Donna blogs about her weight story - post #1

Hi Friends and Future Friends,
Well, I must say, I am not a great “blogger”, actually, I have never blogged but I am so passionate about the subject of weight management and its impact on women’s lives, that I agreed to blog after appearing on the Wake Up With Wendy show.
So here goes….. I am sharing my journey with you in the hopes that my story might in some way inspire, comfort, reassure or provide you an opportunity to explore within yourself, how your weight has impacted the life you lead. My story is one that probably will sound like most. Nothing too exciting but it sure is impactful to me! Essentially, I have always thought I was fat! Even when I wasn’t, I thought I was. At age 18 and through much of my twenties, I ranged from 125-137 and was almost 5’6” tall. I had a great figure and worried A LOT about what I ate and how I looked. I married my high school sweetheart and before I knew it, the weight started creeping on. First it was because I loved to cook and my husband really appreciated my cooking. Over time, food became my drug of choice. When I was happy – I ate! When I was sad or upset – I ate! When I was frustrated or angry – I ate! When life was stressful – I ate! Work, life, marriage, kids – I ate! When my doctor labeled me as obese and said my cholesterol needed significant lowering it truly was a wake up call. I want my children to grow up with a healthy mother!!
So here is what I am not going to blog on – my diet program. It does not matter what I am doing to lose the weight. There are many programs out there that can help us lose weight. The key is to find the one that works best for you and that has the support on all aspects of our struggle! I think it is critical to find a program that addressed all of the many aspects of weight management and wellness – food choices, nutrition information, exercise, mental well-being, etc.
So, please blog me with your thoughts, experiences, struggles, and insights. We can all help each other through this challenging struggle.
Where I would love insights and help is on exercise. How do you make it a true part of your life? I am so much better at it now but am far from in it as a regular daily habit. I know that it is the key to permanent weight loss. Any insights or ideas from you all?

Completely Unplugging is a Challenge

I tried it last year on vacation and failed. I promised myself I would not turn on my laptop or check my email for a week last year on vacation and only made it three days! How sad is that? Most of you are probably thinking, what the heck is she doing with her laptop on vacation? And that would be the right question.

I am so addicted to my email and my phone. I know I am not alone but that doesn't make it any easier knowing I have company in the addiction arena. I swore this time, I would do better. I started by leaving my lap top at home. Which may not seem like a big deal but my husband brought his and we were traveling with another couple and they EACH brought theirs. I was determined to leave mine behind and not use theirs. And once we left Miami for the Caribbean, I turned off my blackberry, promising myself I would not turn it back on until we returned a week later.

I did it!

I felt proud of myself. I was so less stressed. My acid reflux totally disappeared. I watched the ocean more and walked on the beach more while the others were checking in with work and their emails. I read a book and a half. And most of all I rested physically and mentally. It was good for me. I really needed it.

And it was worth the 500 emails I had waiting for me. So what it took 4 days to get through them all!

It was not easy and might take some practice to actually be able to do it again. But the rewards have me optimistic for July 4th weekend, my next foray into totally unplugging electronically.

Dieting, Weight Loss and Health Management

Click to Play

Panel: Wendy Capland, Founder of The Magic Parties and CEO of Vision Quest Consulting with Kate Harper of Kate Harper Coaching, and Melanie Holden of Physica Center for Healing and Education.

Special Guest: Donna Iacopucci

The Yummy-ness of girlfriends!

What is the magic that girlfriends bring to each other? What is so special about the girlfriends in our lives?

I would be interested in your thoughts so comment back to me right here on the blog.

Paula journals 5-23-10

Why is it that whenever I go to seminar or meeting at the Career Center (Office of Workforce Development / Unemployment) I leave feeling much worse than when I arrived ?? There was an e-mail sent out regarding a two hour seminar on schooling to become a Phlebotomist and since I have been interested in getting involved in the medical field I thought "what great timing & what a great career". After the initial basic info was given the remainder of the 1/2 hour the meeting lasted was us being told how most of us would not qualify. (there were approx 20 in attendance and only 5 slots open) and again because of my "marketable skills" she doubted I would even be considered. WHAT ????? Don't these people live in the real world ?? Don't they know what it's like out there ?? And why do they have to be all doom and gloom all the time ?? Not only is it very humbling to be out of work and have to attend these meetings, but it is sooooo depressing having to be in such a negative environment. These workers need to get a clue and realize that although they are there to help us that they are doing the complete opposite - they are taking all the wind right out of our sails. The only good thing that came of this meeting was that I spoke to two other women - one has been out of work for over a year and the other has been out for almost two years and we all had the same feeling - we thought we were the only ones out there that have been out for so long and we all think that we must be doing something wrong to have bee unemployed for so long - especially with the feedback we get from this office. Oh well - onward and upward ??

My other dilemma I have had the past couple of weeks is when do you cross the line between being pro-active in your job search and being too aggressive ?? I applied for a job several weeks ago and whenever I have called to follow-up I have been given one excuse after the other - "I was on vaca", "Mothers Day set us back", "It has been an unusually busy week" always with the promise of a return call - guess what - no return call. I then received an e-mail from this company with a listing of all their job opportunities and the initial ones that I applied for are still on the list. How far do I push it - when do I try to escalate it to another person ?? At what point do I just "give up" and move on ?? This has been the issue right along - once I find a job opportunity that I would really like and apply to it - there is no response, no matter how many times you follow up. What gives ??

Being unemployed and having the lack of income and medical benefits has been extremely difficult, but it has taught me some valuable lessons. You realize that you can do without so much of what you thought you "needed" and still be happy with what you DO have. You downsize, cut back, re-group, re-think, and learn to live a much simpler life style which has been refreshing. BUT - what does one do when the unemployment runs out and you hit the bottom of the barrel - what then ?? That is where I stand right now - getting VERY nervous about that day and will I find some type of employment prior to that happening ??

Wish me luck as I continue my search as I wish you all luck in your searches - whatever they may be.

Paula

Coaching Conference

I'm at this great conference in New Mexico this week called Conversation Among Masters (CAM). It's designed specifically for master level coaches. Today I learned the real skinny about blogging from Jory des Jardins, who is a media consultant and co-founder of BlogHer. Haven't heard of BlogHer? BlogHer is the largest community of women who blog and they get 20+ million unique visitors per month! She was a good person to listen and learn from. Holy moley, my head is spinning with ideas!

Paula journals 5-11-10

I'm baaaaack:

I had to take a few days off - back-up, clear my head and re-group. I need to rethink my exact goals, needs, ambitions and abilities. I need to think about what I "must" do versus what I "want" to do and possibly combine the two. I am sure that I don't really want to spend my time sitting in a cubicle, staring at a computer with a phone to my ear. Although I have always been good at it I'm sure that is no longer my life long career goal - butttt. Other than that, my two choices were something in the medical field or something in the animal care field. I thought the animal care field would be easier and more realistic at this "stage of my life" but so far I'm finding that this might not be the case. I'm wondering if maybe I need to find a job that will fulfill my "needs" and maybe do my animal work on the side, maybe on a volunteer basis to fulfill my "wants" ???? I might have the opportunity to work in the home care field. I'm also going to a seminar on becoming a Phlebotomist. I can only keep all my options open at this point and maybe - just maybe the healthcare option might be my better option??

My goal for this week is to research some networking options. I LUV attending the "Girls Night Out" meetings and some of the connections I've made, but it only being once a month leaves a void. I've been advised to keep networking as much as possible because you never know when you'll come across someone or something that will open doors for you. My old High School has an Alumni networking group, I'm also going to check local libraries and a couple of other leads I've been given. Hopefully I'll have some exciting news in my next blog.

Till then - keep reaching for the stars !!