Charlene Ross’ Blog on skirt! asks the question, should we pay our children for good grades? I believe in praising not only children but anyone who does a good job. Positive reinforcement; reinforcing positive behavior, by definition can’t be negative. A few weeks ago when Matthew brought home an excellent report card, I told him I’d take him to the store to get a treat. I knew his father was already thinking about putting some money in his Easter card for the holiday and for the good grades but I still wanted to give him a prize. I instructed my son to start thinking about what he wanted so that we didn’t have to wander the isles aimlessly once we got to the store. Continue Reading »
A very interesting thing happened this week on the “Biggest Loser.” An eliminated contestant had the opportunity to return to the ranch. There was a weigh-in and the person who lost the most weight at home was able to come back into the competition. Nicole, who was eliminated early in the game, was the one who lost the most weight. She lost a whopping 87 pounds, on her OWN! She was so successful that her weight loss percentage was second to Tara, one of the strongest athletes in the house. At the weigh-in, the remaining contestants were shaking in their tennis shoes. As soon as they had the chance to get Nicole’s ear, they all dumped on her. People frantically filled her in on the drama and tension of the house. They talked to her about strategies, alliances and broken alliances. In addition to winning the opportunity to enter the game again, Nicole had immunity for the week unless of course she gained weight. Everyone vowed to step up their game to compete with someone who didn’t have the luxury of nutritionists, doctors and trainers and was still able to lose almost 90 pounds. Continue Reading »
My son, Matthew loves to work out while watching the “Biggest Loser.” He does jumping jacks, weight lifting, sit-ups and push-ups in front of the tv. It’s really inspiring. One week, he even asked me to run around the house with him for 5 minutes. He set the kitchen timer on the microwave and didn’t let me stop until it beeped. He’s asked me to work out with him other times but I usually can find something else to do instead like doing dishes, laundry or looking busy. I think he’s concerned about the “Thanksgiving to Valentine’s Day” weight I’ve been carrying around. I noticed once, he took his half eaten cheeseburger, out to the big trash can because he didn’t want me to eat it. I’m not sure how many mothers out there do the dreaded, “Oh if you’re not going to finish that…” He obviously didn’t want me adding his leftovers to my meal, but didn’t want to come right out and say it. Continue Reading »
Friends at Infinity Sport & Fitness asked me to write testimonials about the results I saw after doing boot camps, personal training and group training with them. I submitted the statements below. You can read more about the “fun” I had by clicking on the “weight/boot camp” category. The 91/2 inches and 10 pounds lost was actually after TWO boot camps, I never measured myself after the third one, but I did buy smaller jeans, and that’s all that really matters. I’ll let you know if they use them and where. Continue Reading »
Almost 10 inches lost in two boot camps, amazing! I’m so grateful to my boot camp instructor, Raymond and trainer, Mike who’ve been essential tools in my loss. They’ve encouraged me to dig deep and to have confidence in my abilities. In turn, I also have confidence in their abilities to take over the business and to run it with the most professional and caring customer service any client could ask for. Check out their new website, Infinity Sport & Fitness. New boot camps start next week, June 16th. They even added a lunchtime boot camp for those crazy enough to give up their lunchtime to work out! I’m thrilled about that since, I enjoy doing just that. Hmm, “thrilled,” maybe I’m exaggerating but look at who’s pushing me!
Sampson, my fifteen year old cat, who has no front claws, has been a housecat all his life. Each time we’d open a door, he and his sister, Lila tried to escape. “Back, back, back,” became a ritual saying at every entryway. Ever since Lila passed, Sampson’s gotten bored and expressed with his loud, Siamese voice his desire to go outside. Over the past six months, as I’ve let go of a lot of things, control being one of them, I’ve let him out to wander. At first he just stayed in the backyard, exploring the sights but mostly the smells and now he even ventures into the front yard. On my days off and in the evenings, I’ll leave a French door and screen open so he can come and go as he pleases. What’s funny to me is sometimes finding him sitting inside the house at the open door’s edge looking out as if the door were closed. Continue Reading »
We got lucky yesterday at boot camp because the heat wave that was strangling Southern California, broke. Monday’s session had the class using up a whole roll of paper towels to wipe off sweat from our faces, the mats and equipment. Disgusting! Not only was it hot, the air conditioning wasn’t working when we did our circuit training. So yesterday’s cooler weather made it easier to run to the trails with dumbbells in hand. Continue Reading »
