A Little Bit of Spring Makes Everything Better!

We shot the cover for the next edition of !ntuition Magazine last Thursday.  It put me in the best mood in quite some time.  We went to the Botanical Center and took pictures inside the show house.  In the end it doesn't look like the Bot Center so much as she is working at a table in her back yard.

The beautiful Stacy Lovan (one of LITE 104.1's Outstanding Women) is our cover model.  Stacy was dressed in spring colors, we had her potting plants and I bought tulips because the ones at the Bot hadn't bloomed yet.  Paige Peterson was our photographer and she has captured the most colorful, hopeful images I have seen in a long time - and that's exactly what I wanted.

When you look at the pictures of Stacy you feel like our Iowa winter might actually abate at some point.  Literally hope springs eternal with these shots, I can't wait to share with all of you when the magazine hits stands in the second week of March.

The biggest thing that caught all of our attention though, besides the great pictures, were the tulips.  I had bought two sets and we took four and put them in the dirt, so they looked like they were coming right out of the pot.  By the end of the shoot the flowers had opened up.  They had bloomed while we were busy concentrating on the look we wanted.

We all smiled and laughed and realized we had bloomed a bit too.  We were all in a better mood after the warmth of the Bot and even the humidity.  It was so refreshing, I highly recommend a visit when you think you can't take one more minute of this winter.

I also recommend tulips.  I sent the purple ones home with Stacy as a thank you and I kept the yellow ones.  They are cheery and bright and give me a sense that not all has been lost to ice and snow.  People at the office are stopping to look for that same reason.  This little bit of spring has definitely made me happier.

Yours in health,
Kate

Here is a picture of the tulips I took with my phone (not great quality, but you get the idea):

And We're Off!

This last week has been a swirl of activity as we officially launched !ntuition Magazine.  First the issues hit the streets and then the Snow Party was Saturday.  It was a huge success with over 225 people there.  Thank you to everyone who came!  I am keeping it that generic because I was so busy, I didn't really get to see or talk to very many people.  Honestly I wasn't even sure how many came until I talked to some of the guests. :)

A BIG thanks to the Botanical Center for hosting, Christopher's Fine Jewelry for giving us the grand prize necklace and a special thanks to my friend Ric Kerr at Tasteful Dinners.  His homemade cookies, cocoa and lack of fear in roasting marshmallows inside a building made the treats a major highlight.

As to whether I ate any, yes, I tried a bite of each kind of cookie and had a s'more and cup of cocoa.  It was the first sugar feast I had had in two weeks.  I actually didn't eat it all because, though it tasted awesome, it was too much sugar for me.  That is a nice change of pace.

Changing my eating habits is beginning to show in how I feel.  In fact, I didn't sleep well last night, but I am doing o.k. this morning because I have filled up on veggies and lean proteins and those are pure energy.

I had better run now, but I promise I will not go so long without posting again.  Things are hopefully going to even out time wise and I hope that means more 'me' time.

Yours in health,
Kate

The Snow Party

We are having a kick-off party for the new Intuition Magazine!  We would love to have you at this FREE, family-friendly event!  It's fun outdoor activities, then inside for cookies, cocoa and s'mores (o.k., not healthy, but tasty) to unveil the magazine.

Please let me know if you can come!

Yours in health,
Kate

I've Been Playing a Game of Chicken

I am a chicken and I was waiting to see which would blink first - me or the street day for Intuition Magazine - funny how time doesn't move.  The magazine is on the street today and I am already getting feedback.  All positive, but most stunned.  No one can quite believe how honest I was or how far I have fallen.  I have spent a month mentally preparing and I still don't think it was enough.  But I will survive and thrive by being completely honest.

Now that the magazine is out there (I will have a list of locations for you later in the week), it's time to be honest every day.  Or at least as often as I can find 15-20 minutes to share my journey.

The last month has been spent on vacation at Disney World the most magical and calorie-laden place on earth; dealing with multiple snow storms (that's a real time suck in radio) and facing down a new injury to my knee.  It has all added up to not a micron of weight lost or a workout done.

Yet, today I sit here typing one week cookie free.  I have added vegetables and fruit back into my diet.  I am paying attention to fiber and water again.  I have set-up my workout area at home.  I am ready again.

Tonight will be my first modified workout ever.  I have done my therapy exercises, walked some and lifted a few hands weights since my surgery, but now I am again injured. 

Trying to keep up with my family's swift walking at Disney at done something to my knee again - yes, same knee - and it makes me sick.  By day three of our trip I was riding one of those motorized scooters, it was humiliating.  In my head I heard people saying, "Here is this morbidly obese woman riding a scooter, must be too lazy to walk."  In reality, yes a few people started, but nobody verbalized their thoughts.

Anyway, I think this injury is a stretched ACL.  My knee is moving side to side and something catches.  I have yet to go to the doctor, I keep thinking rest will make a difference and it does to some extent.  That's why I will be doing a modified workout regime.

I will be doing hand weights while sitting down and work my core on my back.  I will give it another couple of weeks and if my knee isn't better, so I can walk or stationary bike, I will go to a doc.

Well, that's a lot to share in one post, hope I didn't overwhelm you. :)

Yours in health,
Kate

You Snow, it's best to have a good sense of humor...

Last week's snow storm snarled Des Moines and caused many to break their backs shoveling.  Including my Saint-of-a-Brother Gordon.  He went to our house when we weren't home and used a snow blower and shovel to clear our walks on our corner lot, our drive and around my housemate Lori's care - he is AWESOME personified. 

My only adventures were driving in the white stuff as I had to work long hours every day affected by the storm.  I didn't get a snow-induced workout.  However, on Friday it was time to shoot the cover for the January/ February issue of Intuition and it was fun.

Kari, the photographer, our model Christine Comito all tromped behind the Art Center to find virgin snow for our shot.  Trudging along seemed hard at first and I was easily winded, not a surprise since I haven't worked out since March.  But it was actually fun and made me feel good afterward.  BTW - Christine was a great sport, you'll see why when you see the cover!

The only thing I will say is that the colder weather has made my knee pretty angry.  That won't stop me from making the most of my upcoming vacation at Disney World with the family.  That starts Wednesday morning as we leave at 6 a.m. on a flight out of Des Moines International.  I'll keep you updated.

Yours in health,
Kate

A New Page

I just finished writing the hardest article of my life.  It's my new column for Intuition Magazine.  Each article will be a summation of two months of effort (and a story exclusive to the magazine) to redirect my life again - it's long overdue.  I have hit 260 pounds again, that was my starting point last time.  So, it's time to begin again.  This time with the added pressure of even more eyes, which for me isn't a bad thing - I hate to let people down, so that breeds success.  (Now, if only I hated to let myself down - I'll get there.)

Intuition will be published every other month starting in January.  It's a really awesome project I have been working on for some time with our director of publishing Kari Elbert.  We published a magazine in October for LITE 104.1's Outstanding Women You Should Know.  That magazine was a big hit and now we are producing Intuition.

Intuition will be available at doctor's offices, in businesses and on newsstands all over the Des Moines metro.  That will be the exclusive place to find out EXACTLY how I am doing.  I will not be putting weight or measurements in my blog.  Instead the blog will be about the every day ups and downs we all experience with a weight-loss journey.

I know I can do this, I did it before.  In fact, I was at my doctor a couple of weeks ago when she was telling me my thyroid was running low (hypothyroidism) and I asked her about sending me to a nutritionist.  She said, "I could, but you probably know more than they do."  She's right.  Anyone who was along for the ride knows that I became a walking encyclopedia on healthy eating and exercise.  So it's time to sit down, put a plan on paper, draw from my own knowledge and dive in.

I welcome anyone who wants to come along this time.  Weight-loss journeys are always easier with someone walking beside you.

Yours in Health,
Kate