Wednesday, April 6, 2016

April 6th, 2016 In Equal Measure

April 6th, 2016 In Equal Measure

The excitement level is building around my upcoming trip to New York City and appearance on Today with Joy Bauer's Joy Fit Club segment . At the same time it builds, I'm doing my best to stay aware of how emotions affect my embrace of the fundamental elements that have brought me this far.

My former unhealthy relationship with food has many more years personal experience than the relatively new relationship I enjoy today. And I recognize that the unhealthy relationship of the past wasn't primed only in tough, turbulent times. As a first class emotional and stress eater--it didn't need to be a bad experience to trigger the dependency that kept me over 500 pounds for so many years. The good times and positive emotions could and would do the same in equal measure. It's this knowledge about myself that makes this beautiful experience one that I'll certainly enjoy--but also one where I'll be exceptionally on guard with an elevated awareness and commitment to the fundamental elements I embrace each day.

Today was insanely busy--but fun. News Channel 4's Lacey Lett and photo journalist Kevin Josefy made the trip from Oklahoma City for an interview/feature story about this experience and my weight loss story, in general. It's expected to air on Friday evening. The most challenging thing for me in these kinds of situations is condensing answers into a short and sweet delivery. Brevity isn't my strong suit. I like to communicate--and explain things in ways that best articulates the perspective shifts involved. Simply saying "I kept a calorie budget, exercised and wrote a blog page every night," doesn't begin to touch the consistency building dynamics involved in the process. I would imagine Lacey and Kevin are expert editors. It'll be great!
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I stayed very well connected with support friends via texts throughout the day and a fantastic call this evening. Accountability and support are critically important tools. None of us should try attempting this stuff alone! If there's one piece of advice I can't ever forget to mention--it's this: Establish accountability and support measures with the same importance level you apply in developing your method/plan. These two things work together. One without the other doesn't work well.

My goodness, my breakfast this morning was beyond satisfying (see Tweet below)! I'm almost out of the homemade tomato juice gifted me recently by Jon in Wisconsin. Jon, expect a call from me soon asking for instructions on how to make my own! The tomato juice was incredibly filling. It enabled me to easily get by until lunch without a mid-morning holdover something... except for coffee, of course. I love my coffee!

I got a pre-NYC haircut this afternoon and a much needed afternoon nap before handling production work a little later--stuff I missed earlier in the day, in consideration of the scheduling challenges.

I met Kristin at my favorite Mexican restaurant for a celebration dinner of sorts. The "celebration" part had everything to do with our conversation about all of these happenings of late. My food, as you'll notice if you're a regular reader, doesn't need to change or become indulgent in the name of celebrating something. That can work well for others and there's nothing wrong with occasional celebratory indulgence, but for me, given my history, it's best I celebrate in non-food ways. Kristin is incredibly supportive of what I do and I truly appreciate this from her. The daily reverence I apply to my fundamental elements--yeah, she "gets it."

Today's Live-Tweet Stream:




































Thank you for reading and your continued support,
Strength,
Sean
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8 comments:

  1. AnonymousApril 7, 2016 at 5:50 AM

    How exciting!! Will you allow yourself a nice meal while in NY? How long will you be there?

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    1. Sean AndersonApril 7, 2016 at 10:07 AM

      I allow myself nice meals every day! :) I will enjoy fantastic meals in NYC, I guarantee! Thank you--I'm excited!

      Delete
  2. UnknownApril 7, 2016 at 8:15 AM

    Words cannot express how proud I am of you. I hope you have the opportunity on Monday to not only talk about what works, but also about how it went to hell in a hand basket when you relaxed on the disciplines of your successful journey. You're a rock star, my friend!

    Life Coach Gerri Helms, PCC, CSC, CMC, CCC
    www.lifecoachgerri.com

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    1. Sean AndersonApril 7, 2016 at 10:11 AM

      Gerri, means the world to me, coming from you. You've been and continue to be my mentor. I often refer to you as "my Yoda," I hope that's not offensive! I certainly mean it as a compliment.
      You know me well, Gerri--and you know, my most important focus are those daily disciplines--regardless of any of this other cool stuff. It all comes back to one day at a time, for me. I hope and pray I keep it that way, always.

      Delete
  3. AnonymousApril 7, 2016 at 8:42 AM

    (please don't publish this, and please take this in the spirit of someone that's been there-- while I am incredibly impressed that you've been repairing your formerly unhealthy relationship with food, I was wondering if you'd consider that maybe you're building an unhealthy relationship with attention? we who are addicts (food, other substances) tend to replace one behavior for another. my best to you.)

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    1. Sean AndersonApril 7, 2016 at 10:24 AM

      You published it, Anonymous--I don't screen comments. I appreciate your concern and thank you for your comment. Luckily, for me--I've been in broadcasting for 27 years. I'm long past the attention thing. I don't do this blog or anything I do for attention--I do it first and foremost, for my own continued recovery and maintenance. Secondly, I do it to help others simply by offering what I'm doing and my experiences--and I hear from them--and it's one of the best feelings when you realize that effect. But still-- the number one thing is taking care of me.
      I've written it many times-- I don't care if anyone reads what I write or share, ever-- that's not the point. If this blog didn't have any readers I'd still be writing it, each and every day---in the same style and with the same purpose as it started in September 2008.
      I'm excited about the opportunities in front of me--but I assure you, it's not about attention. I couldn't care less. In fact--the owner of the station I work for, came onto my show this morning and brought up the Today show deal-- because, in his words... "I know you won't talk about yourself and this stuff, but I will."
      I hope that gives you some insight into my psyche.

      Delete
  4. UnknownApril 7, 2016 at 3:41 PM

    Sean the key is groing your own tomatoes, choosing the right variety, being as fresh and organic as possible. Not sure if it possible for you to buy as good of one's at store unless you find a farmers market. But yeah, not going to find a better nutrional calorie than this. 150 quarts per year is perfect for me. Lol!

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    1. Sean AndersonApril 7, 2016 at 11:31 PM

      The Farmers Market opens in May around here. I'll get some. It was amazing, Jon! Thank you!

      Delete

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