Stop Making Excuses…and Cheating Yourself Out of Success

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If you want to ensure that you never reach your goals, do exactly what I've been doing: let your life be taken over by excuses. On July 4, I ran the local Firecracker 4-Miler race in my hometown for the second year. Despite the fact that last year's event was my very first race ever, and that it … [Read more...]

Learning to Silence Your Inner Critic

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I ran my first 5K of the season this weekend, and shortly after I passed the first mile marker, I found myself falling victim to one of my old behavior patterns: negative self-talk. Or, in my case, mentally bashing myself. I started the race strong: I shot out in front of most of the racers, and … [Read more...]

Appreciating The Body You Have…Right Now

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For as long as I can remember, I hated the body I saw when I looked into the mirror. Everyone has their body hang-ups. I believe you'd be hard-pressed to find a person who couldn't name at least one part of their body that they wished were different...bigger, smaller, more shapely, perkier, … [Read more...]

Letting Go of the “Old Me”

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I have a confession to make. Prior to this weekend, I hadn't weighed myself since before the holidays. And by holidays, I mean Thanksgiving. These past few months have included some of the the most defining moments of my life -- not the least of which was finally moving out of my parents' … [Read more...]

Keeping My Own Promises

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When you're trying to adopt healthy living habits, I truly believe that success can boil down to just one factor: The ability to make a commitment, and actually stick to it. Now, this is not something for which I'm traditionally known. I'm shamelessly of the "I'll finish it later" variety who … [Read more...]

Oh, Gym, How I Loathe Thee. Let Me Count the Ways.

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Recently in my journey to optimal health and fitness, I have discovered a shocking new development. I absolutely, positively hate the gym. When I first began losing weight, if I wasn't at home or at work, I was on the elliptical at my local YMCA. As a result of juggling two jobs, my only available … [Read more...]

The Beginning of the End

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First, I want to wish everyone a happy new year, and apologize for the brief hiatus I've taken from my blog. I'd like to brush off my absence with a simple "oops, I've been busy," which is certainly true, but the good news is that I have been preoccupied making some much-needed overhauls to my … [Read more...]

The Right to Bare Arms (and Stomach, and Thighs…)

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As the summer months officially come to an end, I decided it was finally time to step back on the scale. And, unsurprisingly, I was greeted by an additional five pounds. It's what I was expecting, given my week-long jaunts in Vegas, Atlantic City, and Orlando, the endless string of barbecues and … [Read more...]

I am Runner, Hear Me Roar.

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When it comes to our diets, there are a few hard and fast rules that will help just about everyone drop a dress size. You know, like eat more celery and less Cheetos. But when it comes to the day-to-day decision to break a sweat -- because, let's face it, there is no lasting weight loss without … [Read more...]

Fake it ‘Til You Make It: Running My First 5K

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I did it again! After running my first four-miler on the Fourth of July -- and proving to myself that I didn't die or, worse, come in dead last -- I finally had the courage to run my first 5K. And, appropriately, it just so happened to be the 10th Annual Downtown Westfield 5k and Pizza … [Read more...]