Anchors A Weigh

It has been a week since I found out I won the Fitness Together contest, and I've lost 2.5 pounds. I'm starting to lose the anchors that keep me from being light on my feet. I'm psyched about the idea of losing weight, feeling stronger and more flexible, and looking better, but I don't want to lose sight of my major goal for doing this. On February 4th, the day after I complete the program, I leave for Nicaragua with my business partner Georganne and a group of volunteers. We are going to be building an addition onto a home out of earthbags with a family on the island of Ometepe so the grandmother doesn't have to sleep in a room with plastic sheeting for walls.


This is what building a home out of earthbags looks like:

Here are what some completed homes built with earthbags look like. It's going to be hard work and I am committed to being in great shape in order to be an active participant in the process throughout the week. I am so excited about doing this work in February and for as many years in the future that I can, and am looking forward to sharing pictures and videos of the work we are doing.

This is a tough 4 days in terms of eating. I went to a birthday party tonight, we're having people over for dinner tomorrow night, we're going to a baby shower on Saturday, a Christmas party brunch on Sunday, and a Christmas party Sunday evening. Normally, I would be indulging in plenty of food and drink at all 4 occasions. I made a commitment to Brandon that I'm not drinking alcohol or eating dessert until after February 3rd. I'm exercising at an intense level and restricting my calories somewhat, so I want all the calories I'm taking in to be calories my body can use for building my strength.

I'm really glad I made that commitment, because I could have easily rationalized drinking a beer or two tonight and having some birthday cake. I also wouldn't have spent as much time studying the menu to figure out what would taste delicious and be healthy (I ordered the plank steak, a salad, horseradish mashed potatoes, and asparagus--yummy--and ate about 1/2 of what was on my plate ).

It makes such a difference to make a commitment to someone else. Without it, this weekend would have resulted in me being more heavily anchored to the earth.