I am very excited to be starting up a group meeting beginning on January 23rd at CBC Fitness and Wellness Center in Acton, MA.   To learn more about this, check out Events on this site.  It is going to be a GREAT meeting and at a gym-no excuses not to work out at least 1 day a week!

Please check out the Tele-Class, it is the first Thursday of every month. 
Stay focused and create your ACTion plan for Life! 

Look for some changes here on the website, I will be offering more Tele-Classes over the next few months and will make it easy for you to sign up and get the motivation and support you want and need to achieve your Weight Loss Dreams!

I can’t believe my vacation is finally here.  I leave on Friday the 7th for 2 weeks in Chile.  We (Andy and I) will be white water rafting on the Futaleufu River in Patagonia and then we will be heading to Easter Island for another 5 days.  We finished up buying our required gear and are ready to go.  I feel so blessed with abundance that we are able to enjoy rafting, hiking and of course most important learning about different cultures.  Our curiosity about how people in other countries live keeps us energized and excited about our travels.

Of course rafting class 5 rapids also will keep me excited and energized.  I am looking forward to fabulous hikes and beautiful scenery as well as the death defying rapids, (I am smiling as I type that).  If you are interested in what we will be doing please check out their website.

Have a very happy and healthy holiday filled with love and excitement.  Remember the holiday season is about spending time with those you care about…not eating your way through them.  You can choose healthy and be healthy to end 2007 and to begin 2008.

I look forward to sharing my rafting journey with you when I return.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner.  Let’s remember that Thanksgiving is ONE day, Thursday November 22nd.  It is NOT Friday, Saturday and Sunday as well. 

Think about what you are going to eat before Thanksgiving Day.  Start to plan and prepare now so that you will make healthy smart choices.  If you know that you are going to over indulge on Thanksgiving start to eat light the week before and continue to eat light for the week after Thanksgiving.

Don’t be afraid to modify some of your favorite holiday recipes for healthier versions. 

Set up some basic strategies for the day. 

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I just spent a long weekend at Six Flags Adventure in New Jersey.  It was a great time, I loved all the rides and the entire atmosphere of the park.

The park had so many different options for meals it was great!  I know you are probably thinking junk food.  Afterall it was an amusement park.  Well there are so many options today that you can actually eat relatively healthy, if you think about it and plan ahead a bit.

For the drive down (about 5 1/2) hours, I packed lots of water, diet coke and baby carrots.  I snacked on the carrots so that I wouldn’t be starving when we decided to stop for lunch.  I ordered a turkey sandwich with cole slaw, NO FRIES.  It was hard but I did it.

At the park I got a small steak and cheese sub for one meal and I got a grilled chicken sandwich for the other.  There were salads and fresh fruit available at certain locations within the park.

Honestly, I planned to have a fried dough while there, but they didn’t have them (or at least I couldn’t find them) so I didn’t have my planned splurge.  Instead I split an order of french fries with my husband when we got lunch.   I never felt deprived, really it was all about the rides and having fun, not about eating.

We were so busy on the rides that we didn’t even think about food until we were really hungry.  Isn’t that a nice concept?  We also got a refillable bottle and asked for ice water instead of diet coke.  We stayed hydrated and happy.

I had discussed my eating strategies with Andy before we went on the trip so that we would be in sync about where and when we would get food.  By creating this plan we not only had a fun filled weekend but food was not an issue.  We chose healthy and we were very happy with that choice.

I could fit on all the rides (YEA) and spent 10+ hours a day walking around the park without getting tired.  Find the activities that make you happy and take actions to create the life you dream.

A simple and often easy choice is vegetables. Especially this time of year, they are fresh from your local farms and usually available at local farm stands.

There is nothing like freshly picked tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash. Fresh corn on the cob is so good grilled, you don’t even need to add butter to it. Cucumbers plain are great, but pour some seasoned rice vinegar over them and let them marinate for a few hours, it makes them delicious!

Tomatoes, well I can’t say enough about tomatoes, sliced up with a little bit of salt, that is all I need. However, for a meal, cut up a few large tomatoes, add 1 teaspoon of olive oil, salt to taste and a bunch of freshly chopped basil. I put this over 2 slices of lowfat/lo-cal bread with an ounce of either low fat or full fat mozzarella. It makes a fantastic lunch and it’s filling.

Are you getting this? EAT YOUR VEGGIES! Vegetables contain vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants to help ward off chronic diseases. Vegetables provide a terrific low calorie, high fiber snack that is packed with nutrients. How do you get in your 5 a day? Share some ideas with me. Keep veggies all around you, they do a body and a mind good.

I make a big pot of ratatouille, I use spaghetti squash, onions, peppers, garlic, zucchini, summer squash, tomatoes and tomato sauce (Pastene). I cook it all together with Italian seasonings (fresh now that I have an herb garden) and it is delicious. It’s great with a meal, as a meal with some protein and as a snack when I am hungry in the middle of the day.

Don’t want to cut up the veggies yourself? Then call your local store and order a veggie tray for tomorrow. You will have fresh, clean, and ready to eat vegetables. They will be great raw or you can use them in a stir fry or throw them on your grill with some spices. Choose Vegetables! Choose healthy!

It’s been a few days since the Boston Marathon and I want to share my experience with you. 

As many of you know I planned on running the marathon this year.  I committed to running it last April in one of my Co-Active coaching classes (Balance).  I knew that I did not “qualify” to run in Boston or anywhere for that matter so I would need to run with a charity.  I applied and was accepted to run with The Dana Farber Cancer Institute.   I began training over the summer and ran the Falmouth road race, it was my first group run experience.  I enjoyed the run and realized I really could run the marathon. 

In December I got hurt, I pushed through it and continued running. By the end of January I knew I had a problem and went to the doctor.  I had to give up running for 2 weeks, doing nothing.  Then I saw another doctor and couldn’t run for another 6 weeks.  I could at that point train on the elliptical, bike and I could walk.  I did all faithfully, working my way up to over 3 hours on the elliptical.  I fully expected to be able to run but in mid March the doctor said absolutely not. 

 After many tears and much sadness, I pulled it together and remembered that more important than my running was raising money for Dana-Farber Cancer research.   Although my personal goal of running the marathon ended, I still continue to fund raise. 

I spent Monday at the Boston Marriot Copley as a volunteer for the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge.  I was checking in runners so their families would know they finished the marathon and arrived at the recovery zone.  Each runner could change, eat and get a massage as well as any medical attention that they needed.  Watching their families light up with excitement when they arrived was inspiring, but watching wives, husbands, parents, children and friends greet their marathoner was beyond inspiring!  Knowing that each runner achieved their dream is wonderful and still brings a smile to my face as well as tears to my eyes. 

Often times life throws us a curve ball, it is how we handle these curve balls that help create our lives.  Instead of being upset and angry that I am injured and couldn’t run, I am thrilled that I had the opportunity to share in the joy of others that were able to run. 

It is like weight loss, it doesn’t have to be an obstacle in our way, just a curve ball that we have to find a new way to hit. 

This is life, swing away, there is always another ball to hit or another mile to go. 

Welcome to Lori’s Corner, this is my blog and I am excited to be able to share my feelings about all that is connected with weight loss. 

 As a member of Always Your Weigh you will have access to message boards and be able to let me know what is happening with your weight loss. 

I love to hear about successes and how you overcome challenges to make them new successes.