Just Pick One

I was driving home from work the other day, doing Butt Crunches and thinking of you DAMN GOOD LOOKING LADIES. I've talked about Butt Crunches before; BUTT let me explain in case you're not sure. Butt Crunches are an exercise that can be done anytime you're sitting. All you do is squeeze your bottom cheeks together. Squeeze, release, repeat. Squeeze both, one side at a time or in any combination, as in right, left, together. Squeeze to the beat of the music on the radio. Mix it up, have some fun.

Anyway, Butt Crunches are a good first step to making positive healthy life changes. Regardless, of how you make changes, each person needs to find what works for her/him, and I want to share what worked for me. You may already know that I had gastric bypass surgery a year ago. In the 7 months before my surgery I lost 65 lbs. How did I do it? Well, I worked with a doctor, psychologist (behavior modification) and dietitian on a program that I call "Just Pick One." Dr. Julie, psychologist, asked me to change one thing. I choose to give up sugared drinks (aka soda). It wasn't easy, but I still ate what I wanted, when I wanted, so giving up soda didn't seem like a huge sacrifice. Two weeks later Dr Julie had me make another change. I decided to add a healthy breakfast. Every couple of weeks I would just pick one more thing to add. Soon it was months later and I was losing weight. In the past, I tried and failed every type of cold turkey, all or nothing diet program. Those diets make you feel like you're being punished, but Just Pick One is an easier way to achieve the same goal.

Just Pick One can work if you're trying to lose weight or want to make healthy changes. In case you're interested, I've listed some ideas to help you get started. You know that you should always consult a professional when it comes to diet, exercise, or supplements. However, the reality is that we rarely consult anyone before jumping into a new program. I recommend the professionals. They gave me the support I needed to succeed. I also recommend that you start food logs right away. Even if you don't change what you eat. If you bite it, write it. If you're honest about everything you put into your mouth you'll be able to identify problem areas that you may not have otherwise realized.

Just pick one (suggestions)
-take vitamin(s) and/or supplement(s) every day
-take a walk (start w/15 min everyday)
-stop all sugared drinks
-stop all fast food
-eat a healthy breakfast everyday
-bring lunch to work everyday
-set cut off for night time snacking (ie 8 pm or 9 pm)
-pick one replacement
..replace potato/rice/pasta with a green/yellow veggie
..replace lunch or dinner with low calorie frozen entree
..replace bread with 100% whole grain bread
..replace fats with low fats (mayo, sour cream, dressings, etc)
..replace sugar with substitute (sugar free yogurt, peanut butter etc)
..replace snacks with low carb, low sugar, high protein snack (ie Atkins bar)
-add fruits or veggies to your diet
-take the stairs
-use large, at home, clothes rack (aka treadmill, stationary bike, Nordic track) or other exercise 3-4x per week
-butt crunches while driving/sitting (I'm doing them right now!! HA!)
-make up your own, be creative and HEALTHY

One last tip about slips or cheating. It happens. Just don't let one bad meal turn into a bad day, week, month or lifetime!! The key is continue to add healthy choices so you can live a long life as a DAMN GOOD LOOKING WOMAN.

What's Your Real Age?

Question: This morning, did you say DAMN I LOOK GOOD TODAY? Do you remember to say it everyday? I really hope so because
1. It's true
2. The more you say it the better you're going to feel about you.

So now that you're starting to change the way you think about yourself, let's talk about health. OBVIOUSLY I'm not qualified to give health advice, but I've found a website that gives good advice on general health and nutrition topics. It's called RealAge.com, and it's run by Oprah's Doctors Roizen & Oz. You may or may not be an Oprah fan, but don't let that influence you. These guys are real MD's, who are educated and very knowledgably. The site has a ton of information, guides and tests, and it's ALL FREE. To me that says
Drs R & O are devoted to helping people become and stay healthy.

The main feature on the site is the "Real Age Test." It's kind of long, but once completed you'll know your "Real Age" based on your health issues and habits. I'll be 48 in December but my "Real Age" is 43.5 woo hoo!!

To get started click here for your Real Age.

Then follow these steps.
1. Click on the big orange button that says "TAKE THE REAL AGE TEST"

2. Enter your email address. They only send you emails if you tell them it's OK. It's one of the questions. If you don't want emails, be sure to mark 'NO'

3. Enter a password. If this is your first time just make one up, but write it down and remember it for later.

4. Take the test. Like I said it's long, but worth it.

OK, so now you're done and maybe it's not good news...DON'T PANIC!!! It's going to be OK!! Remember one of our goals is to take better care of ourselves!! The reason I'm suggesting REALAGE.COM is so we can be, healthier, which will help us become happier women!!!

What's great about this site is that a wellness plan is formulated based on your test answers. So it's is tailored to fit you. Your plan will explain what you are doing right and wrong. It also gives you suggestions on how to make improvements. Another feature is that days, weeks or months from now you can come back and retake the test to see how you've improved. Or, if needed, you can update areas that you were uncertain of the first time around. Be sure to use the same login/password and the site will remember all your previous answers!

Also available on REALAGE.COM is:
- Advice on a ton of different health issues & topics.
- Great recipies
- 65 health tests & tools. i.e. Nutrition test, Skin Care Assessment and PMS Quiz.
- Videos
- Puzzle/Game section to promote healthy brainpower!!

I really hope that you are able to take advantage of what they have to offer, because even though you are already DAMN GOOD LOOKING, I want you to also be healthy and happy.

JUST SAY THANK YOU

Today's topic is how to receive a compliment. The correct way to respond is to say "Thank You" and nothing else. Try it. It's harder than you think. Most people will reply with a comment that contradicts the compliment. We are striving to be more positive and contradictions are negative.

DOs and DON'Ts of accepting a compliment:

Compliment: You look nice today.

DO: :-) (Smile) THANK YOU :-) (Continue to smile)

DON'T: OH I feel bloated today. (Implies - how can I look good if I feel bad)

DON'T: I couldn't get my hair to work. (Says - you're wrong)

Compliment: I like your blouse/shirt.

DO: :-) THANK YOU :-)

DON'T: This?! I got it at Wal-Mart/Kmart/Target. (May be true, but implies CHEAP!!!)

DON'T: I didn't have time to iron it. (Implies - there's nothing to like)

Compliment: That was a great idea, you fixed the problem.

DO: :-) THANK YOU :-)

DON'T: It took me days to figure it out. (Implies - I can only be smart if given enough time)

The 'DON'T' comments are misplaced modesty. They depreciate the compliment and thereby depreciate YOU!!! And that is not acceptable!!! Also, they depreciate the person giving the compliment by saying, "You don't know what you're talking about. I don't look good, this top is awful and I'm not very smart." That seems rude doesn't it? Not only is 'Thank You' the polite response, it also sends a message to your subconscious. The message is..."Hey...that compliment just might be true!!" Most of us suffer, to some degree, with self esteem issues. We need to battle against that little voice inside that keeps saying "you're not good enough" FYI, that voice is never right.

Just to show how difficult it is to accept a compliment, I recently received a nice comment regarding my singing voice. (Yes Kris, I'm still singing with or without the radio. HA!!!) Well I immediately started to give a very negative opinion of my voice. In mid sentence I realized what I was doing and I clamped my hand over my mouth to stop myself. I couldn't help it, and I know better!! It doesn't matter how many times you forget, just learn to say 'THANK YOU' and learn to accept how wonderful and DAMN GOOD LOOKING YOU ARE!!

THE FIRST DAMN YOU LOOK GOOD PARTY

It was a great party!! Seiko and I met Barb, Kris, Debbie, and Becky at Double Play sports bar in South St. Louis, MO. I guess Kris was right when she said that everyone with at least 2 teeth were welcomed because the bar was fairly crowded! But you better believe that were a few patrons who barely made it in!!! HAHA Luckily our group had no problem meeting that requirement. Also at the bar was a group of people that worked with Kris, Debbie and me, years ago, for a company called ACME. So it was nice to catch up with them too.

Back to our group…It was exciting to finally meet each other face to face. Soon we were talking and laughing like old friends. Don't think we forgot you ladies who couldn't be there. We had a drink in your honor, and we called each one of you and left a very special "DAMN, YOU LOOK GOOD TODAY" message. Chris (ex-ACME employee) was so caught up in our fun that she yelled out, "I WANT TO JOIN TOO!!" A little later that night, Theresa (another ex-ACME person) announced that she also wanted to join. We were more than happy to welcome both to the group!!! I'll send out an official welcome email in the next few days.

We had a great night. There was some drinking, a little dancing and a lot of laughs. Deb proudly showed off her man, and Seiko, who was freezing under the a/c, loved the overly warm restroom. When I told her it was time to leave the bathroom she said, "But it's so comfortable here." HA! Barb was the only one brave enough to feel Seiko's freezing toes, and Kris (the Queen of Guilt) talked a very busy Becky into making an appearance. ME? Well I told the ladies to bring a lot of cleavage and they sure did!!

The night was a great success that will be remembered for years to come. OH YEAH! We decided that next year's meeting will be in Chicago at the Oprah show!! More details will follow.

One last bit to add. On the drive back to Chicago, Seiko was chatting on the phone with Robin, her long time friend in Maryland. Seiko told her about the fun we were having and yes…you guessed it…Robin is now a new member. That makes 3 new members in one weekend!!! This is so exciting because you can never have too many DAMN GOOD LOOKING WOMEN!!!

How to Look Good Naked

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Welcome to DAMN YOU LOOK GOOD TODAY!!!

You were probably led here via an email from me or maybe you found us while surfing the web. Regardless of how you arrived here let me say Hello and Welcome.

We are an all female group, who started out mostly as strangers but over time have become friends. Our motto is "DAMN, YOU LOOK GOOD TODAY!!" Said with feeling! HA HA. We normally communicate via email. The plan is to use this space to share messages and ideas that may be too long for our normal emails. For example, this feature is our way of introducing you to the group.

Our goals are to become more confident, happy women, to increase our self esteem and learn to love ourselves INSIDE AND OUT!! How can we accomplish all that??? The first step is to adopt a positive attitude. Unfortunately it's not that simple. Suddenly declaring "from now on I will be 100% positive" is like a smoker quitting cold turkey. It almost never works. I believe that a good way to make a life change is to start slowly. Take small steps, and then gradually add more until you reach your goal. We've developed some exercises that helped us get started.

1. Tell yourself, everyday, that you look good!! Many women have difficulty appreciating their outer beauty. Why can we believe that we are smart, or strong, or good mothers, but not beautiful?? I know so many beautiful women who are unhappy with their looks. I feel that we have wasted our lives being unhappy with ourselves. It's just wrong and we are not going to stand for it any more!!!! RIGHT? Of course right. So every time you look in the mirror, smile and tell yourself, DAMN, I LOOK GOOD TODAY!!

Just because we recognize our outer beauty doesn't mean we stop all efforts to improve ourselves. In fact I think the opposite happens. Believing in our beauty improves our self esteem. This gives us the confidence needed to make changes. When we begin to love ourselves inside and out it becomes easier for us to concentrate on those areas we may want to improve. Women want to care for the people they love. So add your name to that list and give yourself some special care! Clarification; 'improve' means - diet, exercise, makeup, jewelry, skin care, well fitted clothing, NOT LIPO!!!

2. Keep an eye out for MEN!! Don't laugh!! It's not what you're thinking. You need to be observant, at work, on the street, in the store, any place where there are men. Whenever a man looks at you, for any reason, you are to smile and say to yourself. "DAMN, I LOOK GOOD TODAY!!" It doesn't matter if he's trying to get your number or if you almost killed him by swerving into his lane. When he looks, you say those magic words "DAMN, I LOOK GOOD TODAY!!" This is not meant to be a way to pick up men. It's meant to help us gain confidence and feel good about ourselves. Just try it.

3. Tell others that they look good. Tell the ladies in the group, and tell others that you meet. Due to the delicate nature of some people, you may want to leave off the Damn part. HA. However you say it.... JUST SPREAD THE LOVE!!!

OK, that's enough to get you started. Check back here for more exercises, and messages, and don't forget that YOU LOOK DAMN GOOD TODAY!!

A BLOG FOR US!!!

Hello ladies!!!

I'm so glad you're here!! This is my first ever attempt to be a blogger. I'm a little nervous, so bear with me. OK? I know that the majority of you (group members) are not bloggers, but I hope that you will venture outside of your comfort zone to visit often and leave lots of comments.

Can you believe how far our group has come in such a short time? We started out, a few months ago, as a few friends telling each other, daily, DAMN, YOU LOOK GOOD! (Via email of course) Back then I wasn't looking for more members. However, I soon found myself talking with a friend who dismissed a compliment about her beauty. When I asked why, she told me that she never felt pretty. I knew instantly that she must join our group. Similar scenes, with other ladies, happened over and over again. Each woman had an issue a little different then the next. Regardless if it was beauty, self confidence or whatever, I knew I had found someone who needed us as much as we needed her.

Which brings us to today. I'm so proud of each of you! You're ready to change the way you think. You're sharing your achievements and giving support and encouragement to each other. Of course, some of us are very vocal, but it's OK if you're not. What matters is that you're ready to believe that you are a beautiful, smart, strong woman!! Say it to yourself every day. Have you said it yet? Well do it now because….

DAMN, YOU LOOK GOOD TODAY!!