Determined To Succeed

Happy Monday, everyone. The weekend is over (as are the Grammys finally – longest awards show ever!) and now it’s time to start the week fresh, excited and motivated. Most of all I am excited and motivated by any and all newcomers to the website today. Welcome. I hope you all continue to read me, become new friends and know we are all in this weight loss journey together. If you are visiting for the first time take time and explore the website and don’t be shy about writing me to tell me what you think. I’d love to hear from you.

Yesterday I just happened to be at the Cherry Hill Mall and I ran into a dear old friend of mine, Cheri, who I haven’t seen in months. She was out and about with her 15-month-old son, Jacob, just tooling around. What a pleasant surprise it was to see her and catch up on a little bit of the old and a little bit of the new. We also had a blast watching her little one learn what walking on “new mall legs” is like in a place populated by giants with lots and lots of bags.

I got to thinking afterward how funny it is how food can work the same way. How when you don’t have a certain food for such a long time (i.e. visiting that “old food friend”) and you revisit it sometimes it’s for the good and sometimes for the not-so-good. That happened the other day with my not-so-smart splurge with a Chunky bar. You guys know Chunky? Besides the fact I used to be quite unbelievably chunky this square chocolate bar featured nuts and raisins and I ate then quite often as a child (another reason I turned into the candy bar’s namesake in physical stature). Well, the other day, on Friday, I decided to have one – for old time’s sake – and believe me when I tell you – eh, not-so-good.

It wasn’t that it was bad, but it was very much like that Throwback Pepsi I had earlier in the week. Just as much as I wanted that cool “old friend” feeling that certain foods can bring the actual foods didn’t. Sigh. And that’s OK. taste buds change. And there are many times when my fried rice is that steady “old friend” I visit from time to time when I need a taste of some comfort to ease my mind about something. For that, and sometimes that alone, my taste buds haven’t changed.

But unlike running into wonderful old friends at the mall running into certain food “old friends” isn’t as great as it should be. Quite the contrary. These “old friends” always leave you cold in the end and with more baggage than when you came for the visit (on the hips, thighs and tum tum). Ironically when I ran into Cheri I just happened to be standing directly next to the Auntie Anne’s Pretzel kiosk and I was soooooo craving a warm(ish) pretzel with gooey cheese.

But friends who support, laugh with you and feel your pain keep you from visiting “friends” who aren’t supportive and actually contribute to that pain. Did I need a pretzel? Hell no. And I would have felt worse after having it and the euphoria of the tastes left my palate. I just needed the company of actual friends, that’s all. And along this weight loss journey please know the company of all of you keeps me going and keeps me motivated just like I hope my words do you.

I’ve always been told I’m the kind of person who never meets a stranger. I’ve always liked that because I feel strangers are just friends I haven’t met yet. On this Monday I hope to add more new friends to our fold and to our journey. I hope to add more fans to the Facebook page. I hope more people find, listen to and download my blog. I hope people who want to lose weight but are scared know they have a home here, because the best trips and journeys happen when you have the company of friends to comfort you in ways false friends cannot.

So today I raise my glass (of water, juice or other healthier beverage handy) and toast you all. To all my old friends, thank you for making the journey easier. And to all my new friends I want you to know I am just like you and understand. May we all find comfort, solace, compassion, wit and companionship on the path to our ultimate weight loss goals with each other and…

…to resist yummy pretzels and gooey cheese in malls.

…to resist ice-cold Coca-Colas, Milky Way bars, beef fried rice and other kryptonite foods.

…to go out and exercise together, even if we’re apart while doing it.

…to check in with each other from time to time to see how we’re doing.

…and most of all, to stand up with each other and say I am doing this because I, like all of us here, am going to reach my goal weight because I am determined to succeed!

Today I woke up thinking so much about the Billy Joel song “Pressure.” You remember that song, don’t ya? Moreover, do you remember the video? Billy Joel is sitting in an asylum-like room and chair looking crazy as hell watching weird images on TVs.

I kind of get that now.

Yesterday in my blog I admitted my Coke (as in Coca-Cola) habit to you guys. Today, as I pace waiting for 6ABC to arrive, I realize why I have been overdosing on Coca-Cola these past few days…

…I’m nervous.

Even though I have been in the public relations profession for years and have done countless on-camera interviews I’m nervous because it’s the first time I’ve been on TV talking about something I’m doing. Sure, over the past couple of weeks I’ve done interviews for one show called “Mind, Body & Spirit” and a soon-to-be feature film called “Finding Thin,” but those are different somehow. This WPVI-TV 6ABC interview seems so much more immediate and therefore unnerving to me.

That’s why I’ve been so nervous lately. That’s why I’ve been downing Cokes like water. That’s why I treated myself to Chinese food last night (ugh). That’s why I will enjoy the hell out of my workout after the crew leaves (as we are ending the interview with me working out in the gym).

In the end I just want to do a good job with this. This website and I, both, are determined to succeed but I want to make sure, first and foremost I help people. I want to let you guys out there know you’re not alone in any of this and that you have a friend who cares and who has gone through it all (and is still going through it).  That’s my goal. We are all meant to succeed in life, whether it is in weight loss, business, relationships, etc., and I am so very proud of you all for starting and joining me on this weight loss journey. I really am. We will do it and we will do it together.

In the meantime, while I am still waiting for the crew from 6ABC, I’m going to listen to “Pressure” a half-dozen times to get it out of my system, the audio equivalent to pacing.

I consider that better than munching on crap this morning which is what my 400lb. self would have done just to pass the time. And in that, there is improvement…

In the original “Ghostbusters” movie, the Ghostbusters hire Jeannine, an admin to make themselves look more like a legitimate business. At first she doesn’t do much of anything. She sits around doing not much of anything (because at first no one takes the team seriously) until one night they get a call and bust a ghost.

It is then Jeannine stands up proudly and yells “We got one!!!!!”

Well, my friends, I got up this morning to a pleasant surprise – my first listener rating on iTunes.

I got one! My first bonafide iTunes listener.

I am really excited. First, it is exciting that my latest Determined To Ducceed podcast, Episode Four, uploaded to iTunes correctly as I had been having problems. But when I checked to see if it was there I found someone had found and listened and commented. Third, they liked me. They really liked me.

Even if the comment had been negative I would have loved it just the same. Why? Because I always love feedback. I do. It helps me grow and it helps me figure out different topics for the podcasts and make them better for the listener. So keep those comments coming – both here on the blog/website as well as on iTunes.

Not to mention the added benefit of this – that it helps motivate me to be strong today if I am faced with foods that are not good for me. Knowing that I am helping people is part of that covenant to each other to help us both be good, and I will be today. Thank you, and thank you to all who take the time to not only read my daily blog but post a comment. I can’t tell you what that means to me.