I've had an amazing weekend with Heather. Both of us have been rather busy for the most part, with me emceeing at Oktoberfest yesterday and today and her catching up on her business and 1/2 marathon training schedule. She ran over seven miles Saturday while I worked and another four plus this afternoon. I joined her at the trail today, after my emcee duties for a great 2.7 mile brisk walk. It was a good exercise day!
The dinner at the Italian restaurant Friday night further proved to me that if you express your needs and you do it in a very pleasant, friendly way--people will likely bend over backwards to help accommodate those needs. I still can't get over how accommodating they were--actually going to a store to purchase gluten free pasta prior to our arrival. That's above and beyond good customer service. They absolutely have my loyalty. That was incredible.
We enjoyed a nice dinner in this evening. Heather prepared roasted broccoli as a side dish. We got our feet wet with a video! Heather grabbed the camera and gently encouraged me to try broccoli for the very first time in my life. I tried asparagus a long time ago--and it was the same thing--I'd never actually tried it--and then learned that I actually loved asparagus!! So, with this in mind-- it is theoretically possible that a love affair with broccoli could blossom if only I would give it a try. This was the basis of Heather's gentle encouragement in the following video:
I didn't die. That's a plus. Honestly, it wasn't bad. Of course--it didn't lead to me loading up my plate with it, but--I tried it and discovered it wasn't as bad as I thought. What's next? Maybe a salad!
I'm looking forward to more videos with Heather. Not all of them will be like this one. I believe Heather and I have a good combination of skills and insights--and could present some wonderful videos with practical weight loss and fitness content delivered in fun and entertaining ways. I'm seriously looking forward to doing more!
My Oktoberfest experience this weekend was much better this year. Last year, I was struggling horribly and my weight gain was very noticeable. This year was different--and not just because I've once again lost a significant amount of weight. It was different because I feel very different about myself these days regardless of my weight. Below is a post from my Facebook page at last years event:
Sean Anderson
First
of all, let me state for the record: I believe wholeheartedly in The
Four Agreements. The 2nd agreement is my favorite. Never take
anything personally. What others do or say is a reflection of them,
not me. With a bright smile on my face, I hereby award today's most
creative way someone approached me in public to call me out for
weight gain: "Sean, you're a shadow of your former self, but
you're making a come back!" I give everyone the benefit of the
doubt. I think he was genuinely concerned for me, so I thanked him
and said I was doing okay. And I am...doing okay. Really.
I wasn't doing okay on October 5th, 2013, really. I wasn't deliberately lying--I was desperately trying to convince myself I was okay--but I clearly wasn't. It's no wonder the gentleman made a comment that day--because I was walking around projecting how I felt about myself on to everything and everyone I encountered.
This weekend was like a 180 degree turnaround. I carried myself with a new level of confidence--a peace and clear understanding of who I am and what I'm all about. I projected a wonderful attitude and positive feeling about me--and regardless of my weight, it was noticed. The weight loss was noticed too, of course--and yes, that feels good too. But more and more, I'm getting compliments that go beyond my appearance--and are brought about simply because I feel good about me on a level I've never known before--and this new perspective and attitude of unconditional self-love is projected very easily because it is a very natural dynamic.
I normally listen to music during my exercise, but today I listened to the TED Talk Radio hour, all about creativity. The talk featured Sting discussing his creativeness and how it works--and what happened when it stopped working and how he rekindled his creativeness. During the interview, he perfectly described what I experienced on my epiphany day, May 15th, 2014. He said that his happiness wasn't dependent on hit records or money or anything like that--his happiness is present within him--a peace he has about who he is and what he's about, and it resides in him regardless of his successes or failures--and this happiness ultimately allows his creativity to flow freely.
I listened to him speak and felt every word, deeply. I knew exactly what he was describing. It was wonderful to hear him say it. For me, it was a conformation of sorts. Sting gets it.
My Tweets today:
Whenever I have Starbucks the evening before, I most always reuse the cup the next day. Sugar free creamer. 30CX2=60c pic.twitter.com/nLMvPLMMf8
— Sean Anderson (@SeanAAnderson) October 5, 2014
Turkey (3oz-lean ground) & swiss omelet w/2 whole eggs & 2 whites, pineapple 4.5 oz, 1/2 Honeycrisp apple. 477 cal. pic.twitter.com/WHByWc4jMC
— Sean Anderson (@SeanAAnderson) October 5, 2014
At Octoberfest earlier. After much research on ingredients I accepted this beer. I took 3 sips and tossed it. 28 cal. pic.twitter.com/DPSndE8Zaw
— Sean Anderson (@SeanAAnderson) October 5, 2014
This is more my kind of drink. Iced coffee with sugar free hazelnut flavor and 2% milk. 30 cal. pic.twitter.com/PM6QPYffsP
— Sean Anderson (@SeanAAnderson) October 5, 2014
Organic Blue Corn Tortilla Chips (28g), mild salsa with light sour cream (30g). 210 cal. pic.twitter.com/9MrGHtLHrR
— Sean Anderson (@SeanAAnderson) October 5, 2014
Baked chick. breast (4oz), pineapple (4oz), sweet pot. medallions (225g), roasted carrots, broccoli. 460 cal. pic.twitter.com/WlFQFp9ur0
— Sean Anderson (@SeanAAnderson) October 6, 2014
Large Honeycrisp apple and natural peanut butter (32g). 340 cal. #lastfoodofday pic.twitter.com/YWWAquPWvS
— Sean Anderson (@SeanAAnderson) October 6, 2014
Oh yeah-- forgot to tweet the workout earlier. 2.7 mile brisk walk earlier this afternoon!
— Sean Anderson (@SeanAAnderson) October 6, 2014
Thank you for reading and your continued support,
Strength,
Sean
