Tag Archives: starting over

GOAL SETTING

Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.

Tony Robbins

Happy Saturday to all. I am here after a long hiatus in blogging, and a few failed attempts to restart and reinvent my blog. I am a work in progress, at the moment I am just doing it despite some improvements I need on this website.

If you are new here I am a weight loss blogger, sponsoring a charity with each ten pounds. I started my blog in Los Angeles, moved to San Francisco and eventually back to Los Angeles. My weight went from well over 200 lbs to the lowest I achieved which was 159 lbs. We soon relocated to Houston TX, and after a few losses in the family my weight went up to what it is today, 191.8.

I own the slip up and how I stopped eating healthy and working out. Funny how we stop doing the hard work and we are surprised by the numbers on the scale.

My plan going forward is to document this brand new journey, a journey I am doing differently the second time around. I am a vegan now, for the animals and the environment; and I am learning how to eat best for my health. I started fresh this week with more of a whole foods/plant-based diet low in oils, sugars and salt. I do not promise to be perfect with the last part but that is what I am striving for. 

Learning fitness again is not easy, and I find myself out of shape and starting over. That is ok with me, if not today when? The hardest part was coming out and admitting I stumbled. I will be sharing every aspect of my new journey, the good and the bad.

I believe in a mind-body approach to life, and I am also a poet/writer so I will be sharing my thoughts on life, inspiration etc. A lot of the content on this blog will also be more lifestyle and wellness related.  I also plan to share all of my resources with you, what I am learning and where you can find the resources if you are ever inclined to do so.

I hope to start a YouTube Channel and a separate website for my writing and books. I say books because I am currently working on my second book.I have a lot to learn the second time around, blogging changes as technology changes. I am catching up though, and I am not waiting until I get the perfect computer, video camera, or updated website. The time is today.

I welcome you to join me as we are always reinventing ourselves and striving to be the best versions of ourselves. That is one of my main goals, to write content that inspires us all to live happier and more fulfilled lives.  No comparing ourselves to others, we inspire each other but we are each on our own unique journey. Join me on my path to wellness and happiness and I will join you on yours.

There is no yesterday and there is no tomorrow, today is the day I get it right. That’s my new formula. When I wake up on a brand new day I will repeat that mantra. Rose Bruno Bailey

every single day!

Namaste,

Rose

DAY ONE

There is no yesterday and there is no tomorrow, today is the day I get it right. That’s my new formula. When I wake up on a brand new day I will repeat that mantra.

Rose Bruno Bailey

Happy Friday to all. Today is my new official day one. I plan to post daily even if it’s just a quick update. There is a lot going on in my world, but to me that is the perfect time to begin anew before my weight gain gets out of control. I weighed in officially today, I am 191.8 lbs.   I was 159 lbs over a year ago. I own my slip up and I am ready to put the hard work in, this time I am vegan.

I am vegan for the animals and environment, and I am experimenting what works for my health and weight loss as I begin this journey to lose weight again. I am going to try to eat clean and whole foods/plant-based. I am lowering my oil, salt and  refined sugars significantly. I am also keeping a daily food journal with the Loseitapp. For the last six months I admit I did not try as I should have, and I ate a lot of vegan junk food. I am grateful those foods exist but from now on those will be occasional treats for me, just like meat based treats were occasional my first time around on this blog. I promise I will not get obsessive in my food choices, but to be frank I feel like complete crap and I am ready to get back to being me. For now I am shooting for 1,370 calories daily. That should translate to a over a pound a week weight loss.

Breakfast today was a half cup cooked oats with a small diced apple, one tablespoon chia seeds and soy yogurt. I had one cup of coffee with non dairy creamer, and I am on the look out for a non dairy creamer that is cleaner without added oils. I am open to suggestions. One cup of coffee for me daily is non negotiable. I love my morning java.

Wish me luck as I experiment and embark on this brand new journey. Off to workout before my night shift. Have a fabulous weekend full of gratitude for every moment. 

Love and Light

Rose

 

HEALTHY VEGAN

“Whether you think you can or can’t, you’re right.” ~Henry Ford

Starting over, how often do we do this again and again? I hit my lowest weight on this blog over a year ago, and then life took over my will power and drive. I have spent the last six months visualizing what I want going forward, but not yet grasping what I did before that gave me weight loss success. In essence I talked about starting over, but I let life still rule my will. Now it’s time I talk the talk again, and walk the walk. It’s never easy, life does keep throwing us curve balls; but it’s time I start playing dodge ball and dodging those damn obstacles to make it happen despite the challenges. Today I weighed in at a whopping 192.8, but I own that because I believe I can achieve my goals the second time around. That quote is my hubby’s favorite, and now mine too. I think I can.

If you follow my blog you know I have chosen a vegan lifestyle, This is for the animals, and the environment. Is it a journey finding how to lose weight again since I gained my weight back? Yes, it’s a brand new journey but I am a work in progress. I am living my most authentic self, staying true to my convictions.

This new journey has a learning curve but I am up for the challenge. In the beginning I ate a lot of vegan convenience foods. I love these alternatives and I will have them occasionally, but going forward I am planning a whole foods and plant based diet. Still vegan for the animals, but cleaner eating for me. It’s a win win. I can have those vegan alternatives occasionally as a treat, but my day to day diet will be clean. I lost all my weight eating clean, but this time I am vegan. I am relearning everything I did the first time around but with a compassionate twist. Today is day one, and I will be sharing everything I learn on this brand new journey. 

So I am back, back to daily blogging, back to being me one day at a time. We just flew in from Delaware and today we are grocery shopping and working out, and spending time with our Siamese cats. Today is a brand new day, and I am grateful to be alive to have the opportunity to start over. There are obstacles and challenges as always, but every time a curve balls comes my way, I will duck and keep going because I think I can. 

Love and light,

Rose

 

NEW BEGINNINGS

Happy Saturday to all. It took me a while to get here, exactly one year. I have put all the hardships and struggles behind me and I am focusing on the present and future. I was a little less than eager to start blogging again, I needed to find my way back naturally so when I did start blogging everything I shared would be truly authentic. I am at that place now. Here I am on my lovely balcony, listening to the fountain below and ready for new beginnings.

This is my weight loss blog, if you follow me you know I help a charity with each ten pounds. If you follow me on Facebook and Instagram you also know I had success at weight loss, helped several charities and lost sixty pounds. You probably are also aware after moving from Los Angeles to Texas I put on twenty-five pounds. I stopped blogging when the scale stopped moving. I got so frustrated I felt like I had nothing to say. Recently I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and with that diagnosis came my aha moment. Everything made sense. I worked so hard and the scale didn’t reflect my hard work. Soon I will be starting medication and sharing that aspect of my journey.

This blog going forward is still going to be my weight loss journey, but so much more. I would like to put myself in the wellness/lifestyle blogger category. I plan to continue my weight loss struggle and journey, but also incorporate many subjects that inspire me to live my dream life. Nothing will be off-limits but negativity. I will share my struggles but my voice will be positive and inspirational, as I gain inspiration from my mentors, readers, friends, family and the people I cross paths with. I have often said there is inspiration everywhere and I believe that. I also have plans to update this website to be more user-friendly and start a YouTube channel when I am able to purchase equipment to do so. For now,here I am with no thrills, beginning again. 

Summer has arrived, and I started this blog exactly 5 years ago in July. I cannot think of a better time to reinvent my blog and rekindle my healthy lifestyle and help others along the way.  I’ve missed you.

Love and Light

Rose Bruno Bailey

INSPIRATION

Starting over is never easy, especially after you lost most of your weight and you believed weight gain could not happen to you. 

Gaining weight, it did happen to me. I lost 60 and kept it off until June and in six months I have gained 30 back. The hardest part is admitting it. Now that I have faced it I’m ready to work hard again.

How am I going to do it the second time around? The first thing I did was contact a local food bank. When I commit to doing good for someone who needs it everything falls into perspective for me. Collecting food for the food bank is my first ten pound charity.

Do I still have problems and challenges? Of course, my cat Rascal is still sick and we are doing everything we can to heal him. It’s a lot of work but that’s what you do when you love. Does this mean I can neglect my health? Not any longer, no more excuses.

I did some grocery shopping so I can be ready to face my diet days. My friend Bill gave me his recipe for a post workout protein shake. It’s coconut water, a dab of chocolate syrup for flavor and powdered pea protein from Trader Joe’s. I’m going to add banana and spinach to my daily smoothies. Besides my running, workout schedule, writing I also plan to read some inspirational literature. I have owned The Alchemist for some time but I have never read it, so it’s my first book to read for week one.

Posting from my phone is new territory for me, but I believe it will help me stay accountable. Today is day two and even though we are in the midst of the Holidays I believe I got this even if it’s my second time around. Willpower don’t fail me now.

Have you lost a lot of weight and gained some or all of it back? Was it due to a life crisis? I would love to hear from you and hear your story. 

In times of change and transition I take solace in the fact that weight gain is only permanent if I believe it is permanent. It is up to me.

Love and Light

Let’s Do This 

Namaste’ 

Rose

 

 

 

 

 

 

STARTING OVER

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

 

 

WEIGHT LOSS JOURNEY

Good Day to all. I am on my day three of beginning my weight loss journey again, looking through a new lens and enjoying the beginning stages. I had quite the hiatus from my fitness and weight loss goals, so picking a charity to focus on has made all the difference in the world. I am doing a personal food drive for my first ten pounds. 

As I said in my previous post, each day I work out and eat healthy and stick to counting my points and staying accountable to my goals I will buy two cans, one for diet and one for workout. Monday and Tuesday I earned four cans for my food drive and I am beginning to feel much better. Putting my focus on earning cans for a food drive has made all the difference for me and it’s the first time in months I am sticking to my plan. I am promising to do something that helps me and will help others.

My plan is simple. I am doing the 80/20 rule again. I eat low processed and clean most of the time, and I trust my willpower to allow slight deviations without having a binge. I don’t want to be too all or nothing because that often backfires. I am also doing weight watchers online, counting my points and eating a lot of vegetables and plenty of fruit. I am not giving up on grains but keeping them to a minimum. To begin my first week I am jumping back to an hour of cardio a day. My plan to exercise every day for an hour or so, and I will be adding my workouts and yoga to my training schedule. 

I have a photo shoot planned in Pittsburgh PA on the summer solstice in 2018 to document my weight loss journey. It will be the five-year anniversary of my blog and I plan to be an after. Right now I am a work in progress. I have so many goals and plans for this blog going forward, but week one is just about finding my way back. I am finding myself again and it is wonderful.

Namaste’

Rose

STARTING DAY ONE

 

Starting over feels impossible, but it is just as easy as it ever was. It is all in the mindset.

Hello to all. I have not blogged in what seems like forever. I call it my hiatus. It took me some time to get back here. I am a little humbled after taking the whole summer to just rest and write but now it is time to get back to my weight loss and fitness goals. I am starting day one today. I have been busy with my writing goals and a little healing.

Below is a link to my essay series I wrote for WEHOville.com and an essay about my early days in Pittsburgh PA for Mt Lebanon Magazine.  I am also in Cleveland Magazines November issue, and I was published in Asana Journal yoga magazine. I now plan to juggle my writing goals with this blog and make it to my goal weight by the summer solstice in 2018.

https://lebomag.com/ladies-who-lunch/

http://www.wehoville.com/author/rbrunobailey/

I have gained a few pounds, but I am putting that behind me as I jump back into my weight loss program. I know what to do and now it is time to do what I do best. My health and well-being depends on it. You can choose to be happy and healthy with proper nutrition and exercise.

How am I starting over? I am starting a new beginning, and I will talk about my diet and fitness in future posts. I am starting over with a new charity. As you know I had weight loss and fitness success helping a charity with each ten pounds, and I helped numerous charities and lost 60 lbs. Well after my Mom’s passing and my move to Houston I fell of the wagon, got a little bruised and now I am jumping back on. I may be a little more clumsy in my jump than I was a few months ago, but that is ok. I will get there again.

I am starting with clean eating and exercise. Each day, beginning today I get through my day with the proper diet and water, and an hour exercise I will go to the store and buy two canned goods to be put aside. Each day I will do this, and by the end of each week I will have collected 14 cans to be donated when I lose my first ten pounds since stepping away from my weight loss blog. I plan to volunteer and deliver them to a local food bank, and my husband James is planning on joining me. I already have my cans for today, my new day one. I am getting back to basics.

It is a win win. I commit to getting healthy and working on my health, fitness and weight loss goals and I help a local food bank with my own personal food drive. I have said this before, and now I understand exactly what I meant. Feeling good and feeling healthy is far better than cheat days and splurges. I had one too many splurges this summer and I have not felt well. Health and well-being are more important to me than comfort food.

I am keeping day one short and sweet. I have some shopping to do and cardio and day one workout. I also am contacting food banks and I will announce where I am volunteering for my first ten pound weight loss in a future post.

OG original weight 220

WLW weight loss weight 159

CW current weight 179 (after my 20 lb weight gain) 

GW goal weight 135

Let’s do this, fall nine times and get up ten.

Time to get back to the grind.

Namaste’

Rose

 

 

TRANSITIONS IN WEIGHT LOSS

Transitions in weight loss and gaining some weight back. Pick yourself up, pick up the pieces, pick up your weights. Transitions in weight loss happen, just pick it back up where you left off. Continue the journey, you got this.

Starting Weight 220

Lowest weight loss 159

Weight Gain, Current Weight 179 

Goal Weight 130-135 By Summer

Last night I woke up from a dream. I must have been at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf on Sunset Blvd near where I lived in West Hollywood. It was so real and so vivid that I woke up and decided I would go there today to work on my writing projects. Than I realized where I was and that made going there impossible. I was dreaming but awake.

I find myself living in this beautiful little community right outside of Houston Texas, and after everything James and I have been through I am grateful to have the opportunity to pick up all the broken pieces, to pay the debt from when James was unemployed. I miss West Hollywood but I have to focus on the now for now.  I can either wallow in self pity or get back to being the best me I can be, and do it here in Houston.

As I begin this blog again just like when I began in 2013 I took a new waitress job, and I am assuming it will be my last. This job is going to be a learning curve for me as far as managing my time to do my outside pursuits. As my Mother Shirley would say, suck it up kid. We need two incomes to be able to get us back on track. So this autumn I need to find a way to work on my goals and manage a full time server job. The gym in my complex is open 24 hours so I should be ok. I also plan to do all of this and some writing projects  and do it with a smile. 

If you find yourself in hot water, make like a kettle and sing. I am singing today, my official day two. I am also saying goodbye to my former self, the summer me who gained a few pounds and was just a little lost. Today is my day two and I am ready for a better version of me. I am using the lose it app to keep my portions and calories in control and writing up my ten goals for the month of October. I think slipping up one time in four years is not too bad. So here I am, downloading my running playlist, singing and cooking healthy food. Today I am making soup, here is the recipe I am making tonight. It is autumn and even though it is still so hot here James loves soups and football.

How To Make Vegetarian Split Pea Soup

 

Ain’t no use in complaining when you got a job to do. Bryan Adams

I have a lot of jobs to do but I like it that way. 

Namaste’

Love and Light

Rose

FULL CIRCLE

20472165_10155431492018617_1161137351_nWe start fresh, we get excited. We go all in, gung ho and high on our new quest. Life comes in and decides to shake us up a bit. We stumble and fall from the personal earthquake that is our life,  After the last aftershock ceases we stay still in fear and our own perceived failures, we stop moving forward. Eventually we circle back, all things are connected even our goals and the obstacles that seem to keep us at arms distance from our destination. We circle back, eventually everything comes full circle, even us.

I am in the process of circling back and finding my way. This week was my first weigh in since I dropped the ball on my fitness and weight loss journey. The ball bounced upward in my favor, as I lost five of the thirteen pounds I gained and now it is also time to re-commit to my fitness routine.

My fitness routine to begin is this:

walking every day except on my running days- one hour or more

Running three times a week

Melissa Bender Fitness 3 times a week

Sneaking in stretching and yoga to help me succeed.

Seems simple and I think it is something I can sustain as my body starts to bounce back.

Are you with me, are you circling back after dropping the ball on your goals? We are all connected, let’s circle back together.

Namaste

Love and Light

Rose