a six month countdown to my December Birthday with no cheat days for the whole six months, and stayed consistent to my benderfitness workouts. I continue to meet wonderful people that inspire me.

My advice to anyone beginning a diet and exercise program is to be prepared to change and evolve because life brings on changes and transitions. Every time my life dramatically changed paths, I adjusted my route to stay on course. I am successful despite the constant changes in my life. I am proud to say through it all I never gave up. My life continues to change, and I have changed inside and out and continue to adjust my sails to the whim of the mighty wind that is uncertainty. Bring it on life. I am a master of challenges and change.

Happy New Day

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Yesterday was the Jewish New Year, and to all of my Jewish friends I wish you abundant blessings and joy. To my non-Jewish friends I send you the same love. Tonight I witnessed people sharing well wishes for the New Year to all, no matter what their backgrounds were. I was completely in awe to see the best in humanity. It does not matter where you come from or what your background is. You can always learn something from other cultures and embrace the celebration and joy of living. I am pleased to say tonight I was inspired.

New Beginnings, I admit I have always been a fan. A chance to reinvent yourself, a chance to start over and try again. Mondays, the beginning of Autumn, Birthdays, The New Year. Every new day is a brand new beginning. Didn’t have a great day yesterday? You woke up breathing today so you get a second chance at it.

I have been blogging about my weight loss journey, my fitness journey and my charities now for three years. I believe I have experienced many successes but at the same time I struggled with some things; I am human after all, I have flaws. With all the success I had, the 60 lb weight loss, the fitness milestones, the charities I helped, sticking to a strict diet, there are also some things I feel I failed at. In life we tend to look at our failures and not our successes. In the last two years I experienced a whirl wind of change, a lot good and some not so good. A sudden move to San Francisco and a move back to Los Angeles. I now find myself back to where I began this journey and inspired by the Jewish New Year to start again on what I consider to be one of my failures. How perfect to embrace the newness of the holiday and give myself another go at it. Every one you encounter has a lesson to share. Are you listening?

I keep up my fitness, I get out and run and walk every day. I workout all the time. My diet is on point. My failure is that I never made it through Melissa Bender 12 week Bikini Prep schedule. I somehow always get sidetracked and I end up just doing what I learned from my former trainer Mike and Melissa Bender, basically a mish mosh of exercises. I always wanted to make it through all 12 weeks. I have been going strong on my six month diet challenge with no cheating but I have come up short on this particular goal of mine. So inspired by the Jewish New Year and a brand new Monday, today I begin anew and start over the 12 week program. The timing is perfect and If my calculations are correct I should be wrapping up this goal along with my diet goal by the time I reach my 50th birthday

http://www.benderfitness.com/bikini-competition-workouts-12-week-program

Today is day one. I do have an injury so I will do everything but also modify what I cannot do with my shoulder. I also have some physical therapy exercises I will work on. I admit I lost a lot of strength when I hurt my shoulder. Of course I am going to commit to running regularly and work on my yoga practice.

I am also committing to writing more on this blog like I did for the first year. I am going to document everything on this journey, the good, the bad and everything in between. I am far from an after, but a work in progress. I am planning my next charity and I will be posting the official announcement for Beach Blanket Bootcamp this week. I am collecting new blankets for the homeless and the Midnight Mission. The official date is November 12th at noon. More details this week. You can read about my project in the link below the photo. I finally made my lowest weight in 20 years. Now, that is a success.

http://mychangeforaten.com/1750-2/

I love Hope

I love New beginnings,

I love dreams and all creatures of the universe.

I love life.

A quote from one of my favorite movies, The Shawshank redemption

Red: I find I’m so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it’s the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope.

I love Hope. Happy New Beginnings to all.

Namaste’

Happy New Year, Happy New Day

Rose

MY CHANGE FOR A TEN

Rose Bruno Bailey’s site about vegan weight loss, fitness, philanthropy and more. I’m chasing joy and all of my dreams and goals by becoming my own happiness guru. Let’s spread sunshine and be happiness gurus together.

Category Archives: giving back

WEIGH IN MONDAY

STARTING OVER

WEIGH IN MONDAY

RECOMMITTING TO MY GOALS

I CHEATED ( this is what happened)

HAPPY NEW YEAR

CRISIS CHALLENGES

RICHARD SIMMONS SLIMMONS CLOSING

ADJUST YOUR SAILS

Happy New Day